FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bill Belichick doesn’t do effusive.
Still, the Patriots coach was complimentary Monday when asked about the early performance of new tight end Martellus Bennett. The Bears traded Bennett to the Patriots for a fourth-round pick in March, convinced his talent didn’t override his locker-room demeanor entering the final year of his contract.
The two teams became reacquainted Monday, the first of three joint practices leading up to Thursday’s exhibition game.
“Big player that’s talented,” Belichick said of Bennett. “Blocks well. Runs well. He’s got skills in the passing game and the running game. There’s not a whole lot that it looks like he can’t do. Looks like he can do pretty much anything you want a tight end to do.
“Smart, very smart. He handles the formations and adjustments and things like that, which are a big part of our offense at that position. He handles those well.”
Still, he said, it’s too early to make grand statements.
“It’s just training camp for right now,” he said. “So everybody’s kinda learning what to do, learning the offense and getting familiar with the basic plays and fundamentals and techniques and all that. We haven’t game-planned for anybody. We won’t be doing that for a while.”
