Belichick Talks Lions, Injuries And Camp Competition
The New England Patriots are prepping for the second road trip to Detroit to play the Lions and on Tuesday afternoon Bill Belichick had his usual press conference at 1:45 p.m. and offered up some details surrounding their upcoming preseason contest.
Some of the highlights included:
 Bill Belichick addressed the media on Tuesday afternoon prior to the team leaving for Detroit. (FILE:USPresswire) |
Danny Amendola Injury’s Status- Asked about what his availability was, Belichick would only say that Amendola was day-to-day.
Closing in on a regular season schedule- ”We’re not really on a regular season schedule yet,” Belichick said. “But we’re closing in on it, this is a typical Friday type day, so we’ll practice situations, tag things together for the Lions’ game, fly out tomorrow and play on Thursday he said. “Short week with the turnaround but we can work on this for the regular season,” he added.
3rd Game Dress Rehearsal- Asked about the third game being a dress rehearsal type game for the regular season or with all the joint practices would he plan to play more of the players on the bubble, Belichick said, “I think they’re still a lot to be said about playing a game prior to the start for the regular season for the players to play, come in at halftime and go out and play again,” he said. “It’s a good experience.”
Asked about evaluating the total body of work that he alluded to at yesterday’s press conference, Belichick said, “It’s tough, sometimes during a preseason game you can have an aberration….but I’m not saying preseason games are not important but you look to get a good evaluation and a good evaluation may be the most important one.”
On Leon Washington- “He hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities but he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do and has worked hard, has a great attitude, great leadership for our team and the running back group.”
On “Doing Your Job”- Asked if sometimes bubble players can be doing “too much” Belichick answered, “I hope not…we always try to tell our players what is expected of them. It’s important with the situation they’re in about how they actually prepare.
Kyle Arrington’s Development- Asked about the change in Arrington since he’s arrived in Foxboro, Belichick said, “A ton…Kyle’s one of our most dependable players has been out there a lot and has come a long way from the practice squad.”
“He’s played on the corner, moved inside, always a strong role in the kicking game, his reads, and techniques on what we’re doing and what our opponents are doing has improved every year.”
Belichick expounded upon that and said the corner group as a whole is much more versatile than the team has had in the past in terms of being able to play inside and outside.
Running Back/Punting Competitions- Belichick talked about each of the players having unique skills and each players have their own strengths. “It’s interesting,” he said. “It’s a talented group, they all have good strengths, running it, catching it, returning it …They’re all a little bit different in style….Its good, the diversity really helps the overall depth you have on your team but it is difficult to evaluate.”
On Detroit- “They’ve always had good backs, receivers and can hurt you in a number of different ways,” he said. ”If you shift your emphasis somewhere else, they can hurt you anywhere on the field.” He added, “they challenge you in a variety of ways.”
Later we’ll have a practice report and hear from the players….
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