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Brian Flores – December 29, 2019 (Postgame) Download PDF version

Sunday, December 29, 2019
Postgame – New England

Head Coach Brian Flores (transcribed by New England Patriots)

(What does it mean for you to come in here and win this game?) – “I mean, every win, and any win is a big one to me. That’s a very good football team. Great coaches, great players. This is a tough environment. It’s hard to win on the road in this league. So, our guys played hard, they competed for 60 minutes. It took all 60 minutes. And I’m proud of that group, I am proud of that group.”

(I know you said it’s like any other win, but this one coming against your former team. Is there a time you would be able to reflect on it and think about what it means at this time?) – “Look, there are a lot of memories here. I basically grew up in this building, from a professional stand point. That’s the word I was looking for. From a professional standpoint, I basically grew up here. So, there are guys on that team, guys on the coaching staff, there are people in this building from janitors to security people, media, that I built a lot of relationships with. It’s great to win, but it’s not about me, really. It’s more about those players in there, they work extremely hard. They put a lot into this. There are people out there that said, this is a meaningless game and that’s just not the case. These guys work extremely hard and I’m just happy for them, that they won that game.”

(5-4 finish for this team after 0-7 start, how did that happen?) – “The credit goes to the players, as well as, our coaching staff. These guys work hard and they fight and they compete. They believe in the process. They understand the way we have to prepare, the way we have to practice, the way we have to meet, the way we have to walk through and I say it week after week, and our coaches say it week after week, after week. I think they just started to believe in it. And when you string good practices, good days, you string them together, good results come. And that’s what you have seen in the last nine, 10, 12 weeks. But I’m proud of that group.”

(Are you surprised Bill Belichick took the ball into halftime and didn’t use his time outs?) – “No, I mean look, whatever Bill does, I don’t necessarily question much of it. He’s a great coach, he thought that was best for his team. We just went into halftime.”

(What was the key to moving the ball on the defense?) – “I thought [Ryan] Fitzpatrick played great. I thought DeVante [Parker] played well. I kind of challenged him earlier this week about this match up with Steph [Gilmore]. And I thought he stepped up to that challenge and played well. Made a lot of plays and we needed them all. As far as moving the ball, we just executed. We practiced well over the course of the week and it showed up in the game. We executed well and I’m proud of that group.”

(Now that the season is done for you guys, what do you think the story of this team is?) – “Hard work, overcoming diversity. And I think, you know, with diversity, with defeat, when you struggle, I think one or two things happen. It either breaks you, or you get stronger. I think this team got stronger over the course of the season. And I am proud of that. And we need to build on that. With kind of answering that question, right off the top of my head, that’s what I would say.”

(The Patriots had a streak of like 24 games in a row, where they wouldn’t allow a 300-yard passer  and obviously Fitz broke that today. What made you believe that he was the guy for the team this year? And including today, despite calls from other places….) – “What are those other places? Just wondering. Look, the goal is, and I have said this since day one, we are going to play the players that will give us the best chance to win. And Fitz is that, and he showed that today. He played well and I know there are some plays he wishes he could have back, he could have made a few more plays, but at the end of the day, we made enough plays to win. But it wasn’t just Fitz, it was Fitz, it was DeVante [Parker], it was Mike [Gesicki], Jesse Davis, it was [Daniel] Kilgore. You know, it was guys in the kicking game, it was guys defensively. I thought, you know, Chad [O’Shea] called a great game. I thought Pat [Graham] called a great game and Danny [Crossman] and our staff did a really good job. You know, it feels good to win, but you know, I think Fitz has been great for us all year. And you know, the way he prepares, the way he practices, just the joy he has playing the game, I think it’s great for young players to see that. You lose some of that in this league because there is so much pressure, there is so much, pressure is the right word. But he brings a joy that you need, you know. At the end of the day, it’s a game we all grew up loving to play. Happy to have him.”

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