HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK
PRESS CONFERENCE
JULY 27, 2022
BB: Morning. We'll get started off in the red area, you can see the way the fields are lined, that'll be the emphasis here for a few days and we'll get into that – that's something we didn't do in the spring – and then at the end of the week should complete most of our basic offensive and defensive stuff and there's still a lot to do, but we'll have covered the major situations at that point and then roll into padded practices on Monday. That's it.
Q: Bill how's the first day of camp for you after so many years, do you still get excited about coming out here with the fans at practice and getting things going officially?
BB: Yeah, it's good to get started. We've been practicing since the offseason program back in April and then that ramped up, so this is kind of a continuation really of the spring workouts. And as I said, training camp next Monday when pads come on. But for the next four days this is really like phase three.
Q: How did you spend your vacation?
BB: It was great, good to have some time off and I spent a lot of it around Nantucket, so it was good.
Q: Did you read a book or something?
BB: Relaxing.
Q: Even though today is just an acclimation period, no pads on, what are you hoping to see?
BB: Just a continuation of phase three. Same thing we did in spring.
Q: You had a more normal offseason than the last two years, do you feel like first-year guys are just a little bit more accustomed to your program starting now?
BB: Sure, yeah. Definitely.
Q: In your opinion, what is the headline going into this season?
BB: I don't know. We're just taking it one day at a time.
Q: What's it like getting back to work with Malcolm Butler this offseason?
BB: Good, Malcolm's playing great. Been here the whole spring, worked hard, made a lot of improvement. We'll see what happens in training camp – for all of us.
Q: Is [Malcolm] going to be a full participant today?
BB: As far as I know.
Q: Bill, how much is this first couple of days more of a mental challenge for these guys than it is a physical challenge?
BB: It's the same thing as we've been doing all spring, so once we started the OTA's at the end of May, these days and these practices are the same as the OTA's and the days are the same as the veteran minicamp days. So, we're used to this, and then training camp will shift a little bit next week.
Q: Bill, since the last couple of years the training camps are changing, including the CBA --back in the day it was more physical. Do you think that's an advantage for the players, not to have that much physical contact? Or is it a disadvantage?
BB: Well, it's not for me to decide, so whatever the rules are, we'll try to make the most of our time and our opportunities.
Q: Bill, with Raekwon McMillan getting activated off PUP, what have you seen from him as he's worked his way back from injury last year?
BB: Raekwon works really hard, really smart player, has experience, understands a lot at the linebacker position, obviously there's a lot going on there, but he handles things well. Signal caller, multiple-position player. It's good to see him back out there. He looks like he's recovered very well and based on what we saw in the spring and limited looks here this first week, I'd say he's doing very well.
Q: As Matt Patricia transitions from defense to offense, have you given him any advice on moving from one side of the ball? Does he need it? Is it very different?
BB: He's been involved in that for the last four years, so no.
Q: How do you think that transition's going, has it been pretty seamless for him?
BB: It's not about a one-person transition, it's about putting together – four staff members went to Las Vegas, we had new staff members and new players, quarterback going into his second year, it was a lot of things going on, it's all got to come together on all the ends, it's not one person. All right, welcome to camp!
