Belichick: All players must be ready, period

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As surprised as you might have been to see Tom Brady look to Shane Vereen for the first play of Sunday's game, Vereen could hardly believe it himself.
The running back didn't know he'd get in until right before kickoff.
No, not at all," he said of receiving fair warning. "They tell us to be ready and thats the one thing I try to do is just be ready when my numbers called."
It was called for the first three snaps of New England's first series. Vereen started with a 10-yard catch, followed it with a 14-yard run, and added another 1-yard run to that.
You get excited," said Vereen. "Anyway I get to help the team, I get excited to do that.
He hasn't had much of a chance.
Before Sunday, Vereen had just six yards total (one rushing, five receiving) to his name. He's played in only four of seven games for the Patriots this year because of a foot injury that lingered from the preseason finale into Week 3. When called to duty on Sunday he ran for 49 yards on eight carries in addition to the 10-yard catch that opened the game.
From 14 offensive snaps on the season to 17 in one night -- that's a decent leap. Head coach Bill Belichick knew Vereen would make it.
"Shane is a good athlete. He's worked hard. He's a smart kid and he had more opportunities yesterday than he's had since the preseason. Like everybody who played yesterday, there are some good things to build on, some things that could have been better, and we'll just keep going forward, keep trying to work on some things and build on them."
Vereen's ability to perform comes from a combination of things, like athleticism and the work put in at practice. Belichick said the coaches approach each player the same way in regard to preparation, no matter what his experience.
If you're put on that football field, you're as ready to go as the next guy. Efficiency is expected.
"It comes down to everybody on our team being ready to go. Period. Just ready to go," he said. "Preparing during the week, getting ready to do their job, then with however many -- whatever opportunities present themselves during the game -- being able to go out there and do it at a quality level. That's what every one of our players prepares for.
"Playing time is not something that a player controls; opportunity isn't something they control. They don't call the plays, they don't know what the defenses are going to be, so those opportunities aren't always 100-percent predictable. The most important thing is the players, every player, is mentally and physically prepared to do their job, to what adjustments have to be made before or after the snap, and go out there and do it."
Vereen can only hope doing that will translate to more opportunities.
He may finally be ready.

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