Bill Belichick Says Brandon Meriweather’s Past Production Didn’t Weigh Into Projections for 2011 Season

FOXBORO, Mass. — Patriots head coach Bill Belichick explained the reason for releasing safety Brandon Meriweather over the weekend, and he said Meriweather's two Pro Bowls had no bearing on 2011.

Belichick also noted there was "no doubt" that Meriweather had a lot of production during his four seasons with the Patriots.

"I think each year is a new year, and I just don’t think you can pick teams or pick your players based on what's happened in the past," Belichick said. "You have to pick them based on what you think is going to happen this year, and that's relative to the competition, to the make of your team and player's performance. All of those are obviously a part of it.

"Brandon played a lot of good football for us. We kept the players this year that we felt would be the best make-up for the 2011 team. It's not the 2009 team. It's the 2011 team, so those are the players that we've selected."