Patriots' Bill Belichick: 'I'm not an easy guy to play for'
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says he is confident in his team's toughness entering the Super Bowl, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports.
Belichick also admitted that he can be a difficult coach to play for.
Belichick and the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC title game on Sunday to reach their sixth Super Bowl since the 2001 season. The victory was the 21st in Belichick's postseason career, the most by a coach in league history.
In a Monday appearance on WEEI, Belichick acknowledged New England is a challenging place for players.
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"I know we demand a lot and this isn't an easy place to play, and I'm not an easy guy to play for, but they have tried to respond. I give them a lot of credit for that."
“It’s a tough place to play. We demand a lot out of ourselves -- our coaches, our players. We don’t accept just an average performance, or not doing our best. We don’t always do things well, we don’t always do them right, but we always try to do them hard and try to do them with great effort. It takes a lot of toughness to do that day after day, mentally and physically when you don’t feel good, or when you’re banged up, or it’s late in the season or things are going against you sometimes it’s hard to rally and compete at a high level. It takes toughness to do that. I think our team has shown we have it. We’re going to get a huge test coming up. We might have to take it up a notch higher, but I like the toughness of this team."
The NFL is reportedly investigating the Patriots for deflating footballs in the AFC Championship game. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said he is not concerned about the allegations.
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Since winning three Super Bowls in four seasons from 2001 through 2004, the Patriots have lost to the New York Giants in their last two Super Bowl appearances.
The Patriots play the Seahawks on Feb. 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
- Paul Palladino
