Originally Posted by Mike Reiss

May 14, 2006
Time: 12:17:17 PM
Bill's take

Patriots coach Bill Belichick held a press conference with the media on Sunday (11:30 a.m. ET) on the second day of the team’s rookie minicamp. He was in an upbeat mood and opened with the following statement:

“I want to say happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there. Sorry we have to have minicamp on this day, but that’s kind of the way the schedule fell. That’s the way it goes, but that’s probably the most important thing today, all those mothers who have done such a good job.

"We’re rolling along here, in day two, or page two of that novel we were talking about yesterday. Again, just a lot of information, a lot of just trying to get everyone into the program. I thought we made some progress. Obviously we have miles and miles to go, but there are some encouraging things in terms of the learning and the progression and being able to get things done a little better than they were yesterday. That’s a good thing. Thank goodness we have the facility and we can go inside. That’s been a big plus. I don’t know what we’d get done outside -- work on our snorkeling. It’s tough out there.”

Belichick added that the team won’t have any rookies leaving after the rookie minicamp. Some teams can’t have rookies at the facility due to a NFL rule that states players can’t join their team until their college graduates. He said following the rookie minicamp, the rookies join the team’s offseason program.