When he actually speaks them, Bill Belichick sure can have a way with words.

Take what he said Monday when asked about Friday's matchup between the Patriots and Panthers and if the third preseason game truly is a "dress rehearsal" for the regular season.

"I don’t know what that means," he told Boston radio station WEEI. "In terms of playing time it might be a little different, 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.

"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."

Care to chime in, Ron Rivera?

"I love what coach Belichick said," Rivera said after Wednesday's practice. "It's a complete world apart. The one thing you can't do is emulate the atmosphere, the intensity level, and quite honestly, even though you do game plan, you don't game plan everything."

This is the third straight year the Panthers and Patriots have met during the third week of the preseason.

In each of the past two seasons, Rivera's kept his starters in through one series of the third quarter, and that's the plan again for Friday. Who the defense will face at quarterback is less clear.

Tom Brady, who's set to serve a suspension during the first four games of the regular season, hasn't even been in the stadium for the Patriots' first two exhibitions. He was attending a family member's memorial service for the first and was then sent home before the second after cutting his thumb with a pair of scissors.

But to Rivera, the Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo question doesn't matter much.

"Whether (Brady) plays or not I think is inconsequential in terms of this game," Rivera said. "This is - to a degree - the dress rehearsal, but for the most part, we're going to go out and do what we do. We've looked at what they've done in the preseason and that's what we're game planning against."