Patriots Coach Bill Belichick: “We're on to Next Year”

The Patriots coach wasn't taking the Deflategate bait at Friday's media availability

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick wasn't taking the Deflategate bait when asked by the media on Friday about the continuing controversy and star quarterback Tom Brady's potential 4-game suspension.

Belichick held a media availability following the first week of organized team activities (OTAs), and gave limited answers when pressed on the Deflategate controversy.

Asked if he's prepared to start the season with backup Jimmy Garoppolo as the starter given the 4-game suspension Brady received from the league, he gave one of his famous non-answers.

"We're just going day by day right now," he said. "Everybody's working hard trying to get better. That's what we're doing."

Asked what he thought about owner Robert Kraft's decision to accept the league's punishment of a $1 million fine and the loss of two draft picks, Belichick again deflected.

"He made a statement on it last week," Belichick said.

[CLICK HERE to read the full transcript of Belichick's media availability.]

Asked if the past couple months have been difficult, the coach again said the team remains focused on getting the job done.

"We're just working hard every day to come out here and get better," Belichick said. "Coaches, players, everybody in the organization, each day we're trying to make it a little bit better than the day before. That's where we're at. That's what we're going to keep doing."

He also refused to comment on a proposal by some fans to delay raising the Super Bowl banner until Brady is back on the field.

Mostly, Belichick sounded like he just wants to put the whole episode behind him. 

"That was a long time ago," he said, when asked about whether Deflategate took away any of the joy associated with winning the Super Bowl. "We're on to next year. It's 2015. You can forget about last year; that was last year.

"Nobody is looking back, nobody is looking ahead. We're just coming out here trying to get better day by day."

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