Patriots: Bill Belichick finds a mixed bag in preseason debut

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Friday that he saw a little of everything when he watched the film of the Patriots' 7-6 victory over the Saints.

“There were definitely some encouraging things, and also a number of things we need to work on, both individually and from a team or overall scheme standpoint,” Belichick said Friday. “But overall I thought the players competed well, and obviously our first time out there we were trying to get our game-day operation running without too many bumps in the road, so I thought that was a step in the right direction.”

Critical week: Since the Patriots don’t play again until a week from Monday against the Eagles, New England has to finish with three games in nine days. That means this week is the final week of truly effective practice.

“The big thing for us this week is we have to take advantage of really the only chance we have in the whole preseason to actually string some practice days together, so it will be important for us to get the most out of them and try to improve our team,” Belichick said.

Fletcher likely done: Belichick is never one to give specific injury updates, so what he said about LB Dane Fletcher, who suffered an ACL injury, is telling.

“The news on Dane doesn’t look very good, so he’ll probably be out for a while, which is unfortunate because he’s worked hard, specifically this offseason and training camp,” Belichick said. “We’ve had good competition at the position so it we’ll have to look for somebody else to step in.”

Fletcher backed up Brandon Spikes, who hasn’t practice in a week, at middle linebacker. If Spikes stays out, that means SLB Dont’a Hightower will be the guy in the middle, and Bobby Carpenter would be at strong. Mike Rivera, who was on the practice squad last year, will have the biggest opportunity to make the roster.

“He’s been very competitive in camp,” Belichick said. “We’re trying to give him some opportunities to see what he can do and how effective he can be doing it. But he’s certainly well ahead of where he was last year. He’s a hard-working kid that has shown up in the kicking game and on defense. He’s done some good things but still has a long way to go to establish himself as a veteran NFL player.”

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