Cunningham continues drawing Belichick's praise

Bill Belichick isn't one to skip around Gillette, sprinkling praise like rose petals down onto his players. So when the Patriots coach consistently has nice things to say about somebody, it's pretty safe to say he's earned it.
Such is the case with Jermaine Cunningham.
The defensive end was commended by Belichick early, during the team's first mandatory minicamp, for having a "great offseason." By the end of preseason, Belichick said Cunningham was playing "on an higher level."
That the coach's words were backed by a solid performance from the third-year player in Week 1 is huge. Cunningham showcased some versatility on Sunday in Tennessee, rushing, not only from the edge, but from the interior.
And we know how much the Patriots love versatility.
"When you move players around you create different match ups," Belichick explained on his Tuesday conference call. "Fortunately, he was able to make a couple big plays for us. The holding penalty on the quarterback draw was a big play. He knocked the quarterback down, had a couple big pressures, made a couple plays at end. We're just trying to get our productive players on the field and try to create some match ups for the offense to worry about."
Cunningham had three tackles, one sack for seven yards, one tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit against the Titans. It does indeed seem like he's carrying over a strong preseason, where he lead the team in QB hits (six) and tied for the top spot in sacks (two).
What's the big deal?
Last season's limitations cast doubt on Cunningham. He had just one tackle in nine games (48 defensive snaps) before the Patriots placed him on injured reserve that December. Belichick believes the lockout and abbreviated offseason, hurt a lot of players. It was especially tough for guys like Cunningham who, in what sounded like new information from the coach, had surgery after the 2010 season (shoulder) and couldn't rehab with the team.
The road to reclaiming a role in New England's defense looked steep.
So far, it's reading like a success story.
"Right from the beginning, leaving at the end of the season last year when he was on IR was he trained very hard, he worked hard on all the aspects of his physical conditioning -- strength, explosion, flexibility, all that --and had a real good offseason, had a real good spring. That offseason led into a good spring; that spring led into a good training camp, good training camp led into some production in the preseason and the first regular season game," said Belichick.
"I think it's just a combination of a lot of days of hard work, a lot of sweat, a lot of work in the weight room, a lot of technique work on the field. All that just made him a better football player in a lot of different areas. I don't think it was just one thing or just waving a magic wand. It was just day after day of hard work."
If Cunningham can keep stretching the effort through the regular season, he'll really give substance to the sentiments.
All the coaches are counting on it.
"Hopefully he'll continue to work hard here to be a player on defense who, like most of our players, can have a multiple role and can be able to be put into different positions based on whatever we sit fit for that week," said defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
"I think the big focus for Jermaine is continue to work hard, continue to grow as a player, keep learning, and really continue to focus on his day-to-day improvement."