In perhaps the least surprising development of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell upholding Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick had very little to offer on the matter.
But if you missed any of Belichick’s riveting press conference from Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, you can check out the full transcript below:
Bill Belichick: It’s good to see everyone back here. We’ve got all the players back today for the start of training camp. Right now we’re in a long step-by-step process as we head into the beginning of the 2015 season. So we’re just going to take it one day at a time. Today we’ve got some preparation work to do in terms of conditioning and going through some policies and things like that, trying to get everybody on the same page like we normally do. We’ll try to have a good day today and then try to have another one tomorrow and just string them along day by day. That’s really where we’re at. I think Robert (Kraft) took care of the other situation. Tom (Brady) has already had a statement. So, (there’s) nothing really to talk about there. I won’t really be dealing with that at all, just trying to get the team ready and prepare for the regular season as we always do and as we did all spring. So there’s no change for us on the football team.
Q: Nobody has had more ability to understand his team than you have over the years. How do you think something like this will impact your preparation for the season?
Belichick: We’re going to take it day to day, just like we always do.
Q: Do you believe Tom Brady when he says that neither he nor anyone in the Patriots organization did anything wrong?
Belichick: We start training camp today. We’ll get ready for the 2015 season starting today.
Q: Is there something flawed about the system here in the organization that you keep ending up in these cheating controversies? Can you explain why?
Belichick: It’s already been addressed.
Q: Could you elaborate a little?
Belichick: No.
Q: Why not?
Belichick: Because it’s already been addressed.
Q: Well, people have a lot of questions — the public, fans.
Belichick: You heard what Robert just said. It’s already been addressed. Maybe you ought to go back and look at your notes.
Q: I want your opinion.
Belichick: It’s already been addressed.
Q: Were you personally surprised by Roger Goodell’s decision yesterday?
Belichick: We’re going to continue to get the team ready for the 2015 season and that’s what we’re going to do.
Q: How difficult is it to get ready when you don’t know who your quarterback is going to be for the first four games of the season?
Belichick: All the players that are out there will practice, just like they always do.
Q: But you don’t know who is going to be in the game, so does that make it difficult to decide who gets reps at quarterback?
Belichick: We practice everybody in training camp. That’s what training camp is for. That’s the way we’ve always done it and that’s the way we’ll do it this year. It’s no different than any other position or any other year.
Q: How much confidence do you have in Jimmy Garoppolo if Tom Brady is unable to start the season?
Belichick: It’s a new season for everyone. We all have to reestablish our level of performance whether it’s a coach — starting with me — player, assistant coach, anybody else. That’s what training camp is for. It’s a new start of the year and we all have a lot of work to do, a lot of preparation. (It’s) a long time before we play a game, but we all have a lot of ground to cover between now and then and that includes everybody –- players, coaches, assistant coaches — everyone.
Q: Have you spoken at all to Tom Brady since the decision?
Belichick: I talk to the team every day.
Q: Have you spoken to Tom Brady?
Belichick: I talk to the team every day.
Q: Is your message to the team about maintaining focus and taking everything day by day any different at the start of this training camp compared to other seasons?
Belichick: Nope.
Q: What is your essential message?
Belichick: I just gave it.
Q: Robert Kraft just said that the NFL is taking this to court. Does that mean that you’re going to go to court with this?
Belichick: We’re going to get ready for the football season. We start today. We start with our conditioning run. All the players that are in here, we’re going to start our process to get ready for the regular season.
Q: What kind of spring camps did Jimmy Garoppolo have?
Belichick: Spring camps are teaching camps, so we got a lot of reps for everybody. I think we taught a lot of football and now we have to go out and practice it on an individual basis and then eventually we get to pads, on a padded level, where the timing and execution is a little bit different and start to build into the things that are situationally that we didn’t do as much of in the spring.
Q: How did Jimmy Garoppolo keep up with the teaching aspect of the spring camps?
Belichick: I think everybody learned a lot in the spring. I think the rookies learned a lot. I think the veterans learned a lot. It’s the start of a season. It’s a preparation for training camp. Now is when we really get to go out there and execute and work on it at a higher tempo and higher level. Not today, but eventually that will be coming once we’re able to practice in pads.
Q: How will you split up the reps at quarterback with the first team offense?
Belichick: Training camp is where everybody gets reps. We evaluate the entire team.
Q: You’re obviously more than a coach on this team. Why were (John) Jastremski and (Jim) McNally suspended?
Belichick: Right now we’re focused on getting the team ready for the 2015 season.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@SportsCenter
