{"id":31617,"date":"2020-08-02T05:00:41","date_gmt":"2020-08-02T09:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=31617"},"modified":"2020-08-01T12:52:59","modified_gmt":"2020-08-01T16:52:59","slug":"new-england-patriots-news-8-2-belichick-respects-opt-outs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2020\/08\/02\/new-england-patriots-news-8-2-belichick-respects-opt-outs\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots News 8-2, Belichick Respects Opt-Outs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, here is your <\/span>Sunday Patriots news 08-02 and AFC East notes<\/b> this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019d be remiss if we didn\u2019t wish a (belated) Happy Birthday to one of our biggest supporters from across the pond today. We hope you had a great day Clare…<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>Quick Hitters For the Pats, and the NFL:<\/b><\/h3>\n

AB Suspended for 8 Games: <\/b>Former Steelers and Patriots (for 1 game) wide receiver Antonio Brown can return to the NFL this season, but first he\u2019s going to sit for at least eight games. The NFL suspended the mercurial Brown for \u201cmultiple violations of the NFL\u2019s Personal Conduct Policy.\u201dThe league added…<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf he is signed before the start of the 2020 season, Brown would be eligible to participate in all of his club’s preseason activities. Brown’s suspension would take effect as of the final roster reduction on September 5. He would be eligible to return after the team’s eighth game\u2026 As part of the discipline, Brown was directed to continue his program of counseling and treatment, and that he is expected fully to cooperate with his clinicians.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bill Belichick: <\/b>The coach during his virtual press conference was asked by ESPN\u2019s Mike Reiss about the sandwich he ate while filming a recent commercial\u2026 Belichick, never one to reveal much said, \u201c(The sandwich) was pretty good,\u201d Belichick said. \u201cI think it\u2019s one of their super dupers or whatever, but I have never done anything like that. I think we mentioned it on the BBF website, but it\u2019s kind of a difficult environment to raise funds now for charities, foundations, and so forth for a number of reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo I appreciate the opportunity that Subway gave me and the foundation, the support they gave us, and that was a fun commercial to do. Everybody loves sandwiches, so hopefully, they\u2019ll be OK with it.\u201d More of Belichick\u2019s presser below.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brian Lewerke: <\/b>After being released last weekend, the Patriots made the curious decision of re-signing QB Brian Lewerke, the UDFA from Michigan State. Why is it curious? We thought they\u2019d bring back J\u2019Mar Smith, the more mobile QB, but they have other ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Facing a slate of mobile QBs this year, we thought Smith would be an ideal practice squad candidate as he\u2019d give the defense a better look at some of the opposing QBs they\u2019ll see this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Patriots Salary Cap: <\/b>Here is your Public Service Announcement (PSA) for the week\/season. When it comes to the Patriots salary cap and trying to make sense of all of the nuances of it, there is Miguel (@PatsCap) and there is everyone else. Any questions about it are usually right on his timeline. And one of the great guys out there too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4th & 2 Podcast<\/b> – If you\u2019ve haven\u2019t checked out our <\/span>PatsFans.com podcast, <\/span><\/a>\u201cPatriots 4th & 2\u201d in a bit (and yes we\u2019re way overdue for a new one), please check it out. We recorded a video podcast recently about the QB position and how we see different scenarios playing out.\u00a0 Please give it a listen. And we promise to get off our fourth point of contact and record another soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russ Francis\/ Chuck Fairbanks:<\/b> The former Patriot tight end and head coach both should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame…this will be on our Sunday posts until it happens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Troy Brown Full-Time Coach And Other Staff Changes in 2020:<\/b><\/h3>\n

Former Patriot wide receiver Brown spent last summer at training camp working with the wide receivers but wasn\u2019t fully recognized as a member of the staff last year. But this year, Brown is listed as an assistant RBs and KRs coach.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Troy spent the year with us last year, and of course has a tremendous amount of experience here,” Bill Belichick said. “He\u2019ll continue to work with other positions, as well \u2013 the returners and the slot receivers. But just given the conversations I\u2019ve had with Troy, he\u2019s very eager, he is a very instinctive football player and coach, I think that he was always great with the ball in his hands as a runner, he was obviously a great receiver, and I think that\u2019s a big part of every running back\u2019s job, and he was a strong player in the kicking game, as well. So, it was an opportunity for him to be involved with a little bit of a different group.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Belichick, as always moves his young coaches around to different positions giving them more responsibility as they earn it as it makes them more well-rounded coaches. The team is doing that again this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Cole (Popovich) was with the running backs last year and this year will work with the offensive line. Stephen (Belichick) was with the safeties and will be with the outside linebackers. So, there\u2019s I think a lot of benefit to that. Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia, we could go on and on about all the coaches that have switched spots around here.<\/span><\/p>\n

“But, I think Troy has done a great job with them (wide receivers) and he\u2019ll certainly be involved in other things besides that, besides just the running backs.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Players Opting Out Have Belichick\u2019s Respect:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

With six players opting out for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, if you think that Belichick would be upset with them for missing out on the season, you\u2019d be wrong. He told the media on Friday that he respects their choices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“I respect all of them,” Belichick said. “I respect all the players on our team. We all have to make decisions. And I talked to those guys, and they explained their situations. They had to make the decision that was best for them, and I totally respect and support it 100 percent.”<\/span><\/p>\n

With linebacker Dont’a Hightower, tackle Marcus Cannon, safety Patrick Chung, fullback Danny Vitale, guard Najee Toran, and running back Brandon Bolden all opting out, the coach understands their reasoning and supports it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“I think everybody’s got to make their own individual decisions on that, and they have to weigh their own situation,” he said. “Each one of us is unique and we all have different lives, situations, families, environments, and so forth and so on. So, there are no two situations that are the same. Everybody will have to make their own decision on that.\u201d Then with some classic Belichick tongue-in-cheek humor, he added:<\/span><\/p>\n

“My crystal ball is kind of cloudy right now, so I have no idea of what will happen along those lines. I think everybody in the league, every team in the league, every player, every coach, everybody in the league is involved in that to some degree. So we’ll just have to see how it turns out.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Training Camp Primer – Quarterbacks:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

With the absence of Tom Brady for the first time in 20 years, the Patriots were mighty thin at the QB position until they signed Cam Newton. Now, the depth (if Newton is fully healthy and can learn the offense, is just fine, thank you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Roster:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Cam Newton<\/span>
\n<\/span>Jarrett Stidham<\/span>
\n<\/span>Brian Hoyer<\/span>
\n<\/span>Brian Lewerke<\/span><\/p>\n

Projected 53-man Roster:<\/b><\/p>\n

Cam Newton<\/span>
\n<\/span>Jarrett Stidham<\/span>
\n<\/span>Brian Hoyer<\/span><\/p>\n

The Patriots have four QBs heading into training camp and will probably try to keep three heading into the season to protect themselves against injury or COVID-19. But despite signing Newton and many fans and media already anointing him as the starter, Bill Belichick told everyone to slow their roll there, stating\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll give everyone an opportunity, and see what happens,\u201d Belichick said Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that spot is the same as all the other spots on the team,\u201d Belichick said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a long way to go, and we\u2019ll see how things turn out. I can\u2019t control how players perform. That\u2019s up to them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Newton is obviously the most talented QB and the most accomplished on the roster. That isn\u2019t up for debate. However, are his injuries to his foot and most importantly, to his throwing shoulder healed? His training videos certainly point to that, and he\u2019s carrying a Tom Brady-sized chip on his shoulder. Those are good things. But can he learn the offense and get a comfort level with his new teammates in such a short period of time?<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing in his favor, Evan Lazar of CLNS Media wrote that in 2018, before getting injured, Newton ran a similar offense to the Patriots and was having an outstanding year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jarrett Stidham made a ton of progress from the beginning to the end of training camp. He picked up the offense quickly but still tended to hold the ball far too long, something that will have to improve in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He possesses nice mobility but nowhere near to the level of Newton, but could still be the recipient of many of the roll-out RPO concepts with Josh McDaniels\u2019 offense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hoyer is who he is at this stage of his career. Due to the COVID-19 rules, he could still be stashed on the practice squad, but the Patriots don\u2019t want him starting. They want him to be the veteran back-up\/extra coach to help the starter (Newton\/Stidham) when they are on the field. Lewerke is strictly a PS candidate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Admitting A Mistake is so Rare Today, But This Was Handled Well:<\/b><\/h3>\n

The world we live in today is driven by the \u2018now, now, we have to have it first and right now\u2019 mentality. And everyone gets caught up in it…everyone. And sometimes we say things, that come out wrong. If I could take back every time I said something in haste that I\u2019d love to take back, there may have been years where I would have been mute.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, it was interesting this week, when NBC Sports Boston\u2019s Tom E. Curran, who was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday. Patrick asked Curran about so many Patriots deciding to opt-out of the season. And while he explained his reasoning, his answer came off badly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

If Tom Brady was still with the Patriots, would this many players be opting out of the season? @TomECurran<\/a> doesn’t think so.<\/p>\n

For Tom’s full appearance: https:\/\/t.co\/CUzRifo21J<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/R3g8w3sAt1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 29, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n