Belichick: Bodden release right for team

Patriots Bill Belichick joined The Big Show Monday at Gillette Stadium, discussing the team's 25-17 loss to the Steelers and his decision to release veteran cornerback Leigh Bodden last week. 

Perhaps the most scrutinized play of Sunday's loss was the team's onside kick with 2:35 remaining. The Patriots still had three timeouts and were trailing by six, but the Pats went for the onside kick and did not see it travel the required 10 yards. 

"We worked on the play a lot in practice," Belichick said. "Really, it's looked good and I thought we had a good chance to get the ball. Unfortunately, it didn't work very well in the game. That wasn't the way we wanted it to go, but that was just one of those things where it just didn't happen the way we hoped it would. 

"If we would have made the stops defensively and not given up that initial first down, we would have gotten the ball back with a lot more time than we did, but then when they picked up the first down on the fullback run there, which was another close call, by the time we gpot the ball back, there wasn't much time left."

As for the release of Bodden, Belichick was not willing to divulge a ton of information, but did pointed to roster space as one of the reasons.  

"We had a couple people coming off the [the physically unable to perform list]," Belichick said. "In the end, we though that was the best decision for the team."

Asked further about the decision, including whether it was because Bodden was unhappy, Belichick responded, "We made the decision we thought was best for the team, so take whatever you want out of that."

The coach added that they did not know rookie cornerback Ras-I Dowling would be placed on injured reserve at the time of Bodden's release, but noted that it "really wasn't a surprise when it came down that way" given his difficulty staying healthy.

The Patriots will face the Giants this week. 

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