Patriots Training Camp Blog: Thoughts From Belichick
FOXBORO (CBS) - As the First preseason game approaches, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had some thoughts how he is going to approach it. He has not contacted Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio to discuss the game, saying both sides will "do what we need to do."
Here's what else the coach had to say at Tuesday's press conference:
The leap from first to second year players: "Well, I would say every player in the league that's in that category is dealing with the same set of circumstances. I still think that the players that were here last year have gained a lot in terms of experience and knowledge of our system, and just being a professional football player and playing for the New England Patriots. They're way, way, way ahead of where they were last year. Could they have gained some in the offseason? You'd like to think so, but that didn't happen, so, we're not worried about that. We'll just move forward. But I think all those players, you can see a different player from what we saw last year at this time"
On Haynesworth missing practice: "I'd put him in the day-to-day category. He's getting some treatment and I think he will be back out there as soon as he can. I think he's working really hard and hopefully he'll be back at it there in a matter of, hopefully, a day or a matter of days."
Any sense of urgency from players with a short camp?: "I would say this looks like training camp and there's always that sense. We have 90 players and the roster has to be cut to 53 in a few weeks, so that's obvious. That's not a new story, but we all know that's what the situation is — there's a lot of competition out there and these are very competitive athletes, and they respond to the competition because of what their aspirations and goals are. It's always that way. It may be 80 to 53 instead of 90 to 53, but you still cut your roster down. I don't think it's too much different."
On The Patriots Receiving Corp: "We've got good depth there. We've got 11 guys working. I think they're practicing hard. Again, it's starting all over again as far as timing and execution in the passing game — that's always a challenge. I think they've responded well to the practices and what we're doing, and I see that group improving. I think it's a very competitive group. It'll be interesting to see how things go with — when you take into account the special teams responsibilities and competition overall as a receiving group – we'll see how that goes, but I would say right now that it's deep and it's a strong competition."
