Bill Belichick says giant new video screen at Gillette Stadium changes wind patterns for kickers

BOSTON -- Bill Belichick has been the head coach of the Patriots since before Gillette Stadium opened in 2002. Suffice it to say, the man knows the stadium inside and out.

So whenever there is a change of minimal or major significance, Belichick is sure to notice. And the latest has to do with the enormous new video boards that have been installed behind the end zones.

"We'll kick in the stadium when we can. Obviously, those conditions have changed a little bit, so we'll see how that goes," Belichick said Friday before training camp practice. "We were in there [in the stadium] in the spring a little bit."

Belichick was asked if the changes are significant.

"Uhh, yeah, there's some changes, yeah," he answered.

Regardless of the wind patterns, the Patriots figure to have some major changes in the kicking game this year anyway. After relying on veteran Nick Folk for the bulk of the past four seasons, the Patriots drafted Chad Ryland out of Michigan State with a fourth-round pick in this year's draft. The rookie will obviously have to prove himself capable of handling the job throughout training camp and the preseason, but one would figure that the player with the investment of a draft pick would have the upper hand heading into a position battle like that.

Yet when the games do begin in Foxboro, the new wind patterns could be significant. The stadium has always featured a closed end on the south side of the stadium and an open end on the north side, where the lighthouse has been since the stadium opened 20-plus years ago. Typically, kicking into the open end has presented more wind challenges for kickers, but the massive new video board may work to help limit that impact.

The video board behind the north end zone is the largest outdoor curved-radius video board at a sports venue in the country. It is 60 feet high and 370 feet long.

Of course, changes like that can both help and hurt the home team, and Belichick will clearly be spending some time and energy figuring out how to best adapt to the changes in the coming months.