More than once last week, as his team looked toward its preseason game with Washington on Saturday night, New England coach Bill Belichick mentioned the difficulties the Redskins' defense could pose.

Belichick noted defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' pressure package and their "creative" blitzing, especially in third-and-long situations.

Not surprisingly, Belichick knew what he was talking about. Though the Patriots seemingly did little wrong in their 41-0 victory over Washington, they were just 6-for-12 on third-down conversions.

But in the long run, the difficulties may end up helping the Pats.

"Things we worked on and talked about, we executed fairly well," Belichick said yesterday in his day-after conference call. "We're still working for consistency. There were some new things from Washington that we can learn from. I think this will be a really good film to teach off of and I look forward to showing the players because I think that they will see things and understand things a little bit better after we've had a chance to show them on tape."

"Blitz pickup is such a team thing," he said when asked how New England reacted to Washington's pressure. "If you send six guys, everyone has a pretty limited area to rush, but you coordinate so you have the right guys blocked and the quarterback has the opportunity to throw. I think it was, again, a learning situation. Washington gives you some tough situations to block; it was good [experience] for us and we'll learn from it."

Other topics the coach hit upon during his conference call:

With the first round of cuts coming tomorrow -- the team has 85 players on the roster and must get down to 75 by 4 p.m. -- plus preparing for the fourth preseason game, Thursday at the Giants, Belichick said this will not be an easy week.

"This will be one of the busiest and toughest weeks of the entire season, with roster cuts, preparing for a preseason game, preparing for a regular-season game, [trying to gauge] what the team looks like a month or two from now, looking at other players. There's a lot of balls in the air; it's not an easy time for anyone."

In previous years, the first cut was to get down to 65 players, not including those who had played in NFL Europe. Now the NFL Europe players do not have an exemption from the first cut, so in addition to figuring out who has a spot, New England will also be scouring the waiver wires Tuesday night to see if there might be a player they want that another team has cut loose.

The final cutdown is Sept. 2; that is when all roster exemptions expire and teams must decide their 53-man roster. On Sept. 3, teams can establish their five-man practice squads.

Patrick Cobbs has opened some eyes.

Cobbs, the undrafted rookie out of North Texas, was New England's leading rusher Saturday night, as he played against the Skins' second- and third-string defense. Cobbs gained 92 yards on 13 carries and also notched 2 touchdowns; in three preseason games, he has 143 yards on 26 carries (5.5 yards per carry). He also turned a screen pass into a 57-yard touchdown in the opener against Atlanta.

"He's made some impressive plays, he hustles, he's a tough kid," Belichick said. "With young players, they're going to make mistakes, but you correct them and hope they do better next time. Running the ball, especially, is where he's had the most production."

Belichick added that the coaching staff takes into account which players Cobbs is gaining his yards against, but at the same time, "a player can't control who's on the other side of the ball, so they just have to do what they can do."

Corey Dillon, Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk are locks to make the roster, so Cobbs is likely in competition with Heath Evans for the fourth running back spot, assuming Patrick Pass begins the season on the PUP list.

Johnathan Sullivan may have pulled his sizeable backside off the chopping block. Asked if the defensive lineman is improving, Belichick said, "Yes, he sure is. He definitely is. I think every game he's played better and he's practiced better."

Neither Rodney Harrison nor Dan Koppen seemed to be having any problems after the game, though Belichick said he had not spoken to the safety or center yesterday. Both players made their preseason debut after suffering major injuries last season.

"I talked to them [Saturday night]. I don't think there were any major problems. Like anybody, the first time you play in a while, you probably experience a little bit of soreness from the contact in the game that you don't simulate in practice."

The Patriots will be back on the practice field today and tomorrow in advance of Thursday's preseason finale at New York.

smanza@projo.com / (401) 277-7340