Bits from Belichick

Patriots coach Bill Belichick arrived at his Thursday morning press conference (10:45 a.m. EDT) and said “Morning, how’s the Thursday crowd today? Looks a little bit lighter than the Wednesday crew.”

That’s usually the case, as Wednesday usually draws the largest media access, with Thursday and Friday lighter days.

Belichick touched on a variety of topics today. A sampling:

On his thoughts of Tom Brady’s comments from Wednesday, in which the quarterback seemed to take exception with Marty Schottenheimer’s assessment of the Patriots:

“I have a lot of respect for what Tom thinks and what he says. I don’t have any problem with what he said.”

On if Michael Vick could fit in the Patriots’ offense:

“I think [Michael] Vick could play in any offense.”

On if the Patriots were intrigued by Vick in the 2001 draft:

“Where he was being picked wasn’t where we were picking. Again, moving from [the third pick] to [the first] is one thing, but moving from six to one –- in relative terms –- is a pretty significant jump. He’s a very unique player, and if that’s the player you select –- regardless of where you select him –- you have to make a commitment to that style of play.”

On if Belichick ranks Vick among the elite quarterbacks:

“I don’t rank them. What we deal with is the team. It’s not just one player. There are 11 of them.”

On running back Amos Zereoue and his acclimation to the system:

“He’s been working hard and there’s some carryover [in terminology] from his Pittsburgh days. He’s shown a level of execution and is making progress.”

QUICK HITS: Asked about the production of tight ends in the passing game, Belichick took an overall view and said he thinks the team has been competitive in the passing game … Belichick spoke at length late in the press conference about the intricacies of defending the passing game in the secondary … Athletic quarterbacks like Michael Vick were part of the discussion, with Belichick mentioning names like Randall Cunningham and Steve Young as more athletic players at the position over the last 20 years.

Looking ahead, we’ll have a bit more later in the day with some locker room notes.

–Mike