What the 49ers are saying about the Patriots this week
The Patriots were knocked off the top of the pile. Can they rebound?
The Patriots are coming off a loss in a big game against the Seahawks Sunday night, and now have a Chip Kelly team on deck. If that doesn’t sound familiar, look back to last season’s Patriots-Eagles game, widely penciled in as a Patriots victory after a bad loss in Denver.
Here’s what Kelly’s new team is saying about this week’s matchup.
Head coach Chip Kelly:
- On the Patriots offense: “You’re going against one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game in Tom Brady,a really good set of receivers, two outstanding tight ends. They can run the football. They’re very balanced in terms of how they can attack you…”
- On the game: “I think if you’re a competitor you get excited about playing in games like this. You don’t think of it as, ‘Oh my God, we don’t have any hope.’ You get a chance to play against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. If that doesn’t get your blood boiling, then you’re in the wrong sport.”
- On Bill Belichick: “When you get a chance to watch, arguably, one of the best coaches in the history of the game coach on a daily basis – how organized he is, how detailed he is, how in tune he is with putting his players in a position to make plays, and really just how gracious and nice he is… extremely outgoing, smart, personable.”
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick:
- On the game: “We have seven opportunities to win football games and that’s where our focus is starting this week with the Patriots and we have to do everything we can this week to go out and get a win.”
Defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey:
- On LeGarrette Blount: “Tough running back. You gotta tackle him. He runs hard and they’re a smart offense. They know how to expose weaknesses. It’ll be a tough fight.”
- On Tom Brady: “He’s Tom Brady. He’s smart he gets the ball out pretty fast he knows the weaknesses of defenses.”
Safety Antoine Bethea:
- On Tom Brady: “It’s going to be another great test for our defense and for our secondary. As far as what I see, it’s the same Tom Brady. He’s getting the ball to his playmakers, knowing where the defense is going to be at and finding the weaknesses in the defense. We’ve definitely got to be on our Ps and Qs this week.”
- On the Patriots: “As a competitor, you can hate them as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you have to respect them. Year in and year out, they’re one of the best teams in the league, regardless of who is out there at receiver or on the defensive side of the ball.”
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