Opening day in the NFL always brings uncertainty for each player, coach and team. The unknown is obviously even greater in 2020 thanks to the absence of preseason games.
While Bill Belichick has in many ways downplayed the effect of missing preseason action, noting it's the way high school and colleges always prepare every summer – "This is football," Belichick said simply during a Wednesday morning video conference with the local media – he and his assistant coaches know that personnel rotations and snap counts could be an issue for players in Sunday's opener against the Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.
Practice time has been limited this summer and full-speed, full-contact game action has been non-existent.
"We're just going to have to see how it goes in the game," Patriots outside linebackers coach Steve Belichick acknowledged earlier this week. "We'll see how much these guys can handle. We'll have everybody ready to go. Everybody on the active, game day roster they need to be ready to go and if their number's called they have to get in there. We'll have to keep an eye on that throughout the game and see what those guys can handle. I'm sure as the game gets going we'll see that some guys can handle more than others.
"We're definitely going to keep an eye on that as a coaching staff. You can't simulate game and football condition. You can run as many sprints as you want, but getting out there, hitting, the physical part of the game, there is a lot of unknown there."
Logically it would seem that action against Miami might include more rotating players through the lineup, especially considering so many young Patriots set to see their first significant NFL action. It also wouldn't be surprising to see more frequent personnel changes than might be normally expected among the big bodies on the offensive line and defensive front.
"I think we just have to do what we feel is best for the football team in this game and every week. Whatever that is, it'll be based on a number of factors. The game. The game plan. How it's going. What other players are involved in certain personnel groups and rotations and so forth," Bill Belichick said. "So, we've talked about that and it might be different for different players at different positions. And, we'll have to see how the game goes too. So, it could unfold during the game, to a certain degree. So, all the players that are active for the game need to be ready to play, they all know that. We'll substitute and do the best we can, based on what we feel gives us the best competitive chance to win."
