It might've been because he found his whistle waiting for him at the podium when he got there. He looked down, smiled, looked up and addressed the crowd of reporters seated in front of him.
"Been looking for this whistle," he said happily.
Relaxed as he seemed, there's still plenty of work to hammer out between now and the regular season. The Patriots will take on the Giants in their fourth and final preseason game of the summer on Thursday. Then come cuts. Then the train is moving on the regular season.
Somewhere in there, the Patriots may have to find some help in the form of a player not currently on their roster.