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Belichick was asked if it was challenging to put the pieces together for 2008 not knowing whether linebackers Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi -- each of whom had his contract expire and could retire -- will return.

"There isn't any player that I think I could sit here and tell you, that was on our roster at the end of the year, [who] definitely won't be back," he said. "I'm not saying they are all going to be back, by any stretch. Players that are unrestricted, we'll talk to each of them. Some of those players may go to free agency; that doesn't mean they won't come back.

"That's kind of where we are. To be honest, we're still pretty early in the process. We have two more weeks before free agency starts [Feb. 29], to try to pull things together. A big part of that is our own internal evaluations and making sure we can do the right thing for our team, whether it be contract, or role, or how many guys in a certain spot, or whatever. In a lot of cases, we haven't really finished that process yet."

Belichick indicated that the coaching staff also could be altered.

"I think that's in the same boat as the players," he said. "There are a couple situations that are not quite nailed down, for one reason or another, that I'm sure will eventually get resolved. But they're not quite there yet. That may mean something transpires, it may not. I'm not sure."

With 2008 marking his ninth season in New England, Belichick reiterated his thoughts from last summer regarding how much he enjoys being the Patriots' coach.

"Oh, yeah, sure, absolutely. I just wish it had ended a little bit differently last year," he said.

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