Bill Belichick joined The Greg Hill Show Monday morning for his first weekly interview of the season.
Of course, the quarterback competition was brought up and the coach was asked if he would ever consider a platoon at the position this season?
“Those specific questions like that are really hard to answer," he said. "I mean, here’s what I will always say: I will always say I am going to do what is best for the team. I am going to do whatever I can to help the team win. So, if that’s playing a guard in the backfield, then we’ll play a guard in the backfield. If it’s putting 10 defensive backs on the field, if that’s what it is, maybe we’ll put 10 defensive backs on the field. I am not going to rule out anything. If I think something would help us win, I would consider it.
"The goal is not to have this happen, or have that happen, it’s to work through our system and ultimately do what we feel like is best for the team. And that’s at every position, every game, all the way across the board.”
Belichick has said a few times now that Cam Newton is the starter, so what would need to happen for that to change?
“Well, I think the fact Cam started last year and he’s here, somebody is going to have to play better than him," he said. "We’re not going to take a job and say, ‘OK, here, this is gift-wrapped for somebody.’ But, training camp is all about competition. There’s an element of who the starter is, but there’s also the competition and in the end the competition is going to decide how things go in any given year. I think everybody on the team is really in the same boat. It’s no different. The players' name really doesn’t matter. Whatever you did last year, is, OK, great — whether it was good, wasn’t so good. This is a new year. This is a new opportunity and each one of us has to establish our level of performance this year, no matter what position you play — head coach, position coach, offensive player, defensive player, whatever it is. And then what that role becomes is what we show we’re capable of doing.
"All the players that are here are being evaluated. They all have an opportunity to excel, or other players may perform better than them. We’ll just have to see how that goes. I can’t control any of that. We’re certainly not just going to hand out roles to players until they earn them and whether somebody earns that role or not is dependent upon their performance. Their consistent performance, not over a couple of plays, or a really short window. It’s the consistent performance. That’s what training camp is for. Really all of the players, it’s the same for all of them.”
Belichick also noted how much more comfortable Newton is with the offense than he was a year ago.
The competition will continue with him and Mac Jones this week, as the Patriots will have joint practices with the Giants ahead of Sunday's final preseason game.