Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick

PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

PRESS CONFERENCE

August 22, 2023

BB: Alright, good afternoon here. So, we’re kind of working into kind of the last official week of training camp here. We had a really good week there in Green Bay, so now it’s trying to build on that, clean up some things on this end and obviously get ready for Tennessee, kind of our last preseason opportunity. A couple of good days here, then head down to Tennessee on Thursday. We should get a couple of guys back on the practice field that weren’t in Green Bay. We’ll see exactly where they are, but I think we should have a couple players back that weren’t with us down there. So yeah, that’s the updates. That’s what we got.

Q: Any chance Calvin Anderson is one of those?

BB: Yeah, we’re working through a few guys here. So yeah, we’ll see.

Q: Any update on Isaiah [Bolden] and how he’s doing?

BB: Yeah, he’s in the concussion protocol.

Q: Is there an ideal point before week one where you would want to have your five guys on the offensive line kind of set and established?

BB: I mean, we’re still working through a lot of things here. We don’t even have a final roster yet, so we’ll see how it goes.

Q: Coach, I was wondering what you saw from Bill Murray at right tackle. It seemed like the first time that we’ve seen him there. It seemed to suit him well.

BB: Yeah, I thought Bill did a good job. Of course, he’s been working on the o-line the whole way, and then he missed the Houston week, so it was good to get him back out there in Green Bay and have a chance to get back out there and work. So yeah, we’ll just keep building on that, see what happens this week, but it was good to have him out there. I thought he did a solid job there. They have a couple good edge players, and he was competitive against them.

Q: Riley Reiff came here with obviously a lot of experience at tackle. He played right guard at the game. How did he look and how has that transition been for him so far?

BB: Yeah, Riley’s had experience really playing all four of the offensive line positions, both guards, both tackles. I’ve talked with him about it multiple times. He’s pretty comfortable everywhere, wherever we need him. He’s great, great to work with, good communicator, gives a lot of leadership in there, experience and versatility. So, it’s been good.

Q: I take it that type of versatility is pretty key, right? As a veteran on the offensive line?

BB: Yeah, well it’s always good to have that. You don’t need it from everybody, but it’s good to have it from a couple people, so you have some flexibility.

Q: Bill, what stood out to you about Ameer Speed in his first camp here?

BB: Well, you know, he’s a developmental player. He’s big, he’s long, he’s fast, and so we’ll see how that comes along. He was a one-year starter there at Michigan State, but has played in the kicking game. So, development, you know? He’s coming along. Better last week than the week before, so we’ll see how it goes this week.

Q: Bill, since you only have two practices here this week, how much is your practice script maybe correcting and working on things you saw in Green Bay versus dedicated to kind of preparing for the Titans?

BB: We’re at the time of year where a lot of wheels are spinning. It’s not the same for everything. What the offense is doing might be different than what the defense is doing, which might be different than the kicking game, or priorities in the secondary, from the front seven, or the receivers or the offensive line. It’s not all straight line here. So, there’s corrections, there’s Tennessee, there’s the regular season, there’s other factors. So, we’ve got multiple things going on. That’s normal. It’s the way it is this time of year.

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