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Belichick's take

Complete transcript of Bill Belichick's press conference with the New England media after the team selected Laurence Maroney in the first round:

Opening statement:
"Good afternoon. It seems like we're at it a little bit earlier than we usually are on draft day. First of all, we've had a lot of media inquiries about Javon Walker and I will just say one thing. I have not talked to or seen Javon Walker. Other than that, I really don't have anything else to say about it. In terms of the first pick, the way the players came off the board this year I thought that we had good value with Laurence [Maroney] there. We obviously had high grades on him. He's been a very productive player. We started off scouting him kind of indirectly last year when we were watching Marion Barber. He's been a very productive player for Minnesota, both running the ball and kickoff returns. I think that he brings an element of speed and certainly youth to the position. I like our backs. I like the production that we've had from Kevin [Faulk], Patrick [Pass], and Corey [Dillon], but in terms of experience they are all up there, seven, eight plus years and we really feel like it's good to have a young player to work with, but more importantly Laurence was the best value on the board at that point and so that's what we decided to do. As usual, there are always options at that pick, but in the end we felt like Laurence was the best addition to our team so that's why we selected him. That's where we are."

His numbers in the passing game improved dramatically this year. Does that speak to his versatility? Is that what made him so attractive to you?
"I think he is a versatile player. I think he has good skill. Last year when Barber was there, when they were in a lot of their one-back sets, they split Barber out of the backfield and Laurence was the running back. This year, with Barber gone, he became the split-out, flexed-out guy, different, but similar to the Carnell Williams/Ronnie Brown situation at Auburn last year. Minnesota does that. They've had pretty good backs up there and a lot of times they have two backs in the backfield, but a lot of times they have one of those guys detached. This year, Laurence was more the detached back. Last year Marion Barber was more the detached guy. So I think the scheme has a little bit to do with his production this year in the passing game."

Were there any concerns about his ability to carry the load?
"He's been carrying it."

Nine straight defensive players went off the board before you made your pick. Because it would have been the fifth linebacker or the fifth defensive lineman, did you pick the second best running back on the board because you would have been dropping down?
"Well, again, we really can't control what comes off the board before us and where those players ranked with other teams and within the league is outside of our control. We just look at our board and go based on value and how we think the player will come in and contribute to our football team on a going-forward basis. That's really what drove the decision. I don't know what other players would have been up there that would have made it different. They weren't there, so it was never really part of the consideration."

What do you like about him the most as a running back? He doesn't seem like the fastest guy.
"He's pretty fast. I don't think you're going to be writing that this guy is slow."

What did you like about him the most?
"He's been a productive player for them. He's been a very productive player. He has ability to make long runs. He plays with good strength for his size. He's 217 or whatever. He probably may play a little bigger now, I don't know, but not a lot. I think he has good playing strength. He has good speed and he's been a guy that's been productive. He's been very productive for them."

How did he rank against other backs that were available on the board?
"I don't know. It doesn't really make any difference. He's what he is. They're what they are and he's a Patriot. So we are going to use him in our system based on his strengths and what we ask our backs to do."

How does he compare grade-wise to your other backs? Is his style like Dillon's?
"I think it's different than Dillon's. Dillon is bigger. Maroney is probably faster."

Is there any back similar to him?
"I don't know. I'm sure there are."

What type of impact do you think he can come in here and make? Will it be immediate?
"Well, I don't know. I think he can make a positive impact and contribution, but we'll have to see how all of that plays out. We've never had him in our system obviously. We'll just have to see how he comes in and learns it and once we work with him how quickly he picks up the things we ask him to do and where that fits in, I don't know. That will be up to him and what his performance level is for our team and relative to the other people that he's competing with. That's the same for everybody."

Was there a game that he played in last year that really stood out to you?
"I think he had quite a few good games. I don't think it's just one. He's been a productive guy for them and he had several games where he has ... I don't think he'll have a problem. Take a look at the Purdue game. There's quite a few of them."

Was pass protection an issue at all because he played in such a ground-based offense?
"I think pass protection is probably an issue for just about every back coming into the National Football League. It's different and we'll have a lot more protections than what Minnesota ran. They were more of a play-action team, although they had some drop back. I think he's big enough and stout enough, but he'll need work on pass protection. He'll need work on everything just like every rookie will."

Were you contacted at all by anyone about any trades?
"There are pretty much always options on that. We decided to stay where we were and pick Maroney."

Does he have a pretty good work ethic?
"I think he has good intangibles. Yes. He's a smart kid. He works hard. He's durable. He's been a good, solid guy. He does a lot of things well and still has a lot of work to do. Believe me, I don't think anybody comes into this league as a finished product. He's certainly in that category. There's a lot of things that he'll need to improve on and work on, but we think he can do them and contribute."

Anything surprise you at all with the way the first round has unfolded?
"I don't know. I didn't have any great expectations one way or the other. I think it's a hard thing to predict. So, you just let people make their decisions and their picks and evaluate the board either as it's going, if you want to try to move, or what's there when it's your opportunity to make a selection."

Do you anticipate using him on kickoff return and to return punts?
"If he's good enough he'll have an opportunity to. It comes down to, just like everybody else, however well they perform and whatever role they can create for themselves, that's what every new player would have. That goes for everybody. Any new player coming on our team, they'll have to establish it for themselves. It's no different than anybody else. [Logan] Mankins. Ty Warren. [Richard] Seymour. They're all the same. Whatever role a player can establish for himself on the team, that's what he can establish. It's the same for everybody. I can't tell you exactly what anybody is going to do. I wish I could, but you give people the opportunity and let them perform their skills and evaluate them relative to what you're asking a guy to do in a competition at his position or on the team and go from there. It's the same for everybody. It doesn't matter who it is."

How big of an issue was the other backs' age (on the roster)?
"It wasn't a big issue. I'm saying I think you want to have young players at every position to work with. That's something you always want on your team. That wasn't what drove the pick. What drove the pick was the value of the player relative to the other players on the board and for our system. That's not to say they aren't other good players on the board that are going to play well in the league. There's plenty of them, but for what we need and what we ask our players to do, we felt like he had the best value on the board so that's why we selected him."

How is Corey Dillon doing? Is he training here?
"I talked to Corey. I've talked to him today and I think he understands and I explained to him what the situation was and all of that. We expect Corey to be ready to go. I'm sure that he will be. He's a professional. He's been a very productive player for us and we expect Corey to have major contributions for us this year as we do Kevin and Patrick. I think our backs are talented. I think they've been productive for us and I expect them to continue to be."

It's interesting that you called him today. Did you feel like he deserved to know what you guys were doing?
"I talked to most all of our players. Whatever our conversations are between a player and coach are player and coach conversations."

Is it standard to call players when you are drafting someone at their position?
"I talk to players all the time. Why would I not talk to them?"

Did you talk to [Russ] Hochstein and Steve Neal before you drafted Logan Mankins last year?
"They were actually here."