HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK (on playing so often it seeming like the two teams are still in the same division) * *
"It just about seems like it. It's every year, at least once."
HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK (on if it seems different this time without Tom Brady and the Colts offense struggling)
"No, not really. I think there's certainly a lot of familiar faces all the way around. There's changes, but that's true every year. There's always something a little bit different each year. Certainly the Colts look like the same explosive team that we always know they are. The first quarter against Baltimore, the fourth quarter the last six minutes against Houston, the opening drive against Jacksonville. They can put a lot of points on the board in a hurry and turn the ball over a lot on defense, a very good pursuing team, ball-stripping, takeaway team. And they're out covering kicks well, creating a lot of good field position in the kicking game, too."
HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK (on DE-Richard Seymour being a complete player)
"He's a good one. He does a lot of things well. He's got good talent, a smart guy, works hard. He's powerful, but he's very athletic at the same time with a big frame. He can be hard to block."
HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK (on how much pride they take in being 5-2 despite all the injuries)
"Really right now we're just focused on Indianapolis. It doesn't really matter what anybody's record is. It's the next game. We want to do our best to prepare and be ready to come out there and be competitive against them. We know we have our work cut out for this week. It's a hard team to get ready for. We've had some great matchups with them in the past. All of our concentration and focus is on this game and we aren't really thinking too much about what has or hasn't happened in the past."
HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK (on how he would assess QB-Matt Cassel's progress)
"Well, Matt took a lot of snaps for us in preseason and training camp, and then in the first quarter of our opening game, he's taken all the snaps at quarterback since then. He's improved through the course of the year and through the course of his four years here, like you would expect any player to that works hard and is conscientious. Matt has some experience in our system and now he's gaining some playing experience. I think that he's been able to benefit from both of those and learn from his mistakes and build on the positive things and just try to keep getting a little better each week, and I think he's done that."
HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK (on allowing 29 sacks this season and if that's from transitioning to a new quarterback?)
"That's team offense. I think everything's a little bit of a part of it. I think everybody on offense has a certain accountability for it, receivers getting open, quarterback getting rid of the ball, linemen blocking, backs and tight ends, blitz pick-up. It hasn't been any one thing. We've had more than we'd like to have. We're trying to work hard to cut back on that and eliminate turnovers and get the ball downfield for positive yardage in the passing game."
HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK (on DEs-Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney)
"They are as good as we'll see. Everybody talks about their speed rushes—and they're dynamic speed rushers, both of them—but they have a great variety of moves, Freeney's inside spin and a speed to power, and Mathis can come inside. They're outstanding players, big-play guys, not just sacks, but strip-sacks and cause a lot of fumbles and tipped balls and all those other kind of disruptive plays, too. They're really outstanding players, and the Colts have a lot of other good players on defense to go with them, but those two guys play their position extremely well. They're tough."
* *
HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK (on if he sees any improvement in the Colts run defense in the last month)
"I think the run defense has been good. I don't know how it can be much better. Teams are gaining, what, about three yards a carry, and good running teams, too— Tennessee, Green Bay, Baltimore. So they've done a good job. They're doing a great job all the way across the board. They're linebackers are fast and tackle well, disruptive up front. (Melvin) Bullitt or (Antoine) Bethea, dropping down into the front sometimes, corners are tackling well. (Marlin) Jackson's strong out there, or when he's in the slot in those sub-runs. He's done a good job on that. He hurt us on that last year, making some good tackles there in the running game in their nickel defense. They're a fast team, they're a good tackling team. It's just hard to get away from them. They pursue relentlessly and they tackle well."
HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK (on if he thinks Bob Sanders will play or if it matters)
"Sanders is a great player. I certainly don't want to take anything away from him. Like I said, they're giving up about three yards a carry to Baltimore, Green Bay and Tennessee. So if he was in there maybe it would have only been two, but he's an outstanding player. Certainly he deserves all the accolades he gets. He's fast, tough, instinctive, around the ball a lot. He's a guy you have to account for. But I think (Melvin) Bullitt's done a good job when he's had to play for him. I think Bullitt's done a real good job. He's come up with the ball a couple of times, made a lot of tackles, still shows up in the kicking game. It looks to me like all three of those guys (Sanders, Bullitt, Antoine Bethea), whichever one of them are in there, they've been productive."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on Colts-Patriots again)
"We have a lot of respect for that team and the coaching staff and the players that they have. It's always a big game and usually always has a lot of meaning to the rest of the season. So it's going to be a big game for us and I'm sure (for them) coming off of their loss to Tennessee. I felt, just watching the game, like they had the game won. I know they'll be ready to come out this Sunday night."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on being 5-2 despite the injuries and if it means something proving they can win without Tom Brady)
"We feel like we have a good football team and we can find a lot of different ways to win. And I think that's a sign of a good football team. Obviously it's hard to win without 12 (Tom Brady) at quarterback, but we feel like we have a good team, whoever we put out on the football field. I feel like we have some talented players and there are a lot of different ways to win a football game other than just putting up a lot of points. So we just have to play good on defense and special teams and not make a lot of mistakes, and play hard and play fast. Offensively, their job when they get out on the field is to move the ball and put up points. The only thing we can go out and do is do our job, and hopefully the offense does theirs."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on if there was doubt when Brady went down or if the team had full confidence in Matt Cassel and the system)
"Obviously there was a transition period because we haven't played without Tom at quarterback, so just to say we had a lot of confidence in Cassel, we hadn't seen him, other than preseason. Obviously he's making some strides and putting the offense in position to put this team in position to win football games. If you look at it, when Tom went down against KC, the score was 0-0 and he came in and won that football game. Obviously our record speaks for itself, we're 5-2 at this point, with a lot of people not really thinking that we could get it done without 12 at quarterback."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on being 5-2 and it showing that it is more than one, two or three guys)
"It's a total team effort, and we always knew that. Over the course of the last few seasons, injuries are a part of the game and we understand that everyone has a stake in the football team. The only thing that you can go out and do is do your job. You can't try to take care of someone else's responsibility. And you have to make the plays when it's your time to make them. We play good team defense, so even if a guy doesn't get a tackle, he needs to be in his gap where he's responsible, because that helps out the next guy to know where he needs to be. It's a lot of moving parts in order to be a good team, as far as you have to play good on special teams and everyone has to kind of feed off each other as far putting ourselves in position coming into the game."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on what he has seen from Peyton Manning and the offense)
"They're an explosive football team. They can put up points with the best of them. Even looking at that Jacksonville game, I really don't think their record is indicative of how they have played so far. I thought they should have won that football game. You can never relax against this football team. Like I said, anytime they have Coach Dungy and Manning and that fast defense and receivers and other skill guys that they have, they fly around, they play fast and they play quick. So you can never relax against those guys. They play so fast and they can score so quickly and their defense can create a lot of turnovers. It's going to be tough for us coming into a hostile environment, but we look forward to the matchup. I think one of the reasons we play the game is to go up against one of the best."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on if he thinks about how much he has accomplished during his career)
"I think that's something to look at when it's all said and done. Right now I'm still in it. I feel like I'm kind of mid-way through. I think when it's all said and done, you can look back over your career, but right now I'm just trying to turn over every stone that I can just to try to be the best player that I can be. I just want to be the best Richard Seymour that I can possibly put out on the football field. And I'm comfortable with that, when it's all said and done, knowing that you gave your best, and it's tough, because I really don't like to compare myself to anybody. I just feel like as long as I go out and take care of my responsibility and do the best job that I can, then that's all you can do. I know I've had a good start to my career and won Super Bowls and (been to) Pro Bowls and (been named) All-Pro and things like that, and that feels good. But our ultimate goal is to get another Super Bowl win, and we haven't had one in a while. So I'm definitely looking forward to that."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on what's missing in his career, something he hasn't done…in seven games against the Colts)
"Sack Peyton Manning. I'll get it done.
No, I got him and then they called the penalty on one of our defensive backs one time, so it got called back. As a matter of fact, I know the play. (LB) Roman Phifer had a holding call and it got called back on that one. But you know what, you have to have a lot of respect for Peyton. He's one of the best guys that you'll face as far as just having a quick release. So he really doesn't get sacked much anyway. The thing you try to do is get in his face and rattle him and keep guys in the pocket and put pressure on him and force him to have happy feet. That's what we're going to try to come in and do, is just get in the pocket and get in his face and make some plays. I think often times sacks are really over-rated in this league anyway."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on if this looks like the same Colts offense and Peyton Manning to him)
"Yes. Obviously they don't have the wins and getting off to the fast start that they have in the past, but if you look at them, you still see guys flying around and making plays for them. I thought they should have won that Jacksonville game and there's a few other games that they had opportunities, just like Monday night. They had many opportunities to win that game. The only one that looked like it got away from them was the Green Bay game. We have a lot of respect for this team. We know they're so explosive and they can put up points with the best of them."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on if he ever looks at other DEs like Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney)
"I do. I know they get up the field quick and they play fast. As a defensive linemen, you kind of just look around and look at defenders across the league, and it isn't just about Mathis and Freeney. You have (Raheem) Brock in there doing a good job for them, so it's a total team effort. They do a good job. They get up the field fast and it's going to put a lot of pressure on our offensive line this week, so they have to be ready to face those guys."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on Mathis and Freeney and if there any characteristics or moves that he likes or has borrowed from them)
"They cue the ball. It looks like they get off the ball before the offensive tackles move and get off the ball. I think that's a great quality to have, to get off the ball as soon as it's snapped. Or sometimes, you're right with the ball just as the ball is being snapped from center and they're getting off the ball, and that obviously puts a lot of pressure on our offensive tackles and our backs who help out or whatever the case may be. That puts a lot of pressure on our offense, so that's a great quality to have."
DE-RICHARD SEYMOUR (on if getting off the ball so fast is instinct or study)
"I think it's a combination of both. I think you have to study and you also just have to have awareness as well, just watch film and watch the rhythm. Even in the course of the game you can kind pick up cadences and you can get a feel for it after you've done it for so long, you just get a feel for when it will happen. And then with them playing at home with a loud crowd, that's only going to help them."
