During his weekly interview with WEEI, Bill Belichick was asked how he'll break up the preseason repetitions between Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo if Brady's four-game suspension for his alleged involvement in Deflategate is upheld.
Belichick said that he and his coaching staff will wait for more information before making any definitive decisions on how practices or preseason games will be run.
"Once we start our preparation for the Pittsburgh game, then based on whatever information we have, injuries and whatever else, then we'll prepare to play the game the best that we can, the most competitive way that we can," Belichick said. "We'll just have to see what information we have.
"That can be from a variety of sources, whether that's Tom's situation or players that are managing some kind of physical condition. Then we'll just have to see where we are when we get into that preparation. Maybe you play it out there in the week. It's no different than players maybe being available to play in the game or maybe [not] due to injury. We just have to, as we get closer to the game, see how that unfolds."
Asked if Garoppolo, as the less-experienced of the two Patriots options at quarterback, may benefit from more time in front of "live bullets," Belichick responded that the objective was to prepare every player as if they're going to play Week 1.
Belichick admitted that there will come a time when the picture when it comes to the team's starters and backups will become a little clearer. But until then, it's business as usual.
"Our goal is really to get everybody ready," Belichick said. "We can't just focus on one player. We have to get the entire team ready. That's everybody's part of the team. That's what we've been doing. That's what we'll continue to do. At some point, that'll change, but I don't think we're there yet."