FOXBORO -- With Aaron Hernandez sidelined indefinitely with an ankle injury, the Patriots turned to Kellen Winslow for another tight end body.
The signing was made official Wednesday. As for whether or not Winslow will be able to contribute Sunday when New England takes on the Ravens, Bill Belichick said it's too soon to tell.
But just barely."I think well get a good indication today," the coach said Friday. "Weve thrown a lot at him the last couple days. Today is the day we go back and try to tie it all together and review it and see how comfortable and how well they each retain things. Hes a pretty experienced guy, hes smart, hes had a lot of football."
Every new player has to navigate a learning curve. Even Brandon Lloyd, who's been with the Patriots since March, is still doing some guess-and-check on his chemistry with Tom Brady."I think the more time that players spend together, the better," Belichick noted. "Eight games is better than one game, three days is better than one day. You can go right down the line. Id say you try to get the most out of each day, each opportunity. Any time you bring in a person for that game week, I think the main thing you want to try to do is make sure that person is ready for the game plan that youre running.
"There may be things in the playbook that you need to go over and all that, but they may not apply to this game so, how much time do you really want to spend on those, even though theyre important and theyre fundamental and theyre building blocks? But if its not something thats really going to be used in this particular game, then its maybe something you want to try to catch up on later on. We try to prioritize what the person needs as a foundation and then what the person needs to go out and be able to play in the game in the role that we would ask them to play in."
To paraphrase Belichick: When it works, it works. He used Brian Waters as an example of a player who acclimated quickly and well. Others are not so lucky.
Either way, New England will know soon enough.
"Well see how it goes, but I think theres a chance he could help us."