New England Patriots

Morning sports update: Bill Belichick commented on Antonio Brown and Tony Dungy’s criticism

"I’m sure Tony Dungy, or whoever else it was, everybody’s entitled to their opinion. That’s what this country is built on."

Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick during the Patriots' win over the Steelers. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

By Hayden Bird

3 minutes to read

The Yankees beat the Red Sox 5-0 on Monday night, officially ending Boston’s three-year reign atop the American League East. The Red Sox now trail the final American League wild card spot by eight games.

One bright note to the night was the return of David Ortiz, who made an appearance at Fenway Park for the first time since he was shot in June.

Elsewhere, Antonio Brown formally joined the Patriots. And his old team, the Raiders, defeated the Broncos on Monday Night Football to start the season 1-0.

Bill Belichick spoke about Antonio Brown: Shortly after the news became official that Antonio Brown was joining the Patriots, Bill Belichick checked in for his weekly interview on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria.”

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The Patriots’ coach was asked what he thought of signing the talented but polarizing 31-year-old wide receiver.

“Yeah, we’re glad to have him on the team and we’ll just take it day by day and see how it goes,” said Belichick. He also had a ready answer when asked if Brown would be treated differently than other Patriots players.

“I mean everybody is different,” Belichick explained. “So you add a new player to your team you look at what you need to do and try to do the best you can to get him caught up. So that’s what we’ll do.”

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Belichick was also asked about the comments made by former NFL coach Tony Dungy. Dungy, now an analyst on NBC, said he was “disappointed in Robert Kraft” regarding the signing of Brown.

“I’m sure Tony Dungy, or whoever else it was, everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” said Belichick. “That’s what this country is built on.”

Trivia: On Sept. 29, 2002, LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 217 yards against the Patriots in a 21-14 Chargers win. Since then, only one running back has eclipsed that total of rushing yards against the Patriots. Can you name that running back?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: The game took place in 2013 and the Patriots rallied from a 24-0 halftime deficit to win in overtime after Belichick elected to kick off first due to the wind.

More from Boston.com:

Bill Belichick showed the Patriots a photo of Kyle and Marissa Van Noy’s newborn son

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Enes Kanter briefly won a WWE belt:

Mookie Betts’s Instagram post welcoming back David Ortiz:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2NzQN9l6nF/?utm_source=ig_embed

The Jaylen Brown-Giannis Antetokounmpo kerfuffle:

On this day: In 1989, rookie Deion Sanders returned from playing for the Yankees only days earlier (and homering for New York on Sept. 5) to return a punt for a touchdown playing for the Falcons.

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Daily highlight: The ending to last night’s Saints-Texans game was a roller coaster.

Trivia answer: Knowshon Moreno