FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Patriots coach Bill Belichick held a news conference before the team's Monday morning practice, and here were some of the highlights:

1. Amendola's dependability draws notice. Asked what he's learned about receiver Danny Amendola to this point, Belichick touched on his work ethic, skill set and smarts before adding: "He's become a very dependable player for us. He doesn't make many mental errors. He's a guy who is usually in the right spot and has a good understanding of defenses and what he's supposed to do. You can tell he's been in the league for four years."

2. Reflecting on Hall of Fame experience. Belichick attended the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday night, specifically for Bill Parcells. He was asked to share his thoughts on the experience. "I've never been to that part of it. I've been through the Hall, although they've redone it [since the last visit]. It was always great, but it's even better now. They have some amazing displays. I've coached in the game a couple times, but you're there with your team and doing your thing, so you're not really part of that. So this is the first time I've ever been through that, and it's an amazing collection of all the icons from professional football -- players, coaches; not just the people there in the gold jackets but also many of the other people that come for the event. So it was a great experience. Awesome. Impressive. It was great to see a lot of people that I haven't seen for a while, going back to Bill's Giants days but also many other people came to be there for Coach Parcells, players that I have coached along the way too. It was a great night for Bill."

3. Sudfeld's strengths in focus. A reporter asked Belichick what he would consider strengths in rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld, and Belichick started by focusing on the mental side, pointing out how Sudfeld has absorbed a lot of information and done a nice job considering he comes from a Nevada offense (pistol-based) that is significantly different than what the Patriots run. Belichick also mentioned that Sudfeld "catches the ball well" before going into detail on why tight end is one of the most difficult positions to acclimate to with any NFL team (e.g. being at the heart of formation adjustments).

4. A 'pull-it-together' day; team in 'pretty good condition.' Belichick opened the news conference by detailing today's practice plan, which will feature situational work "in anticipation of the week against Philadelphia [with joint practices] and the game on Friday." That comes in the context of pulling things together in all phases -- offense, defense and special teams -- in essentially a walk-through type setting. Belichick added that he feels the team is in "pretty good condition" and that players have worked hard through the first stretch of camp.

5. Looking forward to the Eagles. Belichick shared a few thoughts on the Eagles, saying, "I have a lot of respect for [coach] Chip [Kelly], his organization and the job that he does. The Eagles have always been a solid franchise, pretty much since I've been in the league. Looking forward to working against some different faces, different jerseys and getting a gauge on how things are coming along for us."

6. Extra points. Belichick said the coaches haven't discussed playing time for the preseason, when asked specifically about Tom Brady playing. ... Belichick explained what the team was trying to accomplish with its scrimmage Saturday, as the team tried to "push the overall game operation and communication issue as far as we could, other than having the noise out there. That's the way the game is going to be played and we have to play it that way."