HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

Press Conference
Thursday, August 1, 2019

BB: We're working into our second week here, starting to add in some situational football, so that'll continue to be a part of what we do here over the next two-to-three weeks. Each day, either working on something or reviewing something that we've already covered, but we're in a time frame where we need to get from basic situations to some specific situations, and we still have a lot of work to do on a lot of our basic fundamentals and plays. But, we've got to continue to move on. That's where we're at. We'll keep doing that. I think players are in good shape. I think they're working hard. We've still got a long way to go and we've got a lot of things we need to get improved. We'll just keep taking it day-by-day, and try to string them together.

Q: How much progression have you seen from Jonathan Jones?

BB: He's a good player. He does a really good job. Of course he's versatile, he does a lot of things. Smart, very competitive, tough. I'm glad we have him. He's a good football player. 

Q: How long do you hang onto a tough practice for teaching lessons, or do you just move on?

BB: We have a lot of mistakes in every practice. That's where we're at – correcting them and trying to improve the next day.

Q: Do you get back to basics and focus more on the fundamentals?

BB: That's what we've been doing. 

Q: How important is it to build a standard for young players, so that when they don't practice well, you can see how they respond to that situation?

BB: Look, we all have plays out there that could be better, that we'd like to have back or whatever it is. I don't care who you are – head coach, starting player, backup player, rookie player – we all have them. Correct them and move on. That's what training camps for. Try to have as few as possible, but it's football. It's competitive on the other side of the ball, too. You're going to make mistakes, you're going to learn things and see things that you could have done better, coached better, played better, whatever it is. So yeah, we're all doing that. 

Q: How do you think Jamie Collins developed while he was with the Cleveland Browns?

BB: You'd have to ask Jamie that. I can't really speak to Cleveland. I wasn't there.

Q: Is there a difference you see in him as a player?

BB: He's been great. He had a great spring, he's had a good training camp. I think he's done everything we've asked him to do and he's done it well. I'm glad we have him. I think he'll help our team. 

Q: How have you seen Gunner Olszewski and Danny Etling progress as receivers?

BB: I think everybody's making progress out there. I mean, you go out there and practice every day, everybody's getting better. Just competing against each other, and there's still a lot of room for improvement for all of us, so we'll just see where it goes. I think everybody's making progress that's out there. And the guys that aren't out there, I think they're making progress too. Hopefully some of them are close to returning. Well, they definitely are. They're closer. I mean, look, you're here every day working from, whatever, 6:30 in the morning until 8:30 at night. I hope we're getting better. 

Q: As teams get deeper into training camp and realize where they have needs and surplus at positions, why aren't there more trades in the NFL?

BB: Well, there'll be a lot of player transactions here probably in a couple weeks – a week to a couple weeks. I don't think you're seeing them now because I think people are still trying to figure it out. They're letting their players compete and they're trying to – I don't know – you might see the surpluses and lack of them. Maybe you have a pretty good eye for those things. I don't know. I don't know what they are, I don't think other coaches know what they are either. I think that's what we're all trying to figure out. So we'll see how it goes. What you have on paper and what you actually have on the field definitely aren't always the same thing, so it takes a while. It's a process to get to that point, and sometimes you have to make decisions without a lot of information, and then you just have to guesstimate at it. But, as more information comes in, I think you'll see more transactions, however the players get transacted. It doesn't have to be a trade. It could be other ways for players to exchange teams, but I think there's no question that you're going to see a lot more of that as time goes on.

Q: Where do you see the greatest change in Stephon Glimore's technique from when he got here until now?

BB: Steph was a pretty good football player when we got him. But again, when you've been in an area or in a program for a period of time, you get used to doing things the way that that particular team does them. It doesn't mean that somebody else is wrong, it's just different, and sometimes there's an adjustment period. But I think the credit for what he does goes to him, really. Yeah, he's been coached, but he's the one who's put in the time, the work, the dedication, and the commitment to develop the consistency that he has. So they work hand-in-hand, but I think I think you've got to give him a lot of credit for what he's been able to do. I think he's been well coached, I think the coaches that he's had have done a good job with him – I'm not saying that – but Steph's a hard-working kid that's very committed and dedicated to his craft. I respect that, and that's the reason why he continues to improve as a player, even at this point in his career. He's always looking to get better at things, and he does.

Q: Is there a reason why we haven't seen Isaiah Wynn in many competitive situations in camp?

BB: There's a reason why everything happens in camp, yeah. 

Q: Is he behind where you thought he would be at this point?

BB: We take everything day-to-day.

Q: Did you have any interactions with Nick Buoniconti?

BB: Yeah, a little bit. Not a lot. I met him and talked to him a couple times, but no I didn't have a lot of personal interaction with him. 

Q: Do you feel good about the left tackle situation?

BB: We have a lot of things that we need to work on, in every area of the team; everything. So I don't think I feel good about anything right now. I don't feel necessarily bad about it. We'll see how it is. Start to find out when we're in competitive situations in the next couple weeks. Might not really know where we are on some things until the middle of the season. I don't know, we'll see.

Q: What do you think of Dan Skipper as a player?

BB: Skip's a hard working kid. He's got a lot of length, pretty athletic for his size. Doesn't have a lot of experience. Played right tackle, played right guard last year in Detroit. He's worked on the left tackle, he's also played right tackle. He joined us late last year. It was after the season when he joined the team, so this is kind of really his first crack at it. But he works hard, he gets better every day, and we'll see.

Q: Are you still in the same position with Josh Gordon, just waiting?

BB: We don't have anything to do with Josh Gordon. He's suspended. You need to talk to the league. We have no control over Josh Gordon.

Q: Do you see a possible role for Terrence Brooks on defense?

BB: Sure. I see a role for anybody who can earn one. That's what training camp is for.

Q: Has Mike Pennel impressed you early?

BB: Again, I think all the players are out there working hard. They're all improving. There's good competition. We have good competition in a lot of spots – that'd be one of them. We'll see how it all plays out.

Q: Jakobi Meyers has been a receiver for a while now, but he has quarterback in his background. Has that helped him at all as he transitions to this level?

BB: Yeah, well he's a smart kid and he understands, and has versatility, understands the offense. Like any rookie, any young player, there's a lot of things he needs to work on technique-wise – recognition, route adjustments – just a lot of fine points. He basically knows what to do, but there are a lot of subtleties and nuances that all receivers need to pick up – certainly in our offense – and he's doing that. There's more than we've had to get down, but he's making progress there. Whether that comes from his quarterback background, or his experience, or his intelligence, or his learning, I'm not really sure. But that's not really an issue. He's a smart kid, and he learns well.

Q: What did you see from Nick Buoniconti's career, whether it be from your attachment in New England or in general?

BB: Yeah, I mean I haven't really spent a lot on that one, so I don't want to – I mean obviously, he had a strong career. He had a great passion for the game, and was very connected to the game through his son. As an NFL Alumnus, he was very active in a lot of those events and so forth. But again, I didn't have a strong personal connection to him.

Q: Jakobi was talking about how he's making a special effort to get coaching. Is that proactive attitude something you like in a player?

BB: Yeah, I mean, they're all getting plenty of coaching, so I don't think that's a problem. But, sure, the more you learn, the more you know, the more you can understand about what you do, what the people around you do, what the defense is doing, what the people on the other side of the ball are doing. I mean, that's all good. That's all eventually going to work to your advantage, the more you can understand the big picture and all of it. It's hard to get everything the first time around, sometimes the third, fourth time around you hear things, or you hear things said to the guy next to you, or maybe the defender that's across from you. You hear the coach correcting him, and it just helps you learn more about the overall of your position, the area that you're involved in. I think we have a lot of guys on our team that fall into that category, but understanding the big picture is certainly the goal, more than just memorizing an assignment. I mean, you have to know what to do, but the more you can understand the total concept of what's going on, then really the easier it is to execute.