Nobody can seem to agree on what to make of NFL preseason football, particularly Week 3, commonly referred to as the "dress rehearsal" for the regular season.

With starters expected to play beyond the first half in most cases, the public tends to anticipate Week 3 as the best preseason indicator of future, regular-season performance. Bill Belichick has bad news for those excited few.

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In fact, the Patriots coach has no idea what the term "dress rehearsal" means in the context of an exhibition game.

"In terms of playing time it might be a little different," Belichick said Monday during a WEEI Radio interview. "But in terms of game-planning and strategy, what we see in the regular season compared to what we see the in third preseason game ... I don't even think you're in the same universe.

"We're still running our basic plays and we'd expect our opponents would run their basic plays. You get to the opener and start to get to game-planning and scheme, I mean you're in a totally different ballpark, in my opinion. I don't see any comparison at all. It's too far away, I don't see how you could compare them, from that standpoint."

Belichick did admit, even though the key variable of game-planning is absent in these games, more isolated conclusions about player performance can and will be drawn.

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"One-on-one matchups, letting the players play, yeah, I would say you have a better matchup of guys like that, but it's nothing compared to what we're going to see in the regular season from a total scheme situation standpoint."

Despite Belichick's explanation, he'll have to prepare himself for inevitable questions about and overreactions to Jimmy Garoppolo's performance Friday night against the Panthers.