Dillon helping Brady take more risks

Page 3 of 6 -- Can you give any updates on Ty Poole and Ty Law? I know the defense has succeeded the past few weeks, but come playoff time, these two are essential to the success of the D.
Gary, South Boston

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A: Ty Law's cast is off his broken left foot. He does use a removable boot to protect it and he has started to do some bike work. He claims he's a couple of weeks away. We might be looking at the last two or three games at the earliest. I thought Poole was a week away last week. It seems the more the Patriots win, the more they make the decision to rest him for one more week to make sure he's completely healthy. I think that's what they did with Deion Branch. He could have played sooner if they absolutely needed him, but they were able to be cautious and I think that thinking paid off for them.

Hi Nick! Love the mailbag as always. You and Direct TV are my only connections to the Homeland. Was very impressed with the Pats 2nd half performance over the Ravens, however my question is about Marquis Hill. I figure a 2nd round pick should contribute something to the team (even though we are very deep at DL). Ty Warren has really impressed this year, but I ask you, did BB miss on Hill? Or is he just a victim of the depth we currently have? Thanks, Nick and keep up the great work!
T. Beary, Leesburg, Fla.

A: I'm not getting any feedback that Marquise was a bad pick. The only feedback I get is that the guys ahead of him are playing well, they're healthy, and therefore hasn't been opportunity. When they drafted him they felt he was a project of sorts even though he was familiar with the Belichick/Nick Saban defense down at LSU. He's a young guy, who probably needs to mature physically and then you'll see him. The other thing is he has to show he's better than the guys ahead of him in practice. Tough to beat our Richard Seymour, Ty Warren and Jarvis Green.

This plays off a previous email you received about Pioli and Weis. With Pioli most likely taking a GM position with another team next year or after his contract ends here. Do you think it would be possible for Belichick to become just the GM and hire Weis as the Pats head coach or do you feel Belichick prefers to be head coach and GM for years to come?
Todd, Rochester, NY

A: Great question, Todd. Personally, I never see Belichick being just a GM. I think what he loves most is coaching. He handles the other aspect of it because basically he's picking the players for himself with help from Pioli. If he were older, what you're saying might be plausible but he's still in his early 50s and I don't sense there's any burn out with him. I think when you always win, you want to ride that out as long as it goes. I think Charlie's best bet is to get out of here and either become a head coach someplace else, or become a coordinator in another place where he can explain his offense and talk about his strategies during a game. And I'm not sure that Charlie would be the one he'd chose as a head coach. Wouldn't it be Romeo?   Continued...