Patriots Blog: Belichick Still Loves Reed, Lewis
FOXBORO (CBS) - New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talked to the media on Wednesday, and some things never change.
The Pats will be playing the Ravens in the AFC Championship game on Sunday, a matchup against two of Belichick's favorite players in the NFL (not on the Patriots of course).
Coach loves Baltimore safety Ed Reed and linebacker Ray Lewis. On Wednesday, he went on and on about how good he felt both of them have been throughout their careers.
"I don't know how much more savvy they could be. They're two of the greatest players to ever play the game, on the same team on the same defense for so many years," said Belichick. "I don't know where to start. The play Ed Reed makes at the end of the game against Houston last week, I think that says it all, really. He's playing one side of the field trying to stay over the top of [Andre] Johnson, who they single up on the backside. I'm sure that they were looking for him. If he had single coverage, they'd want to throw it up to him, but Reed is over the top of him but they throw the Hail Mary to the other side and he comes all the way across the field and makes the play; really kind of a game-saving play. I'm not sure that if he hadn't made it, I don't know what would have happened there."
Read: Hernandez Practice, Brady Does Not On Wednesday
"Those are the kinds of plays he makes. He probably covers more field back there as a single safety than most teams can cover with two," Belichick continued. "He's got great instincts, he's a tremendous player."
"I can't say I've ever coached against anybody better than Ed Reed in the secondary," Belichick said.
But it didn't stop there.
"Ray Lewis, everything he brings to the game, his playmaking ability, his leadership, his experience, his ability to get people around him to play better both by his communication and anticipation and leadership and football savvy on the field," he said of Lewis. "Those two guys, it would be really hard, I think, to put anybody even in their class, let alone above them. They're tremendous players with tremendous careers."
Read: Levan Reid's Patriots Blog
Those players have the same respect for Belichick and are also very open about what a great defensive mind they feel he is. They just don't gush as much as Bill.
But Belichick had plenty of nice things to say about his own defenders as well. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork has been a force for the Patriots defense, as he is every year, but this year has added a new wrinkle to his game.
"Vince has had a great year for us. He's had obviously a great career, had an outstanding year last year, but this year it's even gone a step higher," said Belichick. "He's played a lot of plays. He's become really an every-down player, not just a situational player. He's been very productive for us in the running game, in the passing game, he's made plays in pursuit. His interceptions are legendary, as well as his runbacks. From a leadership standpoint, again, he's been outstanding."
Read: Game 'Can't Get Here Fast Enough' For Brady
As for Belichick calling his interceptions legendary, Wilfork couldn't agree more.
"A lineman's dream," he said when asked about the picks. "I think having the ball in your hands is a dream come true as a lineman. Too bad it wasn't a touchdown, but I ended up falling on one in Washington. It's been a fun year. It's been a real fun year, it's been exciting just to come to work and have fun and just watch this team grow. It's been a blessing and we're going to continue to grow. This team is a special team, it's a special group. I think it's easy when you get to come to work and have fun and just see guys work hard each day. It's a blessing. We have to keep it up, though."
Wilfork won't have to worry about playing against Reed, but with both being University of Miami alumni, he knows exactly what he brings to the field.
"Playmaking. I mean he's always been that way, even at the University of Miami. I was young but I didn't really understand how great he was. I knew he was good, but I didn't see it until I got to the NFL and seeing him making the same exact plays and hear people talking about him. The guy is just one hell of a player, on and off the field," said Wilfork.
"He's going to give it his all. He's just a smart, tough football player physically and mentally. He knows the game. He has a nose for the ball so I'm glad he's not an offensive player," said Wilfork. "I'm pretty sure he can be on that side also because his ball skills are amazing."
While the Patriots defense has been scrutinized for the entire season, Wilfork is happy with his bunch, as last week's 45-10 win over the Broncos has them brimming with confidence.
"I think confidence is everything. I think the more confidence you can play with, the better the outcome will be," he said. "We get in trouble when we think too much. In this defense, we always have moving parts. It's a tough defense at times but that's how Bill runs his ship. I think the guys have done a great job all year of getting those things down and problems we had, we tried to correct them and for the most part we did."
"Confidence, we start early with confidence we'll be okay," said Wilfork. "The problems we had have probably been not starting off early enough with the confidence. As the game starts getting moving I think you start seeing guys make more plays just because of the confidence level, believing what they see, just believing what they've seen on film, just trusting their technique. The more we can play with confidence, the better we'll be. I think last week we started off good but like I said we have to be better this week, definitely have to be better with this ballclub."
Tune in to the AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens Sunday, January 22 at 3pm on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV. Pregame coverage begins with Patriots GameDay on WBZ at 11:30am, with Patriots Preview beginning at noon on the Hub!
