FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Not exactly Mr. Cheerful to begin with, Patriots coach Bill Belichick made his postgame press conference yesterday as frigid as a New England winter.
Other than to complain about a pair of crucial interference calls, the Patriots boss and alleged defensive genius was in little mood to talk after his hand-picked unit collapsed in the final minutes of a 24-20 loss to the Giants.
Belichick has used a whopping 25 draft picks on defensive players since 2007, but all that quantity has gotten him this year is the NFL’s worst-ranked defense and a hapless secondary that is the main reason the Patriots are now 5-3 after a 5-1 start.
That secondary was directly responsible for yesterday’s shocking loss, the Patriots’ first to an NFC opponent at Gillette Stadium since the Packers beat them in October 2002 and just the second in the building’s 10-year history.
A 35-yard interference penalty on cornerback Kyle Arrington for contact with Mario Manningham while face-guarding and a 20-yard pass interference flag to the New England 1 against safety Sergio Brown on Victor Cruz were the backbreakers for a defense that simply isn’t very good to begin with.
The penalties came on each of the final two true possessions by the Giants, and both drives — which consumed 85 and 80 yards, respectively — ended in touchdowns.
“The last two calls were tough,” belly-ached Belichick, despite much evidence to the contrary. “That’s a lot of yards on those two plays.”
Belichick seemed particularly upset by Arrington’s flag on the Giants’ next-to-last drive, a penalty that abruptly turned first-and-10 at the Big Blue 25 into first-and-10 at the New England 40. The Giants took a 17-13 lead six plays later.
In typical Belichick style, he ripped the play more with an angry look and sarcasm than with specifics.
Asked what he saw on that play, Belichick snarled: “You’d have to ask them about it — they called it.”
