Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer 12y

Setting Pats schedule for week

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Patriots arrived in Indianapolis at 5 p.m. ET Sunday, while the Giants won't come to town until Monday. Bill Belichick explained that the reason for the team's early arrival is tied to practice schedule.

The team will practice here on Monday, take Tuesday off, then practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

"It kind of puts us on a normal schedule," Belichick said, adding that the team had two practices last week.

Some other quick hits from Belichick:

Opening remarks. "It’s nice to be in Indianapolis, about the nicest I’ve ever seen it here in February. It’s awesome. It’s an honor to be representing the AFC and New England in this game. Tremendous challenge here with the Giants, they’re a great football team. They’ve done really an outstanding job all year, particularly here at the end of this season. John Mara and his family, I have a close relationship with them and have a lot of respect for the entire organization. Tom [Coughlin] and I of course are good friends and go back quite a ways. Again, I think he and his staff have done a great job with this football team. They got a lot of good players. They’re well coached. They’re disciplined. ... I think our players are obviously excited to be here, looking forward to the challenge, and we get to work tomorrow out on the field."

On the rally at Gillette Stadium with 25,000 fans. "We had a good day. We had a brief meeting this morning, and took care of a few things. We had a great turnout at the stadium, the whole lower deck was packed on really the whole side of the field, all the way around to the end zones. So we got a great sendoff. Our fans have been great all year, like they usually have."

On how much of his love for the game comes from his late father. "Quite a bit. I’d say quite a bit. Growing up with it, it was my life as a kid from when I first remember, 4, 5, 6 years old, and then for obviously the rest of my life. He had a huge impact on my childhood, my love for the game, and my involvement in the game as a coach. Even though I played poorly, it was still a good experience to play. But coaching has really kind of always been the love and I think a lot of little things that he did in terms of work ethic, teamwork; being around the Naval Academy, of course that’s a very unique atmosphere, particularly as it relates to football, but [also] the teamwork that comes with that, and the commitment and so forth that those players and those teams had that I saw a at very young age."

^ Back to Top ^