Bill Belichick Sounds Pleased With Patriots Tight End Group: 'As Good As We've Ever Had'
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Covering Bill Belichick press conferences is always an unpredictable endeavor. Oftentimes, you have to cover Belichick having a testy exchange or using the Lord's name in vain with a hapless reporter. But sometimes he'll go in the other direction, and he did that Wednesday when asked about the Patriots' tight end group.
Most of the talk has surrounded the play of Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett, and rightfully so - the duo has reportedly been borderline unstoppable in training camp so far. But Belichick sounds excited about the depth and versatility at the position, too, and you know how much he loves depth and versatility.
"[This is] probably as good a tight end situation, top to bottom, as we've ever had here," said Belichick. "The guys are all competitive, they can all do enough things to be competitive."
Belichick spoke at length about undrafted free agent tight end Bryce Williams, who signed with the Patriots out of East Carolina. Gronk and Bennett may get most of the targets in the passing game, but Williams sounds like he has a good chance to be a serviceable backup or - gulp - a third monstrous red-zone target for Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo.
"Bryce has come in and done a good job. [He has] a lot to learn, it's a big adjustment for him," said Belichick. "[Williams] catches the ball well, good ball skills ... he has a receiver background but you can kind of see that watching him play."
We've fallen down this rabbit hole before - remember Zach Sudfeld? Also, there's a reason Williams went undrafted even though he was projected as a late-round draft pick: his NFL.com draft profile lists several weaknesses as a route-runner and blocker. Williams may be one-dimensional, but if the Patriots can have the most dynamic tight end duo in the league and have Williams getting into good matchups, catching 30-35 passes, maybe a few touchdowns, the offense could be that much more potent.
Speaking of the red zone, remember the four-tight end set that the team featured early last season? There's a chance it could come back with Gronk, Bennett, Williams, and fellow offseason addition Bear Pascoe rounding out the group. Belichick spoke highly of the veteran tight end, whom he memorably name-dropped near the end of Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants, imploring his defense, "Make 'em go to Manningham. Make 'em go to Pascoe."
Apparently, Bill likes what he's seen out of Pascoe, anyway. The former Giant and Falcon is not an adept pass-catcher, but he doesn't need to be. He's always been a decent blocker as a sort of tight end/fullback hybrid, and you know Belichick (and even Josh McDaniels) loves that. Belichick already envisions Pascoe in "a Michael Williams role" or something similar. You have no choice but to be confident that Belichick will get the most out of him.
Belichick also name-dropped tight ends A.J. Derby and Michael Scheu (that's pronounced "SHOY," by the way), but curiously did not mention offseason addition Clay Harbor, who was sidelined to begin camp and remained out on Wednesday.
Belichick recently remarked that the wide receiver group for the Patriots is the most competitive he's seen, but not necessarily the best or most talented. And he would be right about that last part. But it sounds like the Patriots are pivoting back to a tight end-heavy offense, and it could turn out to be even better than it looks right now.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.