Belichick on Sirius NFL radio

Belichick was a guest on Sirius NFL's radio's Moving the Chains show with Pat Kirwin and Jim Miller (best football talk show in the country). His comments on the QB situation have been pretty well covered elsewhere, including PFT which provided a link to audio the first part of the interview.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnfl/...h-on-the-future-of-replay-his-qb-ryan-mallett

On other players, I jotted a few notes during the interview:

Stork: Played both center and guard in a major college program. Productive in running and passing games. Tough. "Our type of guy". Sounds to me like another in a long line of Pats O-lineman who can play multiple positions.

White: Averaged 6 yards per carry at Wisconson. Not many backs do that. Can run inside. Run outside. Catch the ball. Good in protection. Sounds to me (and to Pat Kirwin), that White is projected as the third down back. Jim Miller: "Danny Woodhead".

White certainly offers some of the same skill sets in the sense that he can stay on the field in the hurry up, and contributes both in the passing/running game. The main thing is that he can block well in blitz pickups, and has good ball security. No matter whether he's a "3rd down back" or not, he fits in with what we're looking for, both for now and in the future.

I still believe that Vereen will be our main 3rd down back though, at least while he's still here this season. It never hurts choosing a RB like White with all of his positives, so that's what I'm taking from it.

yeah, but what good is a versatile O lineman/center and blue chip 3rd down back when we don't have a WR with burning speed and less than 2% body fat?

Read it right here. We suck again and go nowhere unless we get that Andre Johnson clone and Hightower and Jones drop all that fat.

I think the running back rotation depends on whether or not Belichick signs a veteran pounder. He seems to prefer a true RB by committee. I think he prefers to keep the "pitch count" down with RBs -- probably a smart strategy. Fresh legs are important in the fourth quarter. With Blount gone, that could mean that Vereen and Ridley split series as the lead back. That would carve out a role for White.

We'll see how things sort out. It's a long way between now and the regular season.

hwc said:

I think the running back rotation depends on whether or not Belichick signs a veteran pounder. He seems to prefer a true RB by committee. I think he prefers to keep the "pitch count" down with RBs -- probably a smart strategy. Fresh legs are important in the fourth quarter. With Blount gone, that could mean that Vereen and Ridley split series as the lead back. That would carve out a role for White.

We'll see how things sort out. It's a long way between now and the regular season.

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The way I look at it, he provides the main things that we look for in a RB no matter what. To me, that says he's going to be a good fit regardless. As you point out, there are many options both now and in the future. I'm just trying to see the pick from Belichick's point of view, so sometimes I think these reporters tend to get a little bit ahead of themselves with their comparisons and projections, that's all. I'm guessing that this is normally what BB looks for in his running backs though, and White fills those roles:

--ball security

--pass protection

--pass catching ability

--strength in running both inside/outside

--hurry up offense ready

Interesting interview with Bill. It will be interesting to see who he adds, keeps, and drops from the roster this coming season.

I think the biggest thing missing from a pretty effective Pats run game recently has been pass catching out of the backfield (see Kevin Faulk). We've seen spurts of it from Vereen. Belichick specifically mentioned White's receiving and pass protection. That's what caught Kirwin's ear.

I think Supafly is right. Time will tell how the roles emerge. It's the skill set of White (and the other rookies) that Belichick cares about. If he's got the right assortment of skills on the roster, the roles will sort themselves out.

I have listened to that stupid radio station roughly 3 hours per day for the past week and then the day I finally don't have to do any travelling, they finally put on something worthwhile to hear!

Guess I'm doomed to things like interviews with the Cleveland Browns GM and assorted 4th round draft picks....

SB39 said:

I have listened to that stupid radio station roughly 3 hours per day for the past week and then the day I finally don't have to do any travelling, they finally put on something worthwhile to hear!

Guess I'm doomed to things like interviews with the Cleveland Browns GM and assorted 4th round draft picks....

Click to expand...

If you have Sirius/XM and its over 100 stations and listened to a station you consider "stupid" for 3 hours each day for a week, you likely received exactly what you deserved.

hwc said:

I think the biggest thing missing from a pretty effective Pats run game recently has been pass catching out of the backfield (see Kevin Faulk). We've seen spurts of it from Vereen. Belichick specifically mentioned White's receiving and pass protection.

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IMO White isn't quite the athlete Vereen is, but I totally get why he was the Patriots' target. Having nobody behind Vereen really hurt the team last year when he was injured.

White is an unusually complete RB -- perhaps the best in this draft class at pass protection, which means he should be able to step in immediately. (RB tends to be a "plug and play" position when it comes to carrying the ball, but getting integrated into the passing game, especially in protection, takes longer for most players.)

I think that by this time next year, we'll be talking about who partners White in the backfield.

Joker said:

yeah, but what good is a versatile O lineman/center and blue chip 3rd down back when we don't have a WR with burning speed and less than 2% body fat?

Read it right here. We suck again and go nowhere unless we get that Andre Johnson clone and Hightower and Jones drop all that fat.

Click to expand...

You seem obsessed with body fat. Feeling chubby today Joker?

I don't care about body fat, I care about how well they move! E.g., young Wilfork...

neuronet said:

You seem obsessed with body fat. Feeling chubby today Joker?

I don't care about body fat, I care about how well they move! E.g., young Wilfork...

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I believe his recent body fat stuff is in mockery of the views of another poster.

Joker said:

yeah, but what good is a versatile O lineman/center and blue chip 3rd down back when we don't have a WR with burning speed and less than 2% body fat?

Read it right here. We suck again and go nowhere unless we get that Andre Johnson clone and Hightower and Jones drop all that fat.

Click to expand...

Plus, the Pats actually have a WR with 4.34 speed. We may see more of him if he can stay healthy.

I said when they drafted White that he was to replace Woodhead's type of production. With all the talk of losing Welker last offseason, I felt it was Woodhead and not Welker who was sorely missed last season. Woodhead was always a running option on passing downs when he was in and when other teams would send eight or nine into coverage, Brady could option out to a draw to Woodhead and pick up 8-9 yards. It kept defenses honest. Plus he was a receiving threat out of the backfield.

Joker said:

yeah, but what good is a versatile O lineman/center and blue chip 3rd down back when we don't have a WR with burning speed and less than 2% body fat?

Read it right here. We suck again and go nowhere unless we get that Andre Johnson clone and Hightower and Jones drop all that fat.

Click to expand...

Those of us with excess body fat (a.k.a. "male pregnancy syndrome") take offense at your comment

Jackson 2 said:

If you have Sirius/XM and its over 100 stations and listened to a station you consider "stupid" for 3 hours each day for a week, you likely received exactly what you deserved.

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I think he's being facetious.

Joker said:

yeah, but what good is a versatile O lineman/center and blue chip 3rd down back when we don't have a WR with burning speed and less than 2% body fat?

Read it right here. We suck again and go nowhere unless we get that Andre Johnson clone and Hightower and Jones drop all that fat.

Click to expand...

Look at this disgusting tub of lard!

SB39 said:

I have listened to that stupid radio station roughly 3 hours per day for the past week and then the day I finally don't have to do any travelling, they finally put on something worthwhile to hear!

Guess I'm doomed to things like interviews with the Cleveland Browns GM and assorted 4th round draft picks....

Click to expand...

Their coverage of the Cleveland Browns and Manziel has been nauseating. I was listening on the drive into work and they announced they were going to air it at 8:00 am, which was no good for me since that's when I have to be in the office. Can anybody provide a transcript or a play by play? It would be much appreciated.

hwc said:

I think the biggest thing missing from a pretty effective Pats run game recently has been pass catching out of the backfield (see Kevin Faulk).

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Vereen caught 47 passes in 8 games last year.
Faulks best season was 58. He also has season of 51(as the quasi-starter in 2000) 30,37,26,48,29,43,47,37.

Its kind of hard to conclude Vereen hasn't replaced the pass catching out of the backfield that we got from Faulk.
Woodhead has 34,18,40 in his 3 seasons in the middle of that.