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          New England Patriots

          Soundbites from Bill Belichick

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterAug 9, 2011, 02:10 PM ET
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Nine quick hits from Bill Belichick's news conference today:

          1. No roster movement. "Seems like the first day in a while we haven't had some kind of player transaction," Belichick said in his opening remarks.

          2. Friday-type practice. Today's session is being treated like a Friday before a Sunday game. "Still trying to pull a lot of things together for the Jacksonville game," he said.

          3. Situational work. On Monday, the Patriots focused on a lot of down-and-distance work. "Started to get more into the playing-the-game mode," Belichick said. "We'll keep building in situations."

          4. No contact with Del Rio. With the idea that coaches sometimes communicate before a preseason game regarding what they hope to accomplish for their team, Belichick was asked if he's made contact with Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio leading up to the game. He said he hasn't. This isn't a situation like last year with the Saints, where Belichick has a closer relationship with coach Sean Payton.

          5. Veterans playing more? Not this week. Without two-a-day practices, the possibility of veterans playing more than they normally would in the preseason was broached. His thoughts? "I doubt you'll see it this week," Belichick said.

          6. No practice, likely no play. Belichick said it's "probably right" to assume that if players aren't practicing that they won't play Thursday. That's standard operating procedure.

          7. Praise for Chung. Asked about safety Patrick Chung, Belichick noted that he is in good condition. "He continues to work on all the little things to make him a better player. He's very determined. I think he continues to improve in all areas," he said.

          8. Good depth at receiver. Belichick was asked to evaluate his receiving corps and said he views "good depth." There are 11 receivers in camp. Getting the timing and execution down, as always, is a work in progress.

          9. Special teams & receivers. When touching on what he sees as a "strong competition" at receiver, Belichick said, "It will be interesting to see how things go when you take into account special teams responsibilities, and competition overall as a receiving group." That could give Brandon Tate (kickoff returns) and Julian Edelman (punt returns) an edge over others who don't have as big a role on special teams.