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October 8, 2007

Belichick: Turnovers made the difference

Hey all --

Bill Belichick has wrapped up his Monday morning press conference, and said that upon second look (and probably third and fourth), his initial thoughts on yesterday's game with Cleveland were validated -- New England had some problems schematically with some of the things the Browns did, the fourth-quarter scoring drive that ended with Benjamin Watson's second touchdown of the day was a big one for the Pats, and the four turnovers the defense had -- combined with the offense's ability to hold onto the ball -- made a big difference in the game.

Belichick also gave a lot of credit to Browns head coach Romeo Crennel and his schemes for containing Randy Moss (3 catches, 46 yards), and said that Cleveland played a big part in the Pats' offense converting just two of 12 third-down opportunities.

And Russ Hochstein, who started at center in place of Dan Koppen, got a tip of the cap, along with the entire offensive line, which once again kept Tom Brady upright for much of the game.

Through five games, Brady has been sacked just three times -- on pace for just 10 takedowns for the season, which would be the fewest by far in Patriots' history, and one of the best in NFL history.

The locker room is scheduled to open around 3:30 this afternoon, and we'll check in with more after that.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:10 PM | Permalink