New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addresses the media following a morning walkthrough practice at Gillette Stadium on Monday, August 11, 2008.
BB: We walked through some stuff this morning trying to get caught up and correct some mistakes from last Thursday. We are moving forward and this is a big week for us. We have a couple of days to work on things that we need to work on. Later in the week we will start working on Tampa. That is a great game for us because what they do is a lot different from what we do on offense and defense. It gives us a look at a different scheme against a quality team with a great coaching staff led by coach [Jon] Gruden. We have a big week ahead of us and we have to try and make every day, practice, meeting and walkthrough count. We want to try and take some strides this week towards getting ready for the start of the regular season.
Q: Can you talk about Richard Seymour and how he is compared to this point last year?
BB: He was on PUP [Physically Unable to Perform List] last year and missed the first seven games. He is way ahead of where he was last year with being able to participate in training camp. He has done well and it is good to have him out here.
Q: Can you talk about how versatile your group of running backs is?
BB: It is a good group. It is a good competitive group. We have a lot of confidence in the guys that have been here. Of course LaMont [Jordan] has only been here a short time but he has shown us a lot of positives already in the first game and in practice situations. It is a good situation and a competitive group.
Q: How is Sammy Morris doing?
BB: Sammy is doing well. He had a good off-season and a good spring. He has had a good training camp. It is good to get him back. We missed him but it is good to have him back now. I am sure he will add a lot of production and versatility to our team on offense and in the kicking game.
Q: How will the loss off Tank Williams affect the team with the versatility he added to this team?
BB: It is unfortunate. Tank worked hard and did a great job for us. Unfortunately he is going to be out. We have to move on. He has come back well from this type of injury before so I am sure he will work hard to come back from this one.
Q: Have you discussed or decided how much the starters will play against Tampa Bay?
BB: No, we are just trying to get better here during the next few days. We will look at the game later on in the week.
Q: How, if at all, does the focus in practice change after you have played the first preseason game?
BB: It is more specific. The things that we haven't done yet or think that we will need during the season. I don't want to say it is stuff that we are behind on just things we haven't had a chance to cover. We are going to make sure we get those done then we are going to get ready for Tampa. After that, we have two games back to back and there are not a lot of extra days in there. We will just be getting ready for Philadelphia [Eagles] and the [New York] Giants. Just to try and give our guys a chance to prepare for those games and have some idea of what to do. This is really the big week for us. Those next two games will come back to back and we will have to take those as they come. This is more of a teaching week and it is a week to catch up on some things that we are behind on or to get ahead on some things that we know we are going to need to address.
Q: Can you talk about the moves in the division with Chad Pennington going to Miami [Dolphins] and Brett Farve going to New York [Jets]?
BB: Right now, I am only concerned about our team and what we need to do. I will let everybody else worry about their team.
Q: After the walkthrough, you guys went over to meet with some kids. Can you talk about how that was?
BB: Yeah, it's AccessSport. They do sports for handicap kids. I have worked with them and their foundation. Part of the proceeds of 'The Education of a Coach' went to them. It was good to see those kids out there and it certainly gives us an appreciation for some of the things we are fortunate to have.
Q: Can you talk about what cornerback Jeff Shoate brings to the team?
BB: He has a little bit of experience in the league. He gives us a little bit of depth in the secondary where we felt like we needed it.
