The Patriots were back at Gillette Stadium on Monday as the team prepares for a week of what Bill Belichick described as a “clean-up” of some lingering issues from training camp before fully turning their attention to the season opener in Miami.
Coming off a final summer loss to the Raiders, Belichick expressed little concern with the results from the preseason.
“I don’t think you really know where your team is until you get to about midseason, you know, mid-October,” said Belichick, who also welcomed legendary ESPN commentator Chris Berman as a guest to his press conference and the team’s practice. “Play five, six, seven games, match up against some different teams, see for real what your strengths and weaknesses are, and your opponents’ as well. You know, what it looks like on paper and what it is in preseason, and what it is in the regular season, I don’t think they’re all the same.”
With the reduced preseason, the Patriots now have a bonus week of work before things get real, but first, New England must make a series of roster moves to get down to 53 players before 4pm on Tuesday. With nearly a full roster in attendance at practice, it appears the team is waiting to get a jump on trimming down their personnel.
It’s one of the most frantic times of the NFL calendar, as other teams will make their cuts as well, tossing a number of players across the league into availability while everyone tries to balance their initial roster. It’s a complicated process that will keep director of player personnel Matt Groh busy.
“A little over 24 hours before the biggest transaction day in the NFL, so there’s a lot of information gathering,” said Groh of what’s currently on his plate. “There’s a lot of evaluating. Just a lot of communication in-house as far as what we’re looking for, ways we can improve the team, so there’s a lot going on.”
“We have to make 27 roster moves, so it’s a pretty good chunk of players,” said Belichick. “It’s always a difficult time for them. For the…
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