Patriots HC Bill Belichick

PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

PRESS CONFERENCE

August 8, 2023

BB: Alright, well, getting close here to Houston. Still working on things we need to work on, also start preparing for Houston, so it’s a little bit of a combo practice, some combo meetings, combo days. Roster addition – we added Trey [Flowers]. You know, we’ll see how that goes. He won’t be practicing right away, so I think that’s about where we’re at here.

Q: Just your thoughts on what Trey can add to this team?

BB: Well, we’ll see. He hasn’t played in a while, got injured in September of last year, so yeah, we’ll see.

Q: Did I hear you right? You said he won’t practice right away?

BB: Yeah, that’s right.

Q: Does he bring any value as just a veteran for some of the younger players that play a similar position?

BB: Yeah, I’m sure he will.

Q: Why?

BB: Look, I haven’t seen Trey in a few years, but he’s been a hardworking guy, loves football, competes well, smart player.

Q: For Thursday night, does that look like the type of setup where the team’s lesser experienced players will probably start the game and play the bulk of the game?

BB: Just like all the NFL [opening] games, yep.

Q: What is your expectation for the first game out?

BB: To give the players a chance to play and see how they perform in contact situations. They’re somewhat limited out here, but it’s putting it all together, not just a drill or fitst-and-10s, 7-on-7s, it’s real football. Things change quickly, they’ll have to make in-game adjustments, how they compete, physicality, and a lot of guys will get a chance, so we’ll see how it goes.

Q: How tough are you with the evaluation following preseason games?

BB: Every day is an evaluation. We try not to put too much weight on the games, certainly they’re important. We’re out here at training camp; this is a big part of the evaluation. I wouldn’t want to minimize what we do out here on the field.

Q: As far as the preparation for Houston, how deep does that go?

BB: There’s no film on Houston, so it is what it is. New staff, new system, but we want to give our players a chance to go out there and have some idea of what to expect, what to do. If we have to adjust, we have to adjust, but we have to start somewhere. We’ll start with what we think we know and go from there.

Q: Is it instructive to be watching 49ers film with Coach [DeMeco] Ryans taking over?

BB: Yeah, I’m sure that’ll be relevant.

Q: How have you seen Marcus Jones develop at the cornerback position?

BB: Way ahead of where he was last year. I don’t think he was practicing until the middle of August, late August. With a training camp and a year under his belt, a year of regular season and the offseason, good, he’s made a lot of progress. All those second-year guys have. I wouldn’t certainly limit it to him, but he’s done a good job and knows a lot more, understands more, is more familiar with who he’s playing against and what we’re doing.

Q: How have you seen Tyquan Thorton develop? I know he’s missed a little bit of time this summer.

BB: Yeah, same thing. Better than last year, a much better idea of what to do, how to do it, how to prepare, what to expect. He’s a smart kid, works hard, understands a lot.

Q: What’s your plan for Thursday night with the snap counts for each quarterback?

BB: Yeah, we’re still working on that, but the players who are least experienced will get the most playing time. I can tell you that.

Q: Will Mac start?

BB: Yeah, I don’t know.

Q: Just seeing Malik [Cunningham] take some quarterback snaps yesterday, obviously we know his background, how much is that …

BB: Yeah, we’ll see. He’s done a little bit in the past. We’ll see how it looks in practice, maybe we’ll use it some in the game, I don’t know.

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