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Bill Belichick Conference Call Transcript 10/3

Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick addresses the media during his conference call on Monday, October 3, 2016.

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Q: What will Tom Brady have to do to get back on board and up to speed with the team in his return?

BB: Well, we'll just take it day by day and see where he's at and just go forward one day at a time.

Q: Does that involve him needing to get up to speed with the playbook or the game plan or is it a little bit of everything?

BB: Yeah, football is everything. I don't know how you can do one thing and not do something else or not be able to do something else. You have to be able to do it all.

Q: What has the league informed you about the timetable for carrying both Tom Brady and Rob Ninkovich before having to make roster moves to account for them?

BB: I don't have an exact answer for that right this second. Why don't you call the league and ask them? I'm sure they have the answers.

Q: What are some of the challenges Cyrus Jones is facing in the kick and punt return game transition from college to the NFL?

BB: I'm sure the kickers in this league are better than the kickers in that league [SEC]. The coverage is faster, there are better players.

Q: Does that mean he has less time to decide on whether or not to make a return?

BB: Well, no, I didn't say that. In college, I mean everybody on the punt can go downfield as soon as the ball is snapped so that's a different rule, so there's people down there on punts in some respects faster in college than there is in the NFL. It still comes down to decision making but I think the players are better. The kicks are different; rugby-type kicks a lot of colleges use and things like that. So, it's just different like at every position between college and the National Football League.

Q: How would you assess Cyrus' transition in that phase of the game thus far?

BB: I think I said it yesterday - there's a lot of room for improvement in everybody, every player, coach, everybody that was involved in the game so you can put everybody into that category.

Q: What were you told by the officials after the play they nullified due to them not being set and in position?

BB: That's the officials call in that situation. It's not anything we control. So, that's their decision, that's their call.

Q: Were you told anything specific by the crew?

BB: Again, you should talk to the league or ask [referee] Pete Morelli about it.

Q: What did you see from Chris Hogan's two penalties on the first offensive play of the game for your offense and what kind of teaching points can that provide going forward?

BB: I saw what was called. 

Q: Was the holding downfield called before the pass was completed? Is that how you saw it?

BB: Yeah, I think the rule is pretty clear on that. Yeah.

Q: What have your thoughts been on the play of Martellus Bennett thus far through the first four weeks?

BB: I think Marty [Martellus Bennett] has done a good job, worked hard, done a good job in all of the areas of the game; pass protection, passing game, blocking. He has handled a lot of different assignments which is part of that position. So yeah, he has done a good job for us.

Q: What are your impressions of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor as he continues to develop in this league?

BB: A big kid, very athletic, big catch radius, strong runner after the catch, is really an athletic guy, fast, big and fast, athletic. He's done a good job of making the transition from quarterback to receiver, although he still plays some quarterback. He's an impressive athlete, a very impressive football player.

Q: How does Tom Brady's presence back in the locker room impact your team?

BB: That'd just be speculation at this point. He hasn't done it.

Q: Will having him back in the building change anything?

BB: I mean it's great to have Tom and Rob [Ninkovich] back, but I can't tell you. I can't answer the question. I mean I haven't seen it. It'd just be pure speculation. It's good to have them back. I'm not going to speculate on what will and won't happen on anything going forward because that's all it would be - it would just be speculation. 

Q: How close was Jimmy Garoppolo to playing? What went into the decision to keep him inactive?

BB: Well, the decision to make him inactive was just like the decision to make the other six players inactive. I mean we do that every game. Every game there's seven inactives. 

Q: Was that a surprise to you that he was inactive?

BB: We listed him on the injury report with everyone else. That's what we based it on on Friday when we we're required to list that. So that's what we did, just like we did with everyone else that was or wasn't on it. If they weren't on it then that was their status. If they were on it then that was their status from what we knew at that time. 

Q: Do you feel like he had a chance to play?

BB: We listed the inactive players as inactive. Inactive players can't play. They're inactive.

Q: I'm talking about more if you thought he had a chance on Friday or Saturday?

BB: We listed him as questionable. So, when we list a player as questionable it's 50-50 that we think they can play. That's why they're listed as questionable. I mean look, you can't do an injury report every five minutes. So five minutes after the injury report or five minutes after that, and you know, at some point that 50-50 either goes to they can play or they can't play. We listed him on the injury report based on what we knew at 4:00 p.m. on Friday or at whatever time the injury report was turned in. That's what it was. 

Q: Are those two neutral zone penalties obvious calls or are those calls that you might get in any game depending on how close the crew locks in on that?

BB: I don't know. If the head linesman calls him in the neutral zone then he's in the neutral zone. I mean, I don't really understand the question. It doesn't really matter what I think. It doesn't really matter what you think either. The officials are officiating the game based on what they see and that's their job and that's what they're doing. 

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