Q: How do you think the past three days went?
BB: Windy.
Q: How good was it to have windy conditions like that today?
BB: Whatever we get, we get. We can't control that, just like on game days.
Q: Is it particularly helpful in the passing game and the punt return game to see the ball take some different bounces in the wind and to see how the players react?
BB: Yeah. We're going to get it sooner or later, so whenever it comes, it comes. We can't control it. Whatever the conditions are, we'll deal with them.
Q: Do you feel like you guys accomplished what you hoped to accomplish in these three days of mini-camp?
BB: It's just an extension of the OTAs, so it's just all part of the whole spring.
Q: What were some of the highlights for you over the last three days?
BB: It's just the day-by-day progression. It's just building blocks, just trying to get better each day.
Q: Are there any players who have stood out to you so far through OTAs?
BB: It's really a teaching camp. We have OTAs next week too.
Q: What's it like to have Dante Scarnecchia back on the field?
BB: Good, really good. Not just on the field but in meetings and just being around. It's great.
Q: There was a report that Michael Williams suffered an ACL injury - can you offer anything more on that?
Check out some of the best images from Patriots mini-camp practice at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, June 9, 2016.
Deatrich Wise, DL
Rob Gronkowski, TE
Rob Gronkowski – The All-Pro tight end's status coming off his AFC title game concussion was a major storyline early in Super Bowl week. He returned to the practice field on a limited basis during the bye week and is now expected to be on the field on Super Bowl Sunday as a key weapon against the Eagles impressive defense.
Tom Brady – The G.O.A.T. holds virtually every playoff and Super Bowl record for quarterbacks as he looks to secure his sixth ring against Philly's No. 4 overall defense. Brady heads into the big game as hot as he ever has with five touchdowns and no interceptions this postseason in consecutive games with a passer rating above 100.
Patrick Chung – New England's veteran safety was recently called one of the best players in the game by his head coach and an obvious top contributor to his defense. He had some issues early on in the AFC Championship and will need to bounce back as a key defender against Eagles tight end Zach Ertz as well as his usual role as an in-the-box factor against a versatile offense.Â
Kyle Van Noy – In little more than a year, and given the loss of past Super Bowl hero Dont'a Hightower, Van Noy has become an invaluable member of the New England front seven. He will be critical in dealing with Philly's effective RPOs (run-pass options), pressuring Nick Foles and slowing the Jay Ajayi-led rushing attack.
Brandin Cooks – Cooks is coming off a big AFC title tilt in which he notched his first-career 100-yard playoff game while also drawing a couple key penalties. The Eagles cornerbacks may be the weakness of the defense that's susceptible down the field, where Cooks makes his money in New England.
Nick Foles – Foles' place in the Super Bowl spotlight is obvious given the banners in Minneapolis with his image across from Tom Brady's. His resume obviously doesn't match up with TB12's as he looks to go from journeyman backup to Super Bowl champion, but he's in the midst of an impressive postseason with 78-percent completions, three touchdowns and no interceptions and a 122.1 passer rating in two victories.Â
BB: I don't think we're doing injury reports here. Maybe the league will require us to do those.
Q: Can you talk about Keshawn Martin and Nate Washington at the wide receiver position and how they worked together where one is familiar with your system and the other is learning it?
BB: Yeah. Nate [Washington], they played it in Houston, so he's kind of familiar with it. Those guys have done a good job. I think our receiver group overall has done well – gotten open, caught the ball. Nate and Keshawn [Martin] have both done a good job.
Q: Malcolm Mitchell and Aaron Dobson have also made some impressive plays out there…
BB: Yeah. Our receivers have been good. We have good competition at that position and they've all showed up and made plays down the field, caught the ball well. It's been good.
Q: What are your initial impressions on Clay Harbor after working with him?
BB: Professional. Works hard. He's a versatile guy. He's done a lot of different things. Philadelphia and Jacksonville, he did the same thing, special teams and offense. Hopefully a number of roles if he can do them and get an opportunity to do them.
Q: How valuable is it for scouts to see coaches working with players doing different things in these practices?
BB: I think it's good for the scouts. They have to go out and compare guys to what we're doing, project them against the competition here and also project what they'll look like doing the things that we've asked them to do, which they may not have been asked to do at wherever it is they've seen them, so I think it's definitely helpful.
Q: Do you think it helps the scouts better understand what coaches look for?
BB: Yeah, I think that's part of it, just understanding our system, our coaching staff. I think that's definitely part of it, sure.
Q: How valuable are these practices for the coaching staff in learning what you need to teach going forward?
BB: It's important for us too. I haven't coached since last January. I've been doing other things – evaluating players, working guys out, draft stuff, offseason projects and things like that. Now we're back on the field coaching so we need to sharpen up our skills too.
Q: Is there anything specific that went into the decision of holding mini-camp in the middle of OTAs this year?
BB: We just did what felt like was best scheduling-wise.
Q: Do you see Shea McClellin as both an on and off-the-line player or is that still to be determined?
BB: Yeah, I think he's a smart kid who's got versatility. We'll see how it all plays out, I don't know.
Q: Is that a decision you have to make, whether to start him on or off the line, or will you just see how it goes?
BB: Yeah, you're right. You've got to start him somewhere, but again, a lot of time in training camp and in these camps, we move guys around. We try to tell them that even know they're playing one position, to pay attention to another position because they could end up there. I'm sure at some point, almost everybody moves around if they can.
Q: If you move a guy from outside to inside, what are the challenges they face from a physical standpoint?
BB: I think it's just a different game. I don't know if it's a big physical difference. You're seeing guards instead of tight ends and all that, but it's the way you see the game. Things happen on both sides, but you're playing the game from the inside out. As on outside guy, you're really playing the game from the outside in. You just see one side. You see the whole game from a side view as opposed to an inside view looking from the inside out. I think it's instinctively quite a bit different. Physically, there are some differences, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. I don't want to say it's like looking at it upside down, it's not that dramatic, but it's a lot different. It's seeing the game inside out as opposed to outside in.
Q: Is it kind of like how centerfielders in baseball see the ball off the bat as opposed to the view when they're playing left field?
BB: Yeah, except you've got a lot more guys you're looking at. You're not just looking at one running back. You've got blockers, receivers, it's a lot different.
Q: What skills does Cyrus Jones have on the punt return that might translate to this level?
BB: I mean, he led the nation last year, so I don't know, we'll see. We have good punt returners. I don't know who the best one is. We'll let them compete and find out.
Q: Is this the time of year you like to get into more of the coaching aspect, getting into different groups and pointing things out to a bunch of different guys?
BB: Not consciously. You might have noticed that more than I did. I try to do that all the time. I try to coach the whole team, not just one spot or one guy.
Q: Does D.J. Foster have experience punt returning?
BB: Another skilled player. Some of these guys can do it but they didn't do it in college because there was another guy doing it, or they wanted to use younger players doing it. Maybe they had done it earlier in their career, something like that, I don't know. In the NFL, when you have limited guys, limited guys on your roster on game day, if a player can do an extra job or maybe even back up at the position, there's value there. Especially in the kicking game, there's a lot of that – guys that maybe they can do something for us, they just haven't done it, so we'll take a look at it and see what it looks like. [Julian] Edelman never returned punts. You never know until you get into it. Some guys have a good feel for it, some guys don't.
Q: Do you remember when Julian Edelman first dropped his first few punt returns in camp?
BB: Yeah, it's a lot different catching from these punters, too than in college. These guys punt some tough balls; they've got a lot of hang time, plus the wind and all of that. But just an NFL punter, those balls are a lot tougher to catch than high school and college ones so it takes a little getting used to.
