FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick covered everything from the Oakland Raiders to the T-Birds, his middle school football team, during his Wednesday press conference.

Experienced Raiders team: Belichick knows the Raiders, who are the NFL’s second-oldest team as it relates to opening-day rosters, have a valuable asset: experience. “A lot of familiar faces, but guys we are used to seeing in different uniforms,” Belichick said. “The thing that jumps out about the Raiders is how experienced they are -- how many veteran players they have.”

Raiders are "where we were a week ago:" The Raiders are 0-2 after a rough 30-14 loss at home to the Houston Texans, but Belichick is not looking past them. “With the leadership they have out there with the veterans on this team, guys that are used to winning, guys that they brought in that have been in all those playoff games, Super Bowls, I mean, look, this is where we were a week ago,” Belichick said. “This is the same thing we heard in here last Wednesday after the Miami game. I’m sure the way they feel after the Houston game is the same way we felt after the Miami game. Last week doesn’t mean anything in the NFL, it’s what happens this week. That’s all we can focus on is what we need to do to get ready for this game.”

A different coverage look: Unlike the Patriots' previous two opponents, the Raiders like to play close to the line of scrimmage, especially against wide receivers. “Play more man-to-man, more press coverage,” Belichick said when asked about how the Raiders’ defense is different from others. “They mix their mans and their zones and they make some pressure in there. ... I’d say more man-to-man than we have seen in the last couple weeks.”

Like the Raiders of many years ago: The dominant Raiders teams that played in the 1970s and 1980s were known for size and speed. Belichick said the 2014 Raiders return to the historical look of the franchise. “I think that this team looks like the big, fast team that the Raiders have been known for,” Belichick said. “They are big at every position -- their line is big, the receivers are big, the backs are big, defensive line is big, secondary is big, kicker is big. I don’t how many guys they have under 4.45, but it has to be a dozen, maybe more than that. They are fast at linebacker. DBs are all fast, even the safeties are fast.”

Reece, the matchup dilemma: It’s rare that fullbacks receive a lot of attention, but in the case of Raiders fullback Marcel Reece, his versatility has caught Belichick’s eye. Belichick called Reece, who is a former wide receiver turned fullback, a “matchup player,” meaning it’s difficult to find the right way to contain a player with his skills. “You put a big guy on him, he’s probably going to have a hard time matching up with Reece’s speed and quickness,” Belichick said. “Put a smaller guy on him, he might match up with his speed and quickness, but it would be hard to match up with his size. I’d say that’s a dilemma. Who do you have that has the same skill set as Reece?“

Professor Belichick: The press conference ended with Belichick giving a 10-minute crash course on unbalanced lines, the single-wing formation and his eighth-grade football days for the T-Birds in Annapolis. It was as though Belichick was reciting chapters from a book like his dad, Steve Belichick’s “Football Scouting Methods.”