Patriots win preseason game, but lose fullback Develin

Following a 17-16 win over the Carolina Panthers in the Patriots? third preseason game on Friday night, Bill Belichick met with the media via conference call and discussed James Develin, Dominique Easley, Reggie Wayne, and special teams.
Develin, a 6-foot-3-inch, 255-pound fullback, broke his right tibia and will miss six to eight weeks.
When asked how comfortable new addition Reggie Wayne is at wide receiver so far, Belichick noted there is plenty of room to grow.
?You?ll have to ask him that question,” he said of the longtime Indianapolis Colt. “I?m not sure. It?s a lot to learn in a few days. I think it?s always different in a game: game speed and timing and communication, not necessarily verbal, but the timing and communication with the quarterback and the routes and so forth.
?Practice is good and that certainly helps, but it?s never quite the same as the game. That?s something that we can learn from and build on.”
The conversation then shifted to Easley, the second-year defensive lineman who made several impressive plays against the Panthers.
?He?s just had a real good training camp,” Belichick said of Easley. “He?s taken a lot of reps. He?s improved his technique, his reactions, recognition. He?s an explosive athlete that was very productive in college and just being able to get out on the field and take those reps in practice and improve has helped him get better. It?s been key for us and him this year.”
One reporter asked about the reason for moving Easley back and forth between defensive tackle and defensive end, which he has done the past two preseason games.
?He played a lot of that in college, it?s not something that he hasn?t done before,” Belichick said. “We?ve done that with all of our defensive linemen really, maybe not all of them, but most of them have them have been in there from time to time.
?We just try to get everybody a little bit of exposure to some different spots. It helps them understand the overall scheme. But he?s done a good job with it. He?s experienced. Like I said, he had a lot of production doing that in college at Florida.”
The conference call wrapped up with Belichick giving his impressions of the Patriots? special teams play.
?I thought our special teams were inconsistent,” he said. “We had a couple good coverage plays and we had a couple that need to be better. I thought we kicked the ball pretty well, not perfect. Our return game had some moments, again, where we had decent blocking, in some cases pretty good blocking. We didn?t obviously always get everybody but we got enough to kind of get going.
?As far as blocking the punt, the gunner and penetrators on the punt and kickoff coverage team, we didn?t get many chances on kickoff returns. There are some things there to work with, there are some things we definitely need to improve on, but it was competitive.”Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi.