Bill Belichick Denies Aaron Dobson "Mouthing Off" Report

Earlier this week it was reported that Patriots sophomore receiver Aaron Dobson had been benched the past two weeks for "mouthing off" to coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Head coach Bill Belichick had some choice words at a press conference thing morning, denying any incident and saying the only reason he was benched was for, "football."

He followed the press conference with a press release with the following statement:

"In my year and a half with Aaron Dobson, he has always been respectful to me and to the rest of the coaching staff. He has never once been argumentative or confrontational. The suggestion and reporting that his playing time was in any way the result of a ‘loud disagreement’ with a coach is completely false."

McDaniels likely wouldn't have the ability to sit Dobson for multiple weeks, and any benching would have had to come from Belichick himself. Belichick's vote of confidence in Dobson's character aligns with everything known about the receiver. The fact that he felt it necessary to come out against the report shows how important he feels it is to clarify the situation.

It seems as if, according to the coaches, there just wasn't a way to use Dobson over the past few weeks, a concern in and of itself.

Edit: Apparently, Aaron Dobson reached out to Belichick as soon as he heard the rumor and asked the coach to stop the rumors as soon as possible. After Belichick released his statement, Dobson told reporters, "the statement was false and coach killed it."

Perhaps Dobson is still getting back to football speed after returning to the field just the week prior to the start of the regular season.