Evans second-guesses Belichick in SB XLII

Former Patriots running back Heath Evans, now an analyst for the NFL Network, joined the Dennis & Callahan show and reflected on the Patriots' loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII and engaged in what he described as a "stupid" exercise of questioning how New England coach Bill Belichick prepared his team for that game. Evans felt that Belichick may have pushed a tired Patriots team too hard in practice as they were trying to conclude a perfect season.

"I don't think we felt the weight until it was over and done with. Man, we were a fatigued football team. The better team won. I hate to say it, but the better team won that day. So it's not an excuse. But you get done with that season and you reflect back and you're like, 'Man, we were a tired football team,'" Evans said. "I'm going to do something stupid and I'm going to second-guess Bill Belichick. We all agreed with the full pads Thursday, Friday, Saturday in Foxborough the bye week. We get to Phoenix, and Wednesday was kind of a lackluster practice. I think Bill kind of thought maybe we were overlooking this team. I don't think we were -- I think it was just a bad day. Bill opted to put us in pads again on Thursday [before the Super Bowl]. Was that the reason we lost the game? Probably not. But was there a way to just freshen us up?

"Then the second thing, which is kind of odd and I suspect they'll do it again this year, too, Saturday night, the rule of thumb is let's get the players and the team away from the family people, away from all the distractions. Let's get them on a normal Saturday night routine so everything is structured perfectly, like it's been Week 1 through Week 18," Evans continued. "It really kind of backfired. The hotel was horrendous. We literally had guys with M-16s walking around the outside of our hotel. They warned us, 'Don't go outside by yourself.' We were literally in the hood of Arizona. My room smelled like smoke. I remember Randy Moss saying, 'I can't sleep in this place. It's like sleeping on plywood.' It was just little things like that. Was that the reason why we lost? I don't know. But you look back on it, hindsight is 20/20, and you say, 'What if? What if we would have had a little bit of a hard practice on Thursday -- would our legs have been a little fresher?' Bottom line is, the Giants won."

Still, that outcome was stunning for Evans and the rest of the Patriots given the talent and preparation of the team that was in the Super Bowl.

"Full pads Thursday, Friday, Saturday, our team was so locked in. Brady was a man on a mission. So were Tedy [Bruschi] and [Mike] Vrabel. Everyone, we were focused," recalled Evans. "Brady's got the ball in his hands, late in the fourth-quarter, boom, we score. You never really think you're going to have that magical drive against that Patriots defense. So you're sitting there watching the confetti fall and you're like, 'Man, that's the wrong color confetti.'"

As for this year, Evans declined to offer a prediction. That said, he does think that, on paper, the Giants are the superior team given the available personnel.

"It's hard not to build out this matchup on paper and in my mind and think that the Patriots are going to win," said Evans. "Look at the matchups. I don't think [Rob Gronkowski] is going to be 100 percent. I'm adding in all the weapons that are off the board."

To listen to the complete interview, visit the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page. For complete coverage of Super Bowl XLVI, visit weei.com/patriots.

To learn more about the Heath Evans foundation to prevent childhood sexua abuse, and to bid on a raffle for four tickets to the Super Bowl, click here.