Bill Belichick discusses Brandon Bolden and Jermaine Cunningham suspensions
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was unsurprisingly mum on the four-game suspension dealt to rookie running back Brandon Bolden, but he has now expanded a little bit now that defensive end Jermaine Cunningham has also been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policies against PEDs.
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Belichick told The Boston Herald, ”Look, unfortunately, sometimes on these things, people make mistakes. But everybody’s accountable for them. I think those situations are unfortunate. Neither one of them needed to happen. They weren’t that important. But they were violations. So they are, what they are.”
“They are, what they are.” That has to be the best part of his quote, and the significance we can take out of Belichick’s statement is that he is willing to forgive both young, solid role players for their mistakes. It seems like he has dismissed it as a careless, minor mistake that deserves the punishment but is something that won’t be affecting either player in the future.
The real pressing matter at this point is figuring out who can step up in the absence of Cunningham and, possibly, Chandler Jones. Trevor Scott was impressive back with the Oakland Raiders, he played well in training camp, he’s a veteran, and he has done a good job over the past two games since Jones has been injured. Scott has said and done the right things so far, and I think he can do a credible job in the interim.
Belichick also said to the Herald that the team may promote someone from the practice squad for depth or even sign somebody.
Matt Roth, Ray Edwards, Aaron Maybin, and Everette Brown are a few of the names on the “Best Pass Rushers Available” list that I fictionally compiled off the top of my head. Should the Pats pick up a pass rusher? It isn’t like the pass rush has been a big strength even with everyone healthy, so it would be interesting to see if the Pats pick somebody up to boost the rush.
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