HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK
PRESS CONFERENCE
August 2, 2022
BB: Morning. Second day of camp this week, got off to a decent start yesterday, obviously a lot of things to work on. Hopefully we'll see some improvement today. We had a chance to go through the film, straighten some things out, guys getting used to being in pads. It's a little different, fundamentally, especially on the interior lines, receivers getting hit, DB's jamming them, and run force and so forth. Keep stacking these days together and get a little time here and see where we're at.
Q: Yesterday I heard you reference when Bill Russell visited the team about 20 years ago – what do you remember about that visit and what do you remember about Bill Russell?
BB: It was great. Bill's a great person; His comments on leadership, teamwork, unselfishness, are all outstanding. Very close with Jim Brown, so I got to know him through Jim. Both great people.
Q: Are you happy with where you guys are right now at this point in camp?
BB: One day into pads? We have a long way to go.
Q: You had Patrick Chung out here yesterday. You have a long lineage there, Lawyer Milloy, Rodney Harrison – what about that position has kind of evolved to the point where now you have four, five of those strong safety types?
BB: Pat was pretty versatile. Pat did a lot for us. We'll see how other players do. Each player has his own style, and certainly the game's changed a lot through the years, from Lawyer to Rodney to where we are in 2022. But yeah, I look forward to the group that we have. It's a good group and we have a lot of experience with Devin [McCourty]. Younger players, like [Joshuah] Bledsoe or Jabrill [Peppers], who hasn't been here – not that he's a young player, but he hasn't been here – and AP [Adrian Phillips], and [Kyle] Dugg[er], so pretty deep group, pretty strong group. Excited to work with those guys, see if we can get them all out there together and see what it looks like.
Q: We saw you working with offensive and defensive lines for one-on-ones yesterday, can you take us inside that process, first day of pads what you're working on with them in particular?
BB: I can't remember, there were a lot of different plays. Whatever I saw on that play, I can't —I don't know.
Q: Was there a general fundamental element?
BB: Yeah, there's a lot of fundamentals, absolutely. That's really what offensive and defensive line play is. It's 80 percent fundamentals.
Q: What's the other 20 percent?
BB: Recognition, anticipation. I mean, taking the talent part out of it, that is what it is. There's communication, anticipation, reaction. You line up that far away from the guy, it's all over in a hurry. Fundamentals are critical. Wide receivers, DBs, they line up 7, 8 yards away from each other at times, it's a whole different game. Sometimes they're nose-to-nose, too. They just have a lot more space.
Q: We saw a couple guys come back off PUP yesterday, do you expect James White to be able to participate today or sometime this week?
BB: When he's ready. That's not my decision. When he's ready, he's ready.
Q: What have you seen from Devin Asiasi in his third offseason? How much progression have you seen?
BB: Devin's made a lot of improvement; I think he's made a good jump this year as well. He's put in a lot of time, a lot of hard work, and I think that's been reflected in what we've seen in the offseason program, and spring practice, and so far in training camp. Physically, looks good. Mentally, the experience that he's gained and confidence he's gained – you can see that. We'll see how it goes as we get into competitive situations and a little more padded practices, we'll see how all that comes together. He's tracking well.
Q: With construction coming along inside the stadium, have you and Cam Achord started to talk about how different things, including the wind, could impact kicking game?
BB: Yeah we've definitely talked about it. When we're able to get into the stadium – we've had a lot of concerts and activity here – but when we're able to get into the stadium and start kicking – which is either today or tomorrow, I forget – and then we'll practice in there on Friday, that'll give us some opportunities to work it. Absolutely, I think that will definitely affect the game, certainly affect the kicking everywhere, but especially in the open – whatever end that is, the far end, the lighthouse end. Absolutely, for sure, that'll be a factor.
Q: Going back to the answer you gave last week about Nick Folk, is that why there's more value on having a smart kicker like him that can handle all those factors that come into play?
BB: Well, yeah, I mean, there's a lot to it. Yeah, I think it's a big advantage for him. There's a lot of good kickers in the league. Ultimately, it's just about performance and production. Nick's had a lot of it.
Q: On the subject of kickers and production and performance, Jake Bailey being extended – I guess that says a lot about his performance and production?
BB: Yeah, good to get that worked out. The way that the system, the NFL salary system works, in his particular situation it was a little bit unique. We hadn't really dealt with that before, but ultimately with Jake, and his agent, Doug Hendrickson, we were able to work it out, so it was good to get that done. Sort of a unique situation, took some time, but, they were great and we had great communication. Lengthy talks through it, and I think we've arrived at a point that everybody's comfortable with. Good to get it done.
Q: What have you seen from Mac the past week?
BB: You know, we had one day in pads out there, like I said, we have a lot of things to work on – everybody. Passing game, we worked on last week, we were better from Wednesday to Saturday, but this week's kind of a different type of game: early-downs, runs, play-actions, things we didn't work on last week. Some things look good, some things we have to clean up and execute better, so we'll see how it goes. String some days together and see where we're at. I don't think you can evaluate based on one play or one period, and that's really about all we've had.
Q: Some players were saying DeVante Parker's been a really nice fit on and off the field – what have you seen in that respect, and what's led to him gelling here naturally?
BB: We have a long way to go. DeVante has made some really good plays, some of things we're asking him to do are different – I don't know exactly what he did in Miami, but we had some coaches down there – Chad [O'Shea], and George [Godsey] – that had been here before, but I don't know how similar that is or isn't, doesn't really matter. But, yeah, he's shown up positively through the spring and through training camp. But, again, we'll see how everything fits together. Good to have him, great to work with him, we'll see how it goes. It's a very competitive position at receiver, there's a number of players there that have all been productive either here or in previous years that are back with the team, or shown up in the camps that we've had so far, so we'll see how all that sorts out.
Q: Going back to the defensive line, how does Henry Anderson look so far in training camp coming off his injury last season?
BB: Good. Henry was a full participant in the offseason program. He did everything from day one: all the lifting, all the running, all the drills and everything. So, I think that's all done with.
Q: We haven't seen Brian Hoyer for a few days – do you expect him back soon or is that looking like a longer time frame?
BB: No, I would expect him back fairly soon.
