FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Friday shot down speculation that an altercation between receiver Aaron Dobson and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was the reason why Dobson had been inactive the past two games.

When asked whether the decision to sit Dobson was a football or disciplinary decision, Belichick offered a simple response: “Football.”

Probed about whether there was any incident between Dobson and McDaniels, Belichick replied with a simple “No” and followed with, “And I will have a comment on that later.”

On Thursday, the Boston Globe reported that Dobson and McDaniels had “at least one loud disagreement,” which led to the benching of Dobson. The report also said there are concerns about Dobson’s maturity.

Dobson and fellow wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins were inactive in the loss to Kansas City as the team opted to activate four running backs -- Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Brandon Bolden and rookie James White -- and just three receivers.

“We do what we think is best for the team just like we always do,” Belichick said during his Friday morning news conference. “We are going to make the best decisions that we can make every week trying to activate the players that we think will give us the best chance to win. Same thing that we do with every game.”

Considering the Patriots’ offensive woes, the decision to sit Dobson, a player expected to make a jump from a rookie to a second-year receiver, comes as a surprise. But Belichick assured that the passing game has weapons and his decision came with the team’s best interest in mind.

“I think we have a lot of skill players in the passing game -- tight ends, backs, receivers -- when you look at the whole group there are a lot of guys who can be productive in the passing game.”