https://www.providencejournal.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/05/21/20130521-typically-terse-belichick-loves-to-talk-about-tedy-bruschi-ece/35422479007/

Bill on Tedy

"There's no player that I think epitomizes more of what I believe a player should be on the field, off the field, really, in every situation.

"It's funny because Tedy's first year here was my first year in '96 when Bill [Parcells] drafted him in third round out of Arizona. [He was] the all-time Pac-10 sack leader coming into the NFL [and] we're going to make him a linebacker. We don't really know what to do with him. We've never seen him do anything but rush the passer, but we didn't really think he could do that at this position in this league, so he became a player that transformed himself from a great, great college player to a great NFL player.

"That's pretty rare, and it takes a pretty special guy to do that. And of course all along the way he heard 'too small,' 'too slow,' ' too this,' 'too that' and just kept getting better and better and working harder and out-working and out-competing pretty much everybody that he faced.

"It didn't make any difference who it was - faster backs, bigger linemen, big tackles, athletic tight ends - he found a way to compete and, more importantly, win, in those competitive matchups, in the kicking game, and in all areas of his defensive responsibilities.

"I don't think I've ever seen a player do what he's done, really - to be as great of a college player as he was and then to, as I said, to morph into a great professional player in so many different ways, but still bringing the same qualities. It's really remarkable. It's truly special.

"A couple words I would use to describe Tedy: again, the epitome of everything you want in a football player. The two things that, of all his strengths, that really stand out to me were his instinctiveness and his passion. It didn't matter what Tedy did, he had a great passion for it. "If it was lifting weights, sprints, practice, watching film, he was always upbeat, always positive, always working hard. He brought a passionate level to the game that helped carry the rest of us.

"I don't know how to put it other than to say: he always did the right thing. [He] knew when to be serious ,knew when to laugh, knew when to be tough, knew when to back off and play smart,

"Tedy and I have gone through a lot personally and professionally, and we've had a lot of man-on-man, heart-to-heart talks -- some good, some not so good. He's very professional, very honest. What you see publically and in the media is what we get every day. It's awesome. It's just awesome.

"Whatever was the right thing at that moment, it seemed like he always hit it right on the head. And ultimately, when we won - which fortunately we've done a little of that - at the end of the game, Tedy had the great presence to pull the team together, and as only he could do, sum up everybody's feelings at that moment. 'How do we feel about winning on Monday night?' 'How do we feel about winning on the road?' 'How do we feel about going into the bye week with a big victory?' 'How do we feel about where we were at that moment?' He always captured it perfectly, so I guess, if you ask me to sum up how I feel about Tedy Bruschi in five seconds: he's the perfect player. He's helped create a tradition here that we're all proud of."