Bill Belichick: ‘I don’t think you really know your team until the middle of October’
Head coach Bill Belichick knows an NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint.
As the Patriots prepare to take on the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday, coach Bill Belichick was asked if he is ever 100 percent sure what kind of team he has going into Week 1.
“No, I don’t think you really know your team until the middle of October,” he said, noting that the league has been cutting back training camp in recent years. He said it was especially different than when he debuted in the league as a coach with the Giants.
“You had a lot better idea, but it is what it is,” he said. “Every team has the same opportunities. I think you’ll see a lot of movement, a lot of adjustments in the first third of the season.”
The Patriots, in particular, have been embracing the ability to continue tweaking their roster into the season. Last year, just before the season they added key contributor Michael Williams, and after the first week, signed cornerback Justin Coleman. They would later add Akiem Hicks and Keshawn Martin via trade, and Brandon King from the practice squad.
Belichick also knows precisely how short-sighted it is to judge a team based on the first few weeks. After all, his Super Bowl winning squad in 2014 started the season off 2-2, with an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Chiefs ultimately becoming the turning point in the team’s season.
The Patriots may have made their final roster cuts, but the minor transactions and practice squad additions after the preseason ends can be just as critical to determining a team’s success.
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