Patriots Blog: Belichick Says Releasing Sanders Was "Tough"
FOXBORO (CBS) - Gillette stadium is feeling the effects of hurricane Irene. The Pats were not going to practice Monday, but they cancelled all press conferences and open locker room because the stadium has no power.
Belichick talked to the media Monday through a conference call. These are some of the items he touched upon.
The release of James Sanders: "[A] tough release there with James Sanders," said Belichick. "James has been a really good guy to have on this team, a hard-working kid. He developed form the time he came through to us as a [fourth-round] draft choice out of Fresno [State in 2005]. He was a solid team player for us. It's just part of the moves. We needed to release some people and he was a tough one. So, we'll have a couple other moves before we reach the limit, but we're close to it."
On Deion Branch's quiet preseason: "I think Deion had a good training camp. He's running well, running good routes, [and] catching the ball well in practice. I'm sure his opportunities and production will come. He had a good training camp."
On the release of cornerback Jonathan Wilhite: "Jonathan's been with us three years, going on his fourth year. He primarily played in the slot -- played very capably -- we just felt like there were other players ahead of him. If we could keep more, we would. Unfortunately, we have to reduce the roster and not everyone can be here."
PATS CUT 11, INCLUDING SANDERS
The Pats are trying to get down to the mandatory number of 80 players by Tuesday's deadline.
On Monday, they released some players and they signed a couple. Here is the is the list:
Released:
- James Sanders, S
- Jonathan Wilhite, CB
- Matt Katula, LS
- Darnell Jenkins, WR
- Tyree Barnes, WR
- Malcolm Williams, DB
- Garrett Mills, TE
- Clay Nurse, DE
- Chris Koepplin, K
- Mark Wetterer, OL
- Kade Weston, DL
Signed:
- Ross Ventrone, S
- Tiquan Underwood, WR
- James Dearth, LS
There was a report that Eric Kettani was also let go, but the running back says he has not been contacted yet. With Wilhite and Sanders gone, this may mean that Darius Butler is off the bubble and back on the roster. Rob Ninkovich has been working at long snapper he may be the Pats' answer at that job, even though they just signed former Jets long snapper James Dearth.
PLAYERS TALK
The Patriots made three players available today via conference call. This happened after the players saw the film of Saturday night's loss to the Lions and heard about the cuts. The players were Jerod Mayo, Andre Carter and Deion Branch. Here are some of their comments:
Jerod Mayo:
On the Lions loss: "It was a bad game and we didn't execute the game plan," said Mayo. "We learned a lot from the film. Hopefully we can continue forward in a positive direction."
On the James Sanders release: "James is a great player," said Mayo. "It's not really my job to evaluate guys and how they do on the field. Coach [Bill] Belichick made the decision and I guess he felt that was best for the team. I have all the respect in the world for James Sanders."
Deion Branch:
On his quiet production this preseason: "I'd much rather go out there and execute the plays," said Branch. "As a receiver, you want the ball, but I understand what we're trying to do. Personally, I have confidence that [quarterback] Tom [Brady] will find me when he needs me, and when the coaches make the play call. I'm not stressing over the fact that I haven't caught the ball in the preseason."
Andre Carter:
On the loss and Detroit and watching the film: "It's one of those games, where, unfortunately, we didn't play to our best ability, to the level that we expect to play on," said Carter. "It's one of those games that you learn from and move on. We have to critique ourselves, whether win or lose... All you can really do with this is know that there are things to continue to work on, and things we should never do again."
