While the Patriots manage playing three preseason games in 10 days, a major change to the big-picture landscape is looming.
Roster cuts.
New England's 90-man squad must be shaved down to 75 by 4:00 PM Monday. The compressed and hectic schedule colored Bill Belichick's opening remarks on his Saturday afternoon conference call.
"We had a quick turnaround last night so were just trying to work through the film here and get organized this week; get ready for the Giants, evaluate our players, get ready for the 75 cut, all that. We have a lot of balls in the air, a lot of work to do here the next couple days.
Might personnel moves be made in the waning hours of the weekend?
"I really don't know," Belichick said flatly. "We just got in about 4:30 this morning, watched the film here. We have a lot of things to do in a very short period of time. What exactly time frame will be and how it will all play outI don't know.
"That's something after we're done with this call, one of the many things we'll talk about in our staff and scouting meetings and so forth over the next couple days. We'll see how it all comes together. When we know what we're doing, we'll do it. We know what the deadlines are, if it happens before that it does; if it doesn't then we'll do it by the deadline."