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WEDNESDAY: Bill Belichick's press conference

The transcript of Bill Belichick's press conference on Wednesday:

BB: We're kind of pushing it along out there. We have a lot of people on the field and a lot of guys to work with. It's good. It keeps it moving. It keeps it fresh. A lot of different combinations of people. We're trying to work on a little bit of everything here -- passing game, running game, red area, two-minute stuff, all the special teams, blitzes. Just trying to just throw a lot out there and see what sticks.

Q: When a new linebacker comes into your system, what are some of the biggest challenges they face making the transition?
BB: Of course it would all depend on where the person came from, what his background was. Sometimes it could be like learning a new language. Sometimes it could be like learning an offshoot of another language. If you knew Spanish it would probably be a lot easier to learn Portuguese than Japanese. I think some of it just depends on what the background of the player was. I think the biggest thing are linebackers that play on the line and linebackers that play off the line. So if a guy is an off the line linebacker and he's trying to learn how to play on the line, that is more of an adjustment. Guys that are playing with their hand on the ground, to go from playing in a two-point stance, that is an adjustment. In some cases coverage is an adjustment depending on what level of coverage they been exposed to in another systems.

Q: You often talk about the year two jump for rookies. Do you ever see that same thing for a veteran who is new to your system in year one and in year two make the jump?
BB: Sure. I think any time a person is in one system and they have a year in it, they can grow a lot. Sometimes it's confidence and experience and just familiarity. Sometimes it's not as great because maybe the transition isn't as much. But, sure, I think that's second year is important at every level, both to a young player coming in and even a guy with a few years experience coming in.

Q: You always say that every year is a new year. What constants are there that you see in players every year and what constants as coaches do you use to help determine what a team is going to be like?
BB: I guess the constants are the things that are the same and the opponents that are the same. Again, just as an example of this year, there are so many changes in our division. A couple of new head coaches, six new coordinators, probably some new quarterbacks, it looks like it anyway. There are a lot of changes even if we didn't make any changes, just all those adjustments will be a lot. We changed the schedule to four NFC North teams. We picked up a couple of teams in the AFC, Houston and Tennessee, that we haven't played. Obviously there are a lot of changes at those places. There is some familiarity with some opponents and some of our players, but there's also a lot of newness with our players and a lot of new opponents, a lot of new coordinators, or new schemes. Even if it's the same scheme, like the Tampa scheme with a situation like with [Brad] Childress and taking his offense that we played against in Philadelphia but now with different personnel. That makes a difference. Those things are all different and I think you have to try to plan for them and try to prepare your team for them and as you get into the specifics of those game planning weeks then you fine tune it, but I think there are some things that we have to start getting ready for now that we know we are going to see. We know what we're going to see from Denver, Cincinnati and Indianapolis and teams like that, Jacksonville, that we've seen and we have some degree of familiarity with and there are some other teams that of going to be brand new. I think all of those changes start to interact a little bit.

Q: In terms of mini camp, you probably can't win a job in mini camp, but can you lose a job in this camp?
BB: I guess if it was bad enough you probably could. To me, the real competition starts in training camp. There is always a numbers issue, so I'm not saying that you couldn't have a personnel change and probably most teams will have a change between now and the start of training camp, but I think what you're really looking for in mini camp is to make sure that everybody is competitive and if you feel like going into training camp that for whatever reason a player wouldn't really be competitive on your team in a training camp environment, then you're better off trying to find somebody that is, whatever those combination of reasons are. I don't think maybe it's so much of a guy losing a job, but maybe it's a combination of circumstances that just lead you to feel that either it's not going to be competitive or in some cases sometimes the numbers are tilted such that we just don't have enough players in this position to be able to matchup against what we're going to have to work against in camp and therefore we're going to have to take one from this position where we're heavy and allocate another one to a position where we are light. Sometimes it's just kind of managing your team and managing your reps and your numbers.

Q: How is Matt Cassel progressing and is there a drastic change from where he was last year?
BB: Sure I think he's way ahead of where he was last year. He's working hard, making some progress. We'll see how it goes in the preseason, training camp, when it's real football. But again, there's a lot of teaching going on here. He's a smart kid. He learns things well. He picks up information pretty quickly. You don't have to keep repeating the same thing over and over again. He understands that. He has good comprehension. But when things start happening for real with pads on and a faster pace, the defense is doing different things and all that, we'll be able to measure that. He did a little bit last year at the end of the year in the Miami game, but it's a process that is far from complete. He's a kid that has some talent, but really hasn't had a lot of playing time. It's kind of unusual. We'll see how all of that works out.

Q: Is he ready to be a number two quarterback for an entire season?
BB:I don't know.

Q: Do you have a Plan B in place if not?
BB: Whoever the best players are, that's how it will go. The best player is in first and he plays the most. The next best player, second. The next best player, third. I don't know how that's going to turn out. I don't have any control over that. It's all decided on the field and that goes for every position.

Q: Since he is probably one of the most experienced guys currently on the roster behind [Tom] Brady . . . that is why I was asking.
BB: I don't know. I certainly wouldn't talk about any player that's not here as part of a roster because they're not on our roster. What's here is what's here.

Q: What do you think of Monty Beisel as a football player? What do you like about him?
BB: He's a smart kid. He works hard and is in good condition. I think he has a lot of positives and a lot of good traits and a lot of things going for him.

Q: You talked about constants. Troy Brown seems to be as close to a constant as you can get for player, especially for a guy that plays a skill position. Does he just continue to come back every summer and be what he was basically before?
BB: Yeah, well there are a lot of things to like about Troy. Troy has been a very consistent player for us and a very versatile one. We've asked him to do a lot of things and he's done a good job at those things. He's smart. He works hard. He's in good condition. He's unselfish. There's a lot of things to like about Troy. He's been productive in a lot of different areas. Every player has to reestablish himself, his performance, [and] his role each year. So there's nothing that's really any different for him or for anybody else this year or last year. It does matter, but in another way it doesn't really matter what happened last year. It really doesn't.

Q: He talked about having that feeling of he knows he has to make the team and he always has that every year. Is that one of the driving things that can keep a guy like him in the league a lot longer?
BB: I'm sure it is. I'm sure it is. Troy is very competitive and he works very hard. He stays on top of things. He makes very few mistakes. Football is really important to him and when he makes a mistake, he takes it hard and works hard to correct it. I think we all have a lot of respect for that. Again, he's been asked to do a lot of different things and he's done it with a great attitude and I think that's well respected too. He provides a lot of leadership. He may not necessarily be into team speeches, but just in his attitude and his work ethic and his unselfishness. Those are great examples.

Q: Defensively you've always said that you want to have a lot of flexibility on the line. Do you still have that or are you more heavy one way or the other, 4-3 or 3-4?
BB: I don't know. I think that's the type of thing you install in mini camp and even in training camp and see how you perform at it and see how flexible, not only your players are, but you are as a full team and how that comes together and that's kind of what training camp and some of the preseason games are for, is to see how versatile you can be. How much is too much and how much can the players handle, how many adjustments and different looks and when does it start running together, when does it work effectively as a changeup. Sometimes that varies a little bit from week to week depending on who you're playing. Just in general terms, I think the flexibility of your team is something that you have to kind of get a feel for in training camp and in the preseason and sometimes it takes longer than others. In our case, we don't build some of that flexibility until into the regular season and sometimes it happens earlier in camp. We'll give it to them. They'll learn it, how well we do it and how applicable it will be, that's something we're just going to have to wait and see on a little bit.

Q: Eugene Wilson was on the sidelines for quite a bit of stuff. Is he one of those guys working back from something?
BB: Well, we have some guys that are in different . . . I would say they are physically in different spots, so that's true for the entire team. Some guys are doing some things, other guys are doing other things.

Q: You never want to see anyone get hurt, but is there an upside to the injuries that now you have a lot of guys along the line that have experience, and a lot of guys in the secondary have a experience and maybe in a way that does build depth going into the season?
BB: When you're in a competitive situation you want to have all of your resources available, but what happens when somebody is not able to play, it provides an opportunity for somebody else and what they're able to do with that opportunity, that varies. But it does provide an opportunity for another player, sometimes a combination of players. What they do with that opportunity, Brady when [Drew] Bledsoe got hurt or whatever. There are other guys that get that opportunity and are not in the league. I don't think that ensures anything, but sometimes it does give guys a chance that maybe they would've have gotten but not as quickly as it happened or not in those set of circumstances. But we can't control that.

Q: In the team building phase, trying to create competition in training camp, that has to help there too because you have so many guys with experience both on the line and in the secondary now, where they all have experience playing and they're all going to be able to be in a competitive situation against each other.
BB: We hope that everybody on the team is going to be competitive and we'll just let that competition play out in camp. Like I said, if we don't think they'd be competitive, then we should get somebody else that we feel would be. The guys that we have we'll put them out there in camp and get them the reps and if they play well in practice and earn the opportunity to play in the preseason games, then we'll play them in those games and make our evaluations and go from there. But I don't think that's a right that anybody is entitled to. I think that's something that is earned, in the practice and the preparation opportunities that we structure prior to those competitive games.

Q: What is different about Tebucky Jones and his game now than when he first left after the '02 season?
BB: I don't know.

Q: Does anything jump out at you? Has he gained more experience?
BB: He had quite a bit of experience when he was here. I don't know . . . how long was the year? Four or five years? Whatever it was. It wasn't like he was here for just a cup of coffee. He was here and he played very competitively for us in a number of different spots, two safety positions, he played some linebacker spots in sub-defense, he played in the kicking game. We had a good background with Tebucky and I think that basically he's the same player that he was. I don't think too much has changed.

Q: He was an exceptional athlete. Have you seen that from your evaluation of him, that he is still very athletic?
BB: Well, I think he has pretty good athletic ability. We'll see how all of that matches up in a more competitive situation, but in the weight room and just watching him go through drills and that type of thing, I think that he pretty much looks like the same player that we had before. It hasn't been that long.

Q: I know every guy has that competitive fire in them, but are you ever surprised by a guy like Tom in that regard? Especially during something like this?
BB: Tom is a great competitor. He's a great player. I think there are a lot of guys that fall into that category. Tom is certainly one of them. I have a lot of respect for his preparation and his competitiveness on a day-to-day basis.

Q: Is there anyone you would compare him to that you've coached in the past?
BB: I think I've coached a lot of players that have a high competitive level. I don't know. How many players have I coached? Over a thousand. There are a lot of players that are high competitors. Tom is one of them. No question about it.

Q: Monty Beisel looks stronger. Was that something that you guys came upon from reviewing last year? Did he try to play too light last year?
BB: I don't think it's that much different.

Q: He just looks a little more cut than he did last year.
BB: He was pretty cut last year. I don't know. I don't think it's that much of a difference. It's not like he's 20 pounds heavier.

Q: He said he put on a few.
BB: I would have to take a look at it. We went through the player weights the other day. There wasn't anything that jumped out at me dramatically. It might be a few pounds.

Q: But it wasn't something that you told him to do?
BB: No. I'd venture to say that his playing weight is probably within five pounds of what it was last year, which would probably put it within one or two percent.

Q: On the roster, with guys like [Barry] Gardner, [Mel] Mitchell and Tebucky, would you expect them to contribute on special teams?
BB: I think anybody that makes our roster has to be a contributor on the team in some way. There's a lot of different ways for them to do that.

Q: Those are three guys who have had success in the past on special teams.
BB: I would think that would be a part of that, sure.

Q: How much does scheduling affect your team building process? Do you build your team according to who you will face this year?
BB: I don't it's so much building your team. I think you kind of build your team in a way that over the long haul, you feel like you have the best chance to be competitive against a variety of different opponents. But I think from a scheme standpoint, you want to have plays in your playbook and you want to work on them prior to the day before the game that are going to be applicable to the competition you're going to face. The most extreme example of that was the run and shoot offense. When we were in Cleveland and we played Houston twice a year and then ran a run and shoot offense, we had to put things in our playbook that were specifically designed to go against that and work on it, because like I said, you don't want to be pulling those out the day before the game and think that would work against Warren Moon and all the receivers that they had down there. You would put things in. Here we are a few years later and I wouldn't anticipate seeing that offense this year. That stuff is isn't in our playbook. I don't really see the need to put it in and I don't see the need to work on it. Not that we wouldn't see four receiver teams, but we are not going to see them run that style of play on an every down basis. So it just wouldn't demand that. When we were in Cleveland and you play a team like Pittsburgh that is a heavy blitz zone team, you better have some stuff in there that can handle those blitz zones because you're going to need it sooner or later. Offensively, you better have a way to protect it and you might need to design a couple of routes and then if you see that type of a defensive system along the way, then that's something you can draw from, but you know you're going to need it at least twice a year. But I think those are the kind of things that you want to at least, schematically, have a way to deal with. In your normal package of stuff, I'm sure you'll be able to deal with things like that anyway, but if it's something that you know you're going to see twice a year or more than twice a year, and you know it's going to be a problem, then you might as well start putting something in that's going to address that problem. Teams like the NFC North with Childress out there now, and Green Bay, teams that run the West Coast offense, defensively you better be ready for that system because you know you're going to see it a couple of times. When we talk about our defensive playbook, we want to make sure that we have stuff for those types of systems. It's the same thing offensively. Over and under teams, teams that run a lot of five-down type of look, some of the stuff that Denver did, things like that that you know you're going to see it, then you might as well have something in there to take care of it.

Q: That's more scheme, not necessarily personnel right?
BB: Yeah, and again, I think a lot of times your personnel, really, that is more driven by preseason and training camp as you see how everything is fitting together, who is going to be your sixth, seventh, eighth lineman. Who is going to be your fifth, sixth corner. I don't think you're going to cut your starting middle linebacker. If that is your best guy, that is your best guy. If your second tight end is your second tight end, then I don't think you're going to cut him. As you look to other positions on your roster and the depth of your roster, then you might try to decide what the best fit is for the team because you don't really know how much those guys are going to play anyway.

Q: What is your early read on Chad Jackson?
BB: I would put all of the rookies in pretty much the same category. I think they're working hard. We thrown a lot at them and I think they have a lot to try to absorb. But they're working hard at it. We had a couple of weeks with them where it was just them and that was good because it's more individual time and you can kind of take it a little bit slower. This week and last week things have gone at a quicker pace, more guys, fewer reps, more variables, more plays, more defenses, more stuff that can happen. But I think the exposure to that in the long run is good, but it's hard for all of them. But I think they're all working pretty hard to try to understand it and see where their mistakes are and try to correct them. It's kind of the normal teaching process.

Q: You said yesterday that it's the passing game that is the toughest thing for a rookie running back to adjust to. But for receiver, is there something in particular that you've seen generally they have a little trouble with?
BB: I would say generally speaking in college football you see very little press coverage. Most of the time you see the defenders well off the receivers, so they don't really have to deal with tight coverage at the line of scrimmage. You see a lot more that in this league and it's a lot tougher for the receivers to create separation and get open than it is in college where the defenders are starting so far away from them, in general. There are some teams that press, but generally speaking, the receivers see much tighter coverage in this league and also different combinations of coverage too, especially when you get to sub. You start putting five, six, sometimes seven defensive backs out there, there are a lot of different combinations and things that can happen. I think you see a lot more of that at this level than you do in college. In college some teams are still worrying about defending the option and stuff like that so it's not as applicable.

Q: What was your take on John Hannah's impact on a defense?
BB: We didn't play against John that much, but I think he's kind of a prototype guard, especially for that day. Not as tall as the tackles, but thick. Very hard to move. Had a lot of power. A lot of lower body strength. Had good movement in the running game. Of course when he played with [Leon] Gray it was hard to get much done on that side of the line. And that was a good offensive line that he played with. He was a strong, physical guy that could run, because he played left guard and a lot of teams like to run the ball off tackle to the right. And he was involved in a lot of pulling and trapping and he was very good at that. Again, he was a very explosive player, so on contact he could get movement and not just block a guy but actually create some movement and punch a hole open. He had great lower body [strength.] You couldn't power rush him. He was a strong player.

Q: How different are guards now? What has the progression been? Not that John was small . . .
BB: By today's standards. But, yeah, the size of the linemen has changed dramatically. I remember when I was at the Giants. We said we would never have a 300 pounder. The Jumbo Elliott's and Moore and all those guys. They were 285, 290. We would always say, 'Well, we're going to cap them at 299.' Now you can't find anybody under 300 on the offensive line, practically in the whole league. I think it depends. The guard is a position that really depends offensively on what kind of scheme you want to run. And those teams that run their guards a lot, that pull them, screens, pulling plays where they're blocking someone on the perimeter, stuff like that, those guards are much more athletic. They're usually a little bit lighter, they're quicker and they're asked a pull and play in space more. You see other teams that have the bigger guards, 330, 335, 340 and guys like that. There's always a handful of them that get drafted every year and to try to ask those guys to do the same thing that you ask a smaller, lighter, more athletic player to do is probably putting them at a big disadvantage. Those teams are usually more zone blocking and try to play in smaller space, play almost more like a tackle than a guard. I think it depends on what you're looking for. You look at Dallas and Jimmy Johnson and his lines down there. Those guards were enormous, but they never asked them to pull. They weren't a big screen team and the quarterbacks took short to medium drops and got the ball out of there on time and you couldn't power rush them because they were just too big. So if you're going to have a team that moves the pocket a lot and gets the ball on the perimeter and you want them to pull, you want them to run out and leads screens and stuff like that, then you better find a guy that's more athletic that can do that. So I think a lot of that depends on your system and that relates to the center position too because when you're playing a lot of over a and under fronts like a lot of teams are playing now it's hard to ask the guards to do it and not the center. If the guard has to pull, there's going to be times when they are covered and the center really has to be the puller and vice versa. If you're not going to pull your guards, then you're probably not going to pull your center either. I think there is some interaction there between those positions. So it kind of depends on what you're looking for. Chocolate. Vanilla. Depends on what your flavor is. What's hard is trying to mix and match them. That, I can tell you, is hard.

Q: You have to look at the sizes of both guards and center because you can't have them being different sizes?
BB: I think it's hard. I think it's hard to ask some 360 pound guy to zip out there in the flat and be the lead blocker on a screen and you're going to drop the quarterback short because you know you're not going to power rush and then have a 290 pound guy who is a really athletic guy but is going to have a hard time holding up against power guys and the quarterback is setting short. One plays into one guy's strength and the other plays into another guy's strength. I think those kinds of things are hard. I'm not saying they're unmanageable, but when I've coached in situations like that it's hard, because a play that helps one player's skills hurts the other player and then when you flip it and it's hard to find plays that play into both guys strengths. So it's a lot easier when you have a more consistent type of player.

Posted by Art  at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Step Right Up, We'll Guess Your Weight

FOXBORO - Day 2 of Patriots Minicamp brought another day of "That jersey makes him look fat..." conversations from those charged with chronicling the exploits of the great franchise.

During Bill Belichick's press conference, a writer asked Bill Belichick if linebacker Monty Beisel had put on some muscle during the offseason. Belichick said no, nothing worth noting.

The writer mentioned that Beisel himself said he'd put on more than a dozen punds. Belichick differed about said beefiness and said he'd check the weigh-in numbers but didn't think that was the case.

This was all very civil, by the way, it was just getting to be kind of funny. Then the writer said he thought Beisel looked a little more "cut." Which would be hard to tell because the fella was fully clothed. Instead of a shrug, though, Belichick said he thought Beisel was pretty "cut" last year.

At this point, i started staring at my shoes because the whole thing had gone two exits past amusing and entered into awkwardly hysterical.

Had the writer not folded his tent we might still be there talking about body fat and lats.

Ironically (or coincidentally...or maybe even interestingly) yesterday, I noted that Corey Dillon looked like he had something approximating his old explosiveness during practice. I thought he looked in fine fettle. My buddy from the Herald and Boston's ESPN Radio 890 thought Dillon looked out of shape.

Not only did Mike and I see Dillon differently, I commented on the fact that Johnathan Sullivan's 315 pounds were well distributed.

Felger called Sullivan a "fat tub of goo" (bonus points if you know what circumstance first made that phrase famous).

So I said to Felger today, "You thought he was fat?"

"Yeah, did you see his face?" he answered.

"Well his head alone probably weighs 44 pounds but other than that he didn't look fat to me."

Anyway, I pledge to cease all commentary on player physiques for the remainder of minicamp.

And "fat tub of goo" was used by David Letterman to describe Dodgers reliever Terry Forster way back when. You can Google it to get the right date, I don't feel like it.

Tom

Posted by   at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Working out the Kinks

Perhaps your loyal scribe needs a refresher on what constitutes full pads. For whatever reason, I said the Pats practiced with all equipment yesterday. They didn't. They had on shoulder pads, helmets and shorts.

As Robert de Vicenzo once said, "What a stupid I am."

Also, as my mother often said, ""Pay some (goshdarn) attention!"

Posted by   at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments 0