clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

New England Patriots Links 8/03/11 - Haynesworth Knows His Role: 'Just to Kill the Quarterback'

By Marima

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

<em>Formidable lineup on D</em>
Formidable lineup on D

Albert Haynesworth speaks to the media for the first time in New England.

What was your first reaction [to find you had been traded to New England]?  Hell yeah.

You said you were a fan of this organization. Why?  I always liked Coach [Bill] Belichick, just the way he did things, the way the team performed. I've come to games when I was in the pros. I came, I think it was here, when they played the AFC Championship, I want to say they were playing San Diego, and I was sitting up in the stands freezing my butt off. I sat there and watched them play. I've always been a fan of this team.

How much of a fresh start do you consider this in New England?  It's a great chance. It's a great chance to be on a great team. It's a chance to restore my name or whatever you want to say. It's a great chance to get back on the field and play football.

On the prospect of lining up next to Vince Wilfork: That's going to be scary. It's going to be scary for other teams.

What do you respect the most about Bill Belichick and getting the chance to play for him?  From being outside, I don't know, just the way I guess he handled the team and everything. Now being on the inside, he's very detail oriented and he demands perfection every time. I've been on some really good teams, with a lot of great players, but I've never been in a situation where it's like, you know, perfection every time, not for a person but for the team.

How much is that going to push you and motivate you? It's going to be awesome. I enjoy being here. It's a refresher and I love it and it kind of revived me, playing football again.

Bill Belichick addresses the media Tuesday.

I think [the learning process for players] varies from player to player. With every single player on the team, we have certain goals for them and we have certain responsibilities. We tell him, ‘Look, this is what you're responsible for and this is what we want you to learn.'

Maybe we tell him what the rotations are going to be or how many reps they're going to get doing whatever it is that's scheduled for them and those kinds of things. So each player has his own set of priorities and his own, I would say, guidelines or expectations for him as far as what he's going to do or how he's going to do it or what things we want him to learn or what he needs to work extra on or that type of thing. Every player has that, doesn't matter whether they're new or old, rookies or 20-year veterans.

We try to prioritize things for every player so that when they start the season, they know the things that we feel like are most important and they improve on or show us in the early part of it. Then we reevaluate that as we go at the start of the season, at the bye week. At the end of the season we kind of recalibrate that going into the offseason. It's a continuous process and it's constantly being revised. ...

Q: Would you ever challenge other teams to beat an opponent?

BB: Right now, I'm really just worried about the challenge that we have as a football team and I think we have a big one as far as where we need to go and how much work we have to do to get there. I'm kind focused on that.

Q: [Rex Ryan] got a big tattoo on his leg during the offseason. Would you like to disclose any tattoos you got?

BB: I'd like to see that one. I'm tattoo free.

TEAM TALK

LOCAL LINKS

NATIONAL NEWS

More From Pats Pulpit