Bill Belichick Plays Down First Team VS Second Team Conversation

It’s the time of year when too much is read into who gets first team reps and who doesn’t. Patriots coach Bill Belichick has no time for it.

For Bill Belichick, the preseason is about evaluation. Who can do their job, who works well with who – who can step up regardless of the situation. 

The most common cause for speculation revolves around who will be the starting quarterback. In New England, that fight is between Cam Newton and Mac Jones.

Cam Newton has yet to fully convince in a Bill Belichick team. In spite of this, he has seen the majority of first team reps so far. 

Want $250 to bet on NFL futures?

Sign up here!

“Look, we’ve told all the players from back in May when we started — which is the absolute truth — not to spend a lot of time worrying about who else is out there with you,” Bill Belichick said.

“Worry about what you’re doing and try to get it right. I think that’s the most important thing for each and every one of us, if we would focus on what our job is, how to do it well, how to do it better, how to improve on it. Again, that’s all of us — coaches, players, everybody. That’s really what we’re trying to do, and spending a lot of time worrying about who else is doing something else and who else is out there or not out there or whatever is honestly a total waste of time and energy.”

Read: New York Giants Must Make Progress, Or Changes Coming

“And it’s not productive, so we don’t really worry about it. I think it’s a lot more important for the offensive linemen to play with the offensive linemen than it is for the quarterback to play with the offensive line. The same thing on defense. It’s (more) important for the linebackers to play with the linebackers than it is for the linebackers to play with the secondary or whatever, and you just keep going. 

“The punt team, those guys need to be ready to work with each other, but at the same time, if somebody else is in there for whatever reason, then the most important thing is for them to do their job properly and work with whoever it is next to them. That’s something they can’t control. If we start worrying about all the things we can’t control, I’d say it’s going to be a long year.”