A look at some national articles that mention the Patriots:

From Jeffri Chadiha on SI.com, in an article on the pressures young quarterbacks face:

The only quarterback I’ve seen who has managed his early success without facing any criticism is New England’s Tom Brady. Granted, he has more hardware in his house than you’ll find in your local Home Depot, but he has also managed his career in a way that young quarterbacks should emulate. He hasn’t written any books. He didn’t do many endorsements early in his career, Even his current ads downplay his personality. Brady has carefully manipulated his image so that it doesn’t conflict with his team’s perception of him. Today he’s as close to being “one of the guys” as a rich, handsome, three-time Super Bowl champion with a hot actress girlfriend can be.

From Sports Illustrated, Lisa Altobelli has a “First Person” look at Rodney Harrison.

On his Super Bowl XXXVIII win and the photo of him under a hail of confetti with his arm in a sling:

I had it blown up, and it’s hanging in my basement. Tears are flowing down my face, and my arm is broken: It signifies my career and life. There was so much pain and hard work. I remember days [growing up] it was 100 degrees. I would be running up and down the street in the neighborhood, and people would laugh at me, saying, ‘Are you crazy? You’re not going anywhere.’ That motivated me. You’re not going to outwork me. You may be faster, you may be bigger, you may be stronger, but you won’t outwork me. And I’m not afraid. I don’t care if you’re 6’6″ and 300 pounds, I’m going to try to make you pay.

From Vic Carucci’s Tuesday Huddle on NFL.com:

– I never saw how the New England Patriots would be a good fit for Randy Moss, if they had ever pulled off the much-speculated trade with the Raiders for his services. Yes, the Patriots need a receiver and Moss is talented, but his poor attitude simply doesn’t seem to have a place on a team built with players who don’t bring the divisiveness that Moss brings. Bill Belichick is a great coach, but I don’t think even he could get Moss to buy into his team-first approach.

From Pete Prisco’s Blog Quick Hits:

The New England Patriots amaze me at how they constantly plug in guys to their offensive line and never seem to miss a beat.

This season they have tackle Ryan O’Callaghan starting at right tackle and the line has played well.

A year ago, they started rookie Logan Mankins at left guard all season and also started rookie tackle Nick Kazcur at times. They also played most of the season without starting center Dan Koppn, yet still won the division and won a playoff game.

Why are they able to do this? Line coach Dante Scarnecchia is one of the best in the NFL.

“Dante gets guys ready to play,” Koppen said. “He’s not afraid to put the young guys out there and just let them play.”

O’Callaghan, a second-round pick from Cal, has been a pleasant surprise. He’s done a good job in the run game and in pass protection.

No matter who the Patriots seem to put in the lineup, they always have a good line. They lose players like Damien Woody, Joe Andruzzi and others, yet they keep playing well.

It’s time Dante Scarnecchia gets the due he deserves as a great line coach.

From John Clayton on ESPN.com:

Nothing doing on Moss, Porter fronts: The chances of Raiders receivers Randy Moss or Jerry Porter being traded to the Patriots were a longshot at best. The Patriots weren’t really interested in Porter, and his suspension due to insubordination in practice last week scared off a lot of teams that might have been interested. Moss was another story. There really wasn’t much talking going on between the two teams. Oakland was in a tough spot. If the Raiders received a first-round pick for Moss, they would be perceived to be taking a discount. It would be hard for the Patriots to give up the No. 1, so a deal was not imminent.

From Len Pasquarelli’s Tip Sheet on ESPN.com, talking about players eligible to come off the PUP list:

• RB Patrick Pass, New England (toe): The kind of experienced, utilitarian guy you don’t miss until he’s absent, Pass does a little of everything for the Patriots and is a valued veteran. Pass can play fullback or tailback, is a solid pass protector on third down, returns kickoffs and also plays on all of the special teams coverage units. A seventh-year veteran, Pass, 28, has just 1,161 yards total offense from scrimmage, but New England coaches will feel a lot better about their depth when he returns.

From Andrea Kremer’s Blog on NBCSports.com:

On the Raiders Handling of Jerry Porter:

A final thought, mercifully, on the Porter fiasco.

Remember, the Patriots who always find a way to win. Well, when they reached an impasse with Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch, they didn’t make it personal because as one team president told me, when a situation becomes a ‘stare down,’ no one wins. You have to make a business decision, not an ‘I’ll show this guy ‘personal one.”

So the Patriots cut their losses and parted with Branch for a hefty number one pick next year — masterful negotiating, although the price Tom Brady “pays” is a whole other story.

Similarly, the Broncos didn’t make it personal with disgruntled receiver Ashley Lelie, (why is it always the receivers?!) rather they shipped him off to Atlanta in a three team deal.
That’s why the Patriots and Broncos, and not the Raiders, are winners on the field and in the front office.

Power Rankings:

Carucci’s Power Poll on NFL.com:

4. New England (4-1; unchanged): Maybe an extra week of practice has allowed the Patriots to improve the timing of their passing game.

Pete Prisco’s Power Rankings on Sportsline.com:

4 Coming out of the bye, they are on cruise control to the AFC East title. They get another chance this week to tighten the grip at Buffalo.

From the ESPN Power Rankings:

6 (7 last week) Patriots 4-1-0 Unless they trade for a WR before the deadline, the Patriots really need rookie Chad Jackson to become more of a contributor.

From Charles Robinson’s Yahoo! Sports Power Rankings:

5. New England Patriots (4-1) – Say goodbye to that awful field at Gillette Stadium now that the Patriots have been told by the NFL to revamp their surface. Field Turf should be in place by December. Coach Bill Belichick should shed a tear because in December and January, that torn up field used to be an advantage.

Dr Z’s Power Rankings on SI.com:

4) New England Patriots (4-1)
Still true to last week’s rankings. Bye week, leisurely relaxing, occasional TV viewing while watching the other poor devils getting the hell knocked out of them. Folks, this will get more interesting, I promise.

Peter Schrager’s Power Rankings on FoxSports.com:

6) (Last week, 7) Before the season, the Miami Dolphins were the chic pick to not only win the AFC East in 2006 — but to win the Super Bowl come January. Six weeks into the season, New England already holds a two-game lead in the division, is riding high after big wins over Cincinnati and the Dolphins, and are well on their way to a first round bye in the playoffs. Writing off Bill Belichick? Yeah, probably not the smartest idea.

A little less encouraging game than last week. But I suppose it would be easy to look at the ugly nature of yesterday’s win and forget a few things. First, it was a win. A division win at that, so even more important. Second, Miami knows the Patriots very well and always plays them tough. Most division games end up being tough, sometimes regardless of the quality of the opponent. So, while its true a look back at this game on film reveals it was probably the worst game the Patriots have played this season, overall, it was still a win and that in and of itself is a positive. Lets look at it positionally.

QUARTERBACK: Tom Brady has usually struggled against Miami and yesterday was no exception. He again made some good throws, but also some very poor ones. The good news is he didn’t turn the ball over and has mostly avoided that this year, despite not being on top of his game. One does wonder what’s wrong. I’m sure the theories will be flowing on talk radio for the next two weeks with a bye coming up. Lets stick with that old formula that the most likely answer is the simplest. In other words, its merely a matter of adjusting to new receivers and changes in the passing game that goes with new personnel. It will come around and its not like its been a total implosion. Again, turnovers have been avoided. So, the passing game has merely been mistake free, in general, but far from explosive. Hopefully some element of explosiveness will appear in time.

RUNNING BACK: Corey Dillon was running well, until sitting down in the third quarter seemingly with another injury. Laurence Maroney had his second off game in three weeks and Kevin Faulk didn’t do much on offense. On the up side, Heath Evans had a nice day including showing up surprisingly in the passing game and scoring his first NFL touchdown.

WIDE RECEIVER: Troy Brown had a nice game and made a couple very difficult catches in traffic. He also added a touchdown. No one else did much and this was an exceedingly weak game for this crew, save for Brown.

TIGHT END: A decent day for Ben Watson and David Thomas. Watson made a couple big catches and Thomas made one key one in which he took a vicious hit and held on. He also did a nice job blocking in extended time with Daniel Graham sitting out due to injury.

OFFENSIVE LINE: An uneven performance for the line. They created little room running, save for some good blocking in the middle of the line by Dan Koppen and Stephen Neal early in the game. And, although they only gave up one sack, their pass blocking wasn’t quite as good as its been other games. Definitely a down game for them.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A good game all around. Ty Warren continued his Pro Bowl level play. Richard Seymour had a nice game, as did Vince Wilfork clogging up the middle. Jarvis Green showed up again and had another decent game. A solid performance.

LINEBACKER: A pretty good day here too. Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi were solid in the middle and Mike Vrabel was active. Another down day for Roosevelt Colvin and one wonders why he seems to have disappeared so much this season after a really strong year last year. He’s been alarmingly quiet, save the opener versus Buffalo.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: A solid day. Asante Samuel continued his solid year with two interceptions, the first for the secondary this year. Rodney Harrison was very active in run support and Ellis Hobbs gritted it out, playing decently despite a broken wrist. Chad Scott had another fine day and has been one of the more consistent players in the secondary this season. Not a bad day overall.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A nice day for Mike Wright blocking a field goal and tackling the Miami punter Donnie Jones after he mishandled a snap. Decent punting again from Josh Miller. But it was disappointing to see Kevin Faulk fumble again. He has unique talents, but I suppose it comes with knowing he’ll lose three or four fumbles on you over the course of the season and one or two of them could come back to really hurt you, as it did last year. Fortunately, his fumble against Miami did not cost the Patriots.

Next week is the bye and then another division game against Buffalo. The Patriots will need to play significantly better following the bye than they did this week on the road in Buffalo. Until then.

Here’s a look at what the national experts are saying about the Patriots this week:

From Phil Simms on NFL.com:

Maybe people are just tired of the Patriots. I don’t want to go into one of my usual rants, but I just don’t understand why more people aren’t infatuated by them. They can’t wait to tear them down and criticize them for making some tough decisions — balancing money and loyalty on a football team. They find fault with what they are not doing, but don’t give them enough credit for what they are doing.

Players and coaches are always going to leave successful organizations. They have to. They can get more money by going elsewhere. When you win three Super Bowls in five years, it’s impossible to pay everybody for that success.

But what I see when I look at the 2006 Patriots is a big-time NFL playoff contender.

From Dr. Z’s Power Rankings on SI.com (Patriots are ranked 4th this week after being 14th last week):

New England Patriots (3-1)
You’d never know it from CBS’ No. 1 announcing crew because they don’t bother with trivial details such as this, but the Pats opened against the Bengals in a 4-2-nickel, with Hank Poteat as the starting nickelback and Junior Seau out. Poteat is a street free agent they picked up Wednesday before the game. He’s been on and off their roster for three years. And they got by with this, against one of the NFL’s flashiest passing offenses, with Carson Palmer, etc. … you know, the Bengals, who a few idiots had ranked No. 1 in the NFL. Yeah, the Patriots are resilient, almost spooky in a way.

Don Banks on SI.com

PERCEPTION: The talent drain on New England’s roster will finally catch up to the three-time Super Bowl champions, as the defections from the receiving depth chart will drop the Pats into middle-of-the-pack territory in the AFC.

REALITY: The Patriots’ passing game is 16th — definite middle-of-the-pack standing — with 213.8 yards per game and six touchdowns. And it has been ugly at times compared with Tom Brady & Co.’s usual level of execution and excellence. But in this case you can tell your statistics to shut up, because the bottom line is that no team in the NFL is more resilient or more adept at figuring out how to win with what it’s got than the Patriots.

These are not your 2003-04 era Patriots, to be sure. But there they are, standing 3-1 and in first place in the AFC East, a game ahead of both Buffalo and the Jets — whom they’ve already beaten — and two games up on the supposedly improved Dolphins. After watching the Patriots beat the daylights out of the Bengals in Cincinnati on Sunday, is anybody in the NFL willing to declare their championship era definitively over? I didn’t think so.

From Peter King’s Week 5 Picks on SI.com

Miami (1-3) at New England (3-1)

I don’t know why I think this will be so close, except that Nick Saban is royally embarrassed right now, and you do not want to embarrass Nick Saban.

New England 17, Miami 16

From the Inside Slant on FoxSports.com:

Before this April’s draft, everyone gave their two cents on who the Patriots should select with the 21st overall selection. Linebacker was the most popular choice. Some suggested New England should go after a blue-chip defensive back. And what about a receiver? Not too many “Draft Experts” had the Patriots selecting a running back in the first round but as usual, Bill Belichick not only surprised everyone, he’s also getting the last laugh.

After the first month of the season, Laurence Maroney is the leader to be this year’s NFL Rookie of the Year. Through four games, the explosive running back out of Minnesota leads all rookie rushers with 294 yards, 3 touchdowns and a 4.9 yards per carry average.

From Peter Schrager’s Power Rankings on FoxSports.com (Patriots are 7 after being 14 last week):

Talk about Jekyll and Hyde. Seven days after being thoroughly embarrassed on national television versus the Broncos, the Patriots blow out the Bengals on the road in CBS’s featured game. This team’s a lot like those “Digital Shorts” on “Saturday Night Live:” Great one week, a complete dud the next. You never quite know which one you’re going to get.

From Aaron Schatz’s DVOA ratings on FoxSports.com (Patriots are 11th after being 12th last week.)

New England fans may be ready to ditch rookie kicker Stephen Gostkowski after yet another blown field goal this week. But Gostkowski excels at that other, equally important aspect of his job: kickoffs. Gostkowski is the only kicker to average more than 70 yards per kickoff this season, and according to our numbers, his kickoffs alone have given the Patriots 4.5 points worth of estimated field position compared to an average kicker. Cleveland’s Phil Dawson is the only other kicker more than 2.4 points above average. The better the field position for the Patriots defense, the less likely the team will need Gostkowski to win the game with a clutch field goal.

Adam Schein on FoxSports.com:

There are three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and the Patriots don’t lose back-to-back games.

Perhaps we all needed to pay attention to the latter a bit more.

I truly hated this matchup for New England, going into Cincinnati to face the undefeated Bengals at home. I wasn’t exactly sure how the banged-up Patriots’ defensive backfield was going to handle the Bengals’ offense.

I should’ve known.

It’s Bill Belichick, after all.

How many times have you thought the Patriots don’t match up (think Peyton Manning and the Colts), only to watch New England win a game and dominate an opponent.

There was a reason the brilliant coach was exchanging playful barbs with Chad Johnson. He was confident. And Belichick passed his confidence onto his team, which simply dismantled the Bengals in Cincinnati, 38-13.

Laurence Maroney, a gem of a draft pick by Patriots executive Scott Pioli, gashed the suddenly porous Bengals’ run defense for 125 yards and a couple of scores. He is the perfect complement, and eventual replacement, to the hard-running Corey Dillon. Dillon, a former Bengal, toppled the Cincinnati defense for 67 additional rushing yards.

It was also noteworthy that Tom Brady used Doug Gabriel a lot more and threw a touchdown to his new receiver. That’s a harbinger of things to come.

New England is still the team to beat in the AFC East…

Vic Carucci’s Power Poll on NFL.com:

4. New England (3-1; unranked): Who said the Patriots were dead?

From Pat Kirwan’s feature “Unsung Heros” on NFL.com:

1. Dante Scarnecchia, assist. head coach/offensive line for the Patriots: The Patriots were in a must-win situation on the road against the 2005 AFC North champion Bengals. Scarnecchia has been in the NFL for too long to remember, but this superb teacher has been taking average linemen and making them very effective blockers. The first thing that jumped out was the fact that the Bengals didn’t create one sack all day long. The next issue was the recent re-dedication to the running game by the Patriots and the end result was 236 yards rushing. The Patriots held the ball for eight more minutes than the Bengals, collected 424 yards of offense and converted 50 percent of their third downs. Scarnecchia has been with the Patriots for more years than head coaches than I prefer to count. And around the league he is considered an innovator and a terrific line coach.

From the ESPN Power Rankings on ESPN.com (Patriots are 5, were 11 last week):

Pretty amazing stat: The Patriots haven’t lost consecutive games since 2002, a stretch of 53 games. So much for all the talk about Tom Brady’s body language, huh?

From the Scouting Matchups on ESPN.com:

Dolphins at Patriots
This is a huge AFC East contest between a struggling Dolphins team and the new-look Patriots. The early optimism in Miami has been fading quickly due to the poor play of the offensive line and quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Every game has been ugly for the Dolphins this season. The Patriots were impressive last week in Cincinnati. If Miami doesn’t improve its offensive output, this could be a lopsided game.

Now THAT was a great performance. The Patriot have played some good games since their last Super Bowl win following the 2004 season. But they haven’t played any great games. One can pretty much place a caveat on almost any win they’ve had since dispatching the Eagles twenty months ago to win their last title. Whether it was the Bucs last year, a good win, but alas the Bucs are one dimensional and not good in cold weather. Or the Jets and Bills last year, big wins, but against bad foes. Or against the Jets and Bills again this year, good moments, but not dominating enough and inconsistent. Even the playoff win against Jacksonville last year, an up and coming opponent on the road not used to the glare of the playoffs and not quite ready for prime time. Always the footnotes.

But Sunday was different. That was the Patriots team we all remember from the glory years. That was the dominant, physical, smart, well-coached team fans have been waiting to see for some time. That was, simply, the single best game they’ve played since dispatching the Colts 20-3 and the Steelers 41-27 in overwhelming fashion in the 2004 playoffs. That was the Champion Patriots finally on display once again, playing Patriots football. It was good to see. Lets examine it positionally.

QUARTERBACK: Tom Brady was efficient and resembled his old self more often than not. He still missed a few throws and could have displayed more touch, but he also made some fantastic throws as well. He’s had moments this year when one thinks he has finally reaches a comfort level with all his new receivers and he’s going to play the best he’s ever played. Which is saying something. He’s also had some down moments, but they were less prevalent Sunday. And the trend is upward, not downward, which suggests the comfort in the passing game and with all the changes is coming along nicely. Lets see where he is with these receivers in another four games, with a bye thrown in for extra preparation time. All indications are, combined with this running game, the Patriots offense will be a major force to be dealt with in all phases by that time.

RUNNING BACKS: Wow this two-headed monster is impressive. Laurence Maroney is potentially among the elite backs in the NFL. In fact, he may already be there, at least in terms of being a break away threat. And Corey Dillon has run like a man possessed all season. I know I say that every week, but its really something to behold to watch a guy run with the force and effort he displays every week so far this season. I don’t think he’s quite the back, physically, he used to be. He’s lost a bit of speed and probably athleticism. But he is still above average in those areas and makes up for what he’s lost with pure desire. I love watching him literally bring defenders to their breaking point with his running style over four quarters. He is the one dishing out punishment the way he is running, not the defense. I believe his loss to injury was a major factor in the Denver loss last week and a major factor in this week’s win. And Maroney? What can you say. Its just exciting to see the ball in his hands every time he touches it. This combination could do special things this year. A note needs to be made about Heath Evans as well, who had his most impressive blocking week at fullback since joining the Patriots about a year ago. Sunday, he was dealing powerful lead blocks that sprung many big runs. That shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle. He was good. Kevin Faulk’s role has been limited so far this year. He occasionally shows up in the passing game, but with the backs in front of him, there is only so much he can play. He remains a weapon, however, when needed and the coaching staff has found ways to get the ball into his hands additionally on special teams, where he has made some plays and did again Sunday.

WIDE RECEIVER: I have to say, I have been impressed with the professionalism and toughness of Reche Caldwell this year, save one play against Denver where I thought he hit the deck a bit too soon after a catch. But Sunday he didn’t do anything spectacular, but showed he is adapting to the way the Patriots do things and is not the soft player some portrayed him as when he came back to play after one of the more brutal hits to the head I have seen in some time. Very impressive. He’s been a solid player this year and his blocking downfield was also good on numerous run plays. I think he is going to be good the more and more comfortable he becomes in this offense. The same can be said for Doug Gabriel, who has a bit more natural ability than Caldwell and can be a big time receiver in the passing game with time. He has the speed, size and physicality to give the Patriots an element they maybe haven’t had since Irving Fryar. While David Givens brought a bit of what Gabriel brings in terms of physical play and size, he doesn’t have the speed Gabriel has. Still, while early returns are encouraging, Gabriel has a ways to go before he becomes the solid, dependable, comfortable receiver Givens was in this offense for three years from 2003-2005. Chad Jackson appeared a little gimpy still, though he played some. The hope for the Patriots is his health improves so we can see what he can offer down the road.

TIGHT END: A great day for both Ben Watson and, particularly, Daniel Graham. Watching Graham block and contribute in the passing game left me thinking following the game “damn, sign this guy up now….whatever the cost.” For my money, he’s worth more than a Deion Branch any day of the week and given what he brings when healthy, the only real problem he’s had at times since he’s been here, I’d say he’s more valuable and the player I’d rather have on the roster. An extension with him now would be a very positive thing with the Patriots, he is more valuable to them than anyone gives him credit for and his blocking is almost like having a sixth offensive lineman on the field. He’s that good.

OFFENSIVE LINE: As bad as they were in the run game against Denver, they were that dominant against Cincinnati Sunday. Stephen Neal, in particular, was extremely good, but the whole line was pretty damn impressive. Even rookie first-time starter Wesley Britt dominated his guy. They play like this every week, I don’t think there will be much complaining about the offense this year again.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A dominant performance here too. Jarvis Green came off a down week versus Denver to manhandle Bengals center Eric Ghiaciuc. The Patriots smartly moved Green inside against this inexperienced backup on passing downs and he got two of his three sacks thru him and almost added another, dealing physical punishment to Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer all day. The rest of the line was great too. Mike Wright had his best day as a pro in his hometown, but overall its hard to single out anyone. They all played well. You may notice a theme here, pretty much everyone had a good day and defensive line was no exception.

LINEBACKER: The two players I thought were not great, but merely solid, came at the linebacker position. Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi didn’t have tremendous days and didn’t hold up their gaps a couple time, allowing some good runs by Bengals running back Rudi Johnson. Mike Vrabel and Roosevelt Colvin made up the ground with much more solid play than against Denver, however, and Tully Banta-Cain played well in the second half.

SECONDARY: A very good day. Chad Scott had an outstanding day filling in at corner. He’s been very good this year. Rodney Harrison had easily his best day since returning from injury, despite one missed tackle on a Johnson run. And Artrell Hawkins came back nicely from injury. Overall, this patchwork unit held up pretty well, all things considered, and did their job. They can tighten it up a bit and perhaps had the weakest day of any of the offensive or defensive units. But they were still solid.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A good day for Josh Miller again and the coverage and return teams. Antwan Spann had two penalties in his Patriots debut, not good. But other than that all was well. Well, except for another missed kick by Stephen Gostkowski. I don’t think this kid has really been tested yet. One big kick and, with his leg, he could really turn things around for himself. Until he does that, however, its all speculation. He has the leg, but he’s not delivering right now. The kickoffs are good, but the kicks still an adventure. He needs to come on starting this week at home.

Miami comes to Foxboro this week and then the bye. Suddenly, things don’t look so bleak for the Patriots, do they? Funny how that works. Its going to be enjoyable watching this team come together and build on that big step they took Sunday. I’m already looking forward to watching the next step. It could be yet another fun season for Patriots fans and things finally looked back to the championship years for at least one week, after a very long absence. If they can continue that into the bye, watch out AFC.

by Greg Doyle
[email protected]

A second look at Sunday’s game between Denver and the Patriots on tape reveals it to be the definite off-performance it appeared to be initially. Still, I don’t think it was nearly as disastrous as some of the gloom and doom prognostications you heard floating around in the wake of the game. The Patriots played an off game, got beat by a good a team and still could have won if you just change a couple plays, a couple interpretations by the officials or a couple areas of execution by the Patriots just a tad. Or maybe just add in a mistake or two by Denver which, to their credit, they avoided. A few inches here or there and its a 10-6 win for the Patriots and nobody even notices they didn’t play a stellar game. But that’s football.

Its early. The Patriots are going to be alright. They are going to win a lot of games and those who were just frothing at the mouth, media and others, to jump on them at the first opportunity are going to be disappointed if this team can stay healthy. Those who were so looking forward to a bad performance to prove how bright they are, will eventually go silent when they win the division again and have a shot in the playoffs. They’ll probably claim they knew they’d turn it around all along.

Lets look at each unit.

QUARTERBACK: Tom Brady wasn’t nearly as bad as is being portrayed by many following the game. Football makes me laugh sometimes. Or at least those who watch it. You see it with all sports to some extent, but it seems football has a unique ability to make people search for the most inane reasons for losses. They didn’t play with fire is a common one. He didn’t want to be there is another. He’s lost his passion. He misses his binky. He’s pissed at management. Whatever. Sometimes the other team is good. Sometimes athletes have off nights. Sometimes the execution isn’t what it can be or will be because of injuries, new personnel, good scheming by the other team. There are lots of legitimate reasons. The most overlooked by tunnel vision fans or media with agenda is good play by professional, skilled opponents. That usually barely gets lip service, at least compared to “he’s pissed about the salary cap so that is why he missed that throw on third and 9.” Its like the opponents are all the Washington Generals to hear some people talk or write.

The soap opera explanations are usually the least valid. Actually, strike least. They’re usually absurd, ridiculous, idiotic and not in the slightest bit valid. Head Coach Bill Belichick actually said today he thought the passing game had its best game so far this season. The reason for the failure was the complete collapse of the running game, in my opinion. For this particular game, I think the loss of Corey Dillon to injury was huge and put a big dent in the Patriots game plan. They clearly came out determined to run the ball and had a few decent runs while Dillon was in there. But it seems to me Dillon’s style was more fitted to play Denver than Laurence Maroney’s. Dillon is a power back and Denver is a smaller, fast defense that is more vulnerable to Dillon’s style than the quicker, more elusive Maroney’s. When Dillon went down, it seemed to me to basically destroy the Patriots game plan. Yet, they stuck with it too long, which has to be a demerit to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. How does this relate to the quarterback? Well, he was in way to many long, less manageable third down situations. And those are hard to convert. I’m not saying Brady didn’t have an off game. He did. I’m not saying there still is a lack of comfort and/or familiarity with his new receivers. There is. But you got a good defense on the other side who managed to stuff the run and take away the Patriots game plan and force difficult situations much of the game. Credit Denver, not blame Brady. He wasn’t that bad. And he’ll be fine as the season goes along. The passing game will continue to improve and according to at least Bill Belichick, it did and had its best game last night. Do we doubt his ability to judge these things? Should we believe Michael Felger over Bill Belichick? Or maybe Bill Burt? Lets be serious, its game three and they were held to 7 points by a pretty good defense. It’ll come around and already is.

RUNNING BACK: As mentioned above, Dillon actually looked pretty good early on. But then he got hurt and the Patriots had to rely almost exclusively on Maroney. He had some decent plays in the passing game, but didn’t have the room to do much in the running game. Again, his style didn’t really fit this game either. At least without some compliment from Dillon. Perhaps, if the Pats were determined to stick with their plan, a dose of the rugged Heath Evans may have been a change up that was suited to try against the quick, but smaller, Denver defense. But alas, they never tried anything different until it was too late. For this reason, Kevin Faulk wasn’t much of a factor until too late, not really thru any fault of his own but due to the lack of early emphasis on passing except on third and longs.

WIDE RECEIVER: Not a horrible day in my opinion. I will say this, if I never see Jonathan Smith in a Patriots uniform again, it won’t be too soon. I think I know what the Patriots were thinking in releasing Bam Childress from the active roster for Smith. Smith looks the part more. Childress basically is a smallish, inside guy who plays the position Troy Brown plays. Since they already have Brown and Childress has practice squad eligibility, they went with Smith since he can play the outside position where they have some new faces and some injuries. That’s just great. But there is only one problem. Childress makes plays and Smith never has, save for one nice punt return he had against the Patriots a few seasons back. That one play seems to have inordinately occupied the Patriots mind a bit in regards to Messr. Smith. The guy played a significant amount as the third receiver last night for two and a half quarters. I think I was more open in the stands surrounded by 68,000 people than he was on the field with only 11 Broncos around. Its no coincidence when they finally said “screw this” and tried Doug Gabriel as the third receiver, it started clicking. Gabriel can actually play. Now that you have figured that out, Patriots, could you please dump Mr. Smith and bring back that other guy who can actually play, no matter how he looks, Bam Childress? Thank you. As for Gabriel, a nice performance. I hope that eases whatever worries the Patriots had and they use him now. And when Chad Jackson comes back, after not playing this week due to injury, this crew can actually be decent. Troy Brown still can be a good possession guy and was last night. Reche Caldwell appears to be what he is, decent and solid most of the time, but not a game breaker. I was a little disappointed in the toughness he showed by hitting the ground after a nice second quarter 23 yard gain on 3rd and 7 without being touched by a Bronco player. C’mon Reche, that was a nice play, but how about a little toughness and fight for 3 or 4 extra yards? But overall, he was open some and could be a solid contributor once they get everyone back and clicking together. It’s just going to continue to take a bit of time.

TIGHT ENDS: Ben Watson had some good plays, but one egregious drop. He is basically in his second year and on a pace to catch 70 balls. That isn’t too shabby and save for those occasional lapses in concentration, he is a growing weapon for the Patriots. Daniel Graham had an off night and wasn’t his usual dominant blocking self.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Good job pass protecting. Horrible job run blocking. That goes for all of them. None of them stood out and most were pushed around in the running game, save for a few plays here and there. This is surprising considering the usual physical, tough nature of the Patriots line. Very surprising.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Ty Warren had a stellar game, which is becoming routine for him. Vince Wilfork seemed to out physical Denver center Tom Nalen and he was forced into several holds which he got called for. Probably a few more he got away with. But a disappointing showing for the rest of the line. Richard Seymour needed to have a Richard Seymour dominant game and he didn’t. The rest were non-descript. They got gashed too much in the running game, couldn’t seem to contain outside when they needed to and only got mediocre pass rush on Denver quarterback Jake Plummer most of the night.

LINEBACKER: Junior Seau had a very nice game. Tedy Bruschi was okay, especially considering his limitations with a cast on his hand. The rest of this unit was horrible. Roosevelt Colvin did nothing, got sucked inside too often and let Broncos running back Tatum Bell get outside on him. Mike Vrabel was unusually invisible. Tully Banta-Cain too. The talk today seemed to be the defense did okay because they only gave up 17 points. By my view, they let Denver stay on the field too often, allowed them to change negative field position into decent field position too often, even if they didn’t score. They allowed them off the hook too often and allowed them to run too much. They generated little pass rush and couldn’t get stops when and where they really needed them. They had some penalties, albeit a couple questionable ones. And they created no turnovers. The linebackers were a big part of that. A very off night for them, again, except for Seau.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: I thought Eugene Wilson was having a good game until he got hurt in the second half with what appeared to be a right hamstring injury as I saw him grabbing at that area on the sidelines. He saved a touchdown early in the game with a nice open field tackle on Bell when Bell broke free up the middle from the front seven. Chad Scott also had a nice game and some good hits in limited action. Rodney Harrison was okay, particularly in the running game. Besides that, not much to like here. Ellis Hobbs got beat for a touchdown. Asante Samuel gave up plays too. James Sanders made some big mistakes, including missing a tackle on Javon Walker’s game break 82 yard touchdown which made it 17-0. Not a good night overall.

KICKING GAME: Stephen Gostkowski again kicked the ball too low after appearing to slip a bit on the wet turf. That is the way the fields are up here and in fact will only get worse. I will say though that the unit as a whole let the guy come in from the right side untouched who got the block and you could sort of see it coming almost immediately from the snap. The snap wasn’t great either. There appears to be issues with this whole operation, not just Gostkowski, that needs to be addressed. Decent night kicking from Josh Miller and some nice coverage from Randall Gay. But too many penalties again and it cost them field position which could have made a major difference in the game several times.

On to Cincinnati. I don’t think the Patriots match up well here, particularly on the road. So it may get worse before it gets better. But I remain convinced it will get better and this team will be fine. Its early, every loss hurts. But I suppose wins sometimes can get blown out of proportion how good they really were. And losses can get blown out of proportion how one sided they really were. A lot of time, a few plays here or there, a few changes and the whole perception is different without really changing much in the level of play. That is what happened here. The Patriots will be fine. They’ll eventually get some turnovers on defense. They have mostly good players and they won’t always have off nights. The passing game will click. They’ll win their division and a lot of games. They’ll be around come playoff time. Its not time to panic, and that will remain true even if they lose this week to the Bengals, which I suspect they will.

by Greg Doyle
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Sunday’s visit to the New York Jets by the Patriots certainly started out for two and a half quarters as the dominating performance fans who have been watching this team grew familiar wih during the Super Bowl seasons. But momentum is a funny thing. A few plays turned the tide and almost got the Jets tied up in the game. Still, you have to credit the Patriots for putting the game away with an impressive, clock killing drive and the one thing that has become apparent about this Patriots squad thru the exhibition season and now into the regular season is they have the ability to put together long, clock killing, methodical drives at times. More so than at any time during the Belichick-era, at least by the early returns. If this offense starts to gell, that could be an ability that separates them from the pack at some point. On to the tape.

QUARTERBACKS: Tom Brady did not have the horrible performance that has been portrayed by some in the media. Really, only two glaring mistakes were evident. The long throw to Doug Gabriel that was picked off was an uncharacteristic forced toss. And the strip sack that resulted in a Jets possession in good field position was Brady’s fault. There were two blitzers coming from the back side, Kevin Faulk could only pick up one and did so, Brady has to account for the other guy and he seemingly didn’t recognize it coming at all. Still, he made some really good throws. The rifle shot on third and long to Ben Watson on the first touchdown drive was a key throw. His methodical completions to ice the game, practically, on their last drive was vintage Tom Brady. He’s working with some new receivers here, its still not finely tuned. But it should get better every week and I see nothing to indicate Tom Brady won’t be Tom Brady very shortly.

RUNNING BACK: Another good performance by all the backs. Corey Dillon actually looked quicker to me this week than last and has now put together two excellent weeks with his highly motivated, punishing running style. One concern to watch is an apparent injury he suffered on his last carry. He walked off okay, but after such a promising start it would be a shame to see him suffer a set back. Laurence Maroney wasn’t quite as good this week, but still very impressive. His quickness really is something to marvel at and you have to think its only a matter of time before he breaks off a 50-plus yard TD run some week. Kevin Faulk made some critical catches down the stretch. And Heath Evans, while he wasn’t in there much, could be seen throwing some nice blocks on several plays when he was in there.

WIDE RECEIVER: A good day for the most part. Troy Brown has played well and is picking up as a more focal point of the offense to the point he reminds one of his best days as a top NFL receiver again. Chad Jackson had a touchdown in his first NFL game and displayed excellent size and quickness, as well as the ability to play physically. He did drop a long pass, but his hands are good and he’ll haul that in most of the time. Reche Caldwell had a couple nice, short catches for first downs and, although not spectacular, has now done a solid job two weeks in a row, though he hasn’t been featured much. Doug Gabriel didn’t show much in his Patriots debut and did look a bit lost out there still.

TIGHT END: A good day for this trio of Ben Watson, Daniel Graham and David Thomas. All had big catches down the field and with the exception of Thomas on one play, all did a good job blocking. This is one of the better tight end units in the league.

OFFENSIVE LINE: An improved performance from the Buffalo game. Ryan O’Callaghan was far better this week than last and had a few dominating blocks which cleared the way for good ground gains. He was also very good in pass protection. Logan Mankins also had a very good game and plays with a mean streak. The rest were solid.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Ty Warren and Jarvis Green had tremendous games. Both made quite an impact and Green seemingly caused disruption on most series he was in there for. Warren was a force all game long and he is, by far, off to his best start as a Patriot. Richard Seymour proved too much to handle in the middle as well, to the point the Jets had to pull their starter at guard and try someone new. No Jets lineman proved much of a match for him. Vince Wilfork also was good and didn’t allow much to happen in the run game, though he did have a stupid double penalty that helped the Jets get untracked. Mike Wright didn’t do much in his first NFL start.

LINEBACKER: A good day for the most part. Rosevelt Colvin was far quieter this week, but Junior Seau picked up the slack and had a fine day filling gaps in the running game. His big stop on third down before the Jets got stopped on a fourth down play was critical and a beautiful play. It helped give the Patriots their final touchdown on their subsequent possession, a score which ended up proving big. Mike Vrabel had a decent day and a sack and Tedy Bruschi was up and down in his first action of the season. He showed enough, however, to make one think he’ll be up to speed quickly. Tully Banta-Cain also did a decent job. The defense on the whole was very good, save for a couple bad plays in the secondary.

SECONDARY: Through two and a half quarters, this unit was very good. Michael Felger pointed out Eugene Wilson as someone who got schooled “all day” by Laverneus Coles. I only saw two plays where Wilson was even in coverage on Coles and could be considered bad plays by him. Other than that, he had a very good day. Ellis Hobbs was not as good this week as last week and got embarassingly run over by Coles, who is deceptively strong and physical, on the Jets last touchdown. Asante Samuel almost jumped a route for a touchdown early in the game and was in general pretty good. Rodney Harrison improved as well and was in on many more plays than the previous week productively, but still is not back to his old form. Chad Scott did a decent job and the flukeish touchdown the Jets receiver Jericho Cotchery got after a very good hit by Scott really can’t be blamed on him. It was just a very good, athletic play by the receiver. Overall, this unit defintely had its scary moments, reminiscent slightly of last year, but the number of plays were fairly limited and not yet an area of concern.

KICKING GAME: Josh Miller was fine again and Willie Andrews showed some good stuff in kick coverage. Stephen Gostkowski seemed to rush his final field goal attempt after a somewhat bad snap. This cost the Patriots a chance to ice the game and was the first display of nerves by Gostkowski I have seen since he joined the team. The result was a low trajectory and a block. Adam Vinatieri was once almost cut early in his rookie season after missing several field goals, but rebounded with a big game in what was likely his make or break game in 1996. This was just one bad kick, the first one Gostkowski has made since July under game conditions. No reason to worry yet, every kicker gets an allotment of those on occasion.

Next week, a big rematch against Denver. The Patriots will be looking to get to 3-0 in the AFC. The media will focus on the bid to avenge last year’s playoff lost the Patriots suffered in Denver, but really its just about getting a leg up on what is likely to be a competitor for playoff seeding come January. I’m sure Belichick will be telling everyone last year is last year and doesn’t matter and will, thus, be accused of stonewalling for not buying into manufactured storylines. But he’s right, last year doesn’t matter. What matters is trying to knock off a team and get two games up on a team that could pose a threat down the line if you don’t get them while you have the chance now at home. It should be a great game.

by Greg Doyle

A second look at the Patriots 19-17 opening day win over Buffalo reveals it was not nearly the near disaster portrayed by some. In fact, these eyes felt the Patriots played well for the most part. I heard one shrieking media person who longs to make himself more relevent than he is wondering aloud whether they were only 2 points better than Buffalo and thus a middle of the pack, mediocre team. Kind of a ridiculous question considering they were 6 points worse than a terrible Cincinnati team on opening day in 2001…..and then won the Super Bowl, that they were 31 points worse than a 6-10 Buffalo team on opening day in 2003….and then won the Super Bowl….and were 14 points worse than Pittsburgh early in the season in 2004…..and then won the Super Bowl knocking off the same Pittsburgh team by 14 along the way.

The point is, yes the Patriots only won by 2. But they beat a Buffalo team that played pretty well, that isn’t as bad as people think and which only scored 10 points on offense all day long. You can’t take out the first play, but it is not like that score resulted from a long stretch of being outplayed. It was simply one bad play. Disregard that one, albeit significant, screw up to open the game and the Patriots outplayed Buffalo by 9 the rest of the way and were driving for another potential score as time ran out. I don’t see the problem.

QUARTERBACKS: It was far from Tom Brady’s best performance. He wasn’t real sharp. But he made some good throws too. The first touchdown pass to Troy Brown was vintage Tom Brady. The throw for the touchdown to Kevin Faulk for the Patriots second touchdown was a thing of beauty. The throw to Reche Caldwell for a big 24 yard gain on the tying field goal drive was also very well placed. It wasn’t his best day, but it more resulted from circumstances than anything else and he seemed to get things cranked up a little better in the second half.

RUNNING BACKS: Obviously, Laurence Maroney’s debut was electrifying. Watching some of his runs over and over again today, I can’t think of another back in the entire NFL who hits the hole and gets upfield as quickly as he does. Give him a little room and boom, he is downfield 4-5 yards quicker than the defense knows what hit them. Its early, but he showed potential Sunday that he could quickly become one of the very best backs in the NFL. He did have one drop in the passing game, however, and it remains unproven how he’ll contribute in that area. Corey Dillon ran very hard and had an outstanding day as well. You have to like the physical pounding he laid on Buffalo. He has been doing that since his first carry in exhibition game one and seems determined to dish out as much punishment on defenses as possible this year and to run his absolute hardest every single carry he gets. He looks like a man on a mission. My only concern is, he clearly seems to have lost a little bit of speed and one wonders if he can continue to withstand the pounding will surely take given the way he is running or if he’ll wear down a bit. The fact he’ll be splitting time with Maroney will be a blessing for him, but perhaps at some point this year the staff should consider limiting Dillon’s carries for 3-4 games in a row so that he is fresh in the cold weather December and January games when his current style will be best utilized. Kevin Faulk had a good game in limited time. When the Pats have a game they need to open it up a bit more, Faulk should continue to be a great weapon for them and he did have that outstanding one touchdown catch.

WIDE RECEIVERS: Not a lot of production from the three that were active, but Troy Brown did have a nice touchdown catch. Reche Caldwell made two nice plays on both his catches. The first a nice run for a 9 yard gain on a quick receiver screen and the second a nice 24 yard catch in traffic with the safety bearing down on him to keep the game-tying drive going.

TIGHT END: Three catches by Ben Watson, including two big ones that kept drives moving. On a day when the Patriots have a different, more air-oriented game plan, Watson showed he will be a dangerous weapon. Daniel Graham had a nice catch to help a drive going and kill the clock. He also blocked well all day long in the running game. Watson did miss one block that helped cause a sack and he remains inconsistent at that area of his game.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A somewhat tough day for Matt Light. He was good in the running game, but struggled versus Bills speed rusher Aaron Schobel. Speed rushers typically give Light the most trouble and one wonders why the Patriots didn’t give Light more help as they have typically done with teams that have skilled speed rushers. But with only three receivers active, perhaps it was difficult to use backs and tight ends to help out as much when you needed them running routes. The good news for Light is next week’s opponent, the Jets, have traded away John Abraham, another speed rusher who typically gave Light trouble. Ryan O’Callaghan struggled as well in his NFL debut. He seemed to settle down in the second half and showed great potential in pre-season, so we’ll chalk it up to opening day nerves. Logan Mankins and Dan Koppen, on the other hand, were beasts on the line and had great days. Mankins has really improved in a year and dominated in run blocking. Koppen too really has shown how good he is since he returned in the pre-season from his major shoulder injury of last year. The holes he has been helping create in the middle of defenses really is apparent and its clear he is a difference maker on the line. Its no wonder the Patriots running game really kicked into gear with Koppen back in the lineup and doing great work in the middle.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A very solid performance with just one bad whiff by Vince Wilfork on Anthony Thomas’ 18 yard touchdown run for the Bills the one blemish. Besides that, Ty Warren continued his upgraded play from last year, a trend he started in the pre-season. Richard Seymour was his typical good self and Vince Wilfork played a lot better in the second half. There are few worries with this unit.

LINEBACKER: A good performance. Roosevelt Colvin made several good plays and was stout all day long in stringing plays out wide. Tully Banta-Cain, though he didn’t have a sack, caused some disruption and was also good in the running game. In the middle, Mike Vrabel was excellent and Junior Seau solid and seemed to follow the flow of the defense, particularly in the second half. He was the Patriots leading tackler.

SECONDARY: The cornerbacks had a good day, particularly Ellis Hobbs. At safety, Eugene Wilson had an outstanding day and was all over the field. He looked comfortable again back there after an inconsistent 2005. Rodney Harrison had a pretty uneventful return to the lineup and got off to a slow start. He even missed a tackle on Bills running back Willis McGahee, something you rarely see. Harrison is perhaps the best form tackler in the NFL. But he got a few licks in and there is nothing to indicate he won’t be back to his old, top form within a couple games.

KICKING GAME: Nothing to complain about here. Steven Gostkowski converted the critical tying kick and his kickoffs were deep. With one exception, the coverage was good against Buffalo’s top notch return team and Josh Miller had a solid day punting.

Overall, contrary to some, I was encouraged by this performance. You didn’t see the gross breakdowns on defense that were apparent right from the opening whistle last year. The running game was improved. The offense wasn’t explosive, but controlled the clock when needed with the run and put together several good drives. Give it time. I think fans who like running-oriented football on offense and good, smart, physical defense are going to like this team. And come the cold weather of December and January, it may very well serve this team perfectly. It also marks more of a return to the style that won this franchise three championships, as opposed to last year’s team which was somewhat out-of-character in style and performance in many ways both offensively and defensively. I liked what I saw. They’ll only get better and this style will feed off each other on both sides of the ball once they begin to gell. On to the Jets next week.

by Greg Doyle
As the Patriots prepare to open their 2006 season next Sunday at home versus Buffalo, now would be a good time to take a look around the NFL at the rest of the Patriots division, the AFC East, as well as the other divisions in the league to see where the competition stands coming out of training camp:
AFC EAST
The Patriots main competition is thought to be Miami. However, in their role as this year’s flavor of the month and media darling, there are a few problems with Miami that seem to have been overlooked. First, during their six game winning streak to end last year, its rarely mentioned the running back who was doing the best work for them was Ricky Williams, who is gone for the year to a drug suspension. He was one of the best backs in the NFL down the stretch last year and its rarely mentioned what a loss that could be. The other back, Ronnie Brown, is undoubtedly talented and a very good back. But he’s never handled the role alone, even in college he split time with Cadillac Williams at Auburn. It remains to be seen whether he wears down with an increased workload and the depth behind him is pretty thin. Its also rarely mentioned that six game winning steak was somewhat illusory as four of the wins came against Buffalo, the Jets, Tennessee and Oakland, including squeakers against Buffalo, the Jets and Oakland. They also won another game against the Patriots backups, barely, after the Patriots had clinched the division. At quarterback, Daunte Culpepper arrives. But will it be the former MVP candidate Culpepper or the Culpepper who was among the worst quarterbacks in the league prior to getting hurt last year? I personally always thought Randy Moss made a lot of plays for Culpepper and although Dolphins receiver Chris Chambers is very good, he’s not quite on the level of Moss in his prime. Culpepper will surely be pretty good, but great? I don’t know. He makes mistakes. And he made a lot of plays on the move, will his mobility be the same after a serious injury? We shall see. Up front, the Dolphins didn’t upgrade their mediocre line much and already have lost their starting center, Seth McKinney, for the year. On defense the Dolphins are always pretty tough. But Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas aren’t quite the players they used to be. They replace 4 of their 5 top defensive backs in the secondary. They have top notch defensive coaches on hand in head coach Nick Saban and defensive coordinator Dom Capers. Their homefield advantage is among the best in the NFL. I see the Dolphins as a good, but not quite ready team, that should be around 9-7 or 10-6. That could spell a wild card birth, but not much more.

Buffalo may be a little better than expected. Quarterback J.P. Losman looked better in preseason than at any time last year. Though the jury is definitely still out on him and the first returns last year were disasterous. They have a quality runningback who looks rejuvenated this year in Willis McGahee and one of the better young receivers in the league in Lee Evans. The problem is mainly on defense where they have some good young talent, but they are in transition. The return of Takeo Spikes at linebacker should help and Nate Clements is a top quality cornerback, but there isn’t much else to like, yet, on this side of the ball. Dick Jauron is a smart coach. He’ll play conservative, keep some games close and probably pull off some upsets.

Down in New York, former Patriots assistant Eric Mangini has his hands full. He has very mediocre talent all around. Quarterback Chad Pennington is below average and posseses one of the worst arms of any quarterback in the NFL, even before he injured it. The running backs aren’t playmakers and the line young in spots or too old in other spots. The defense has few playmakers beyond linebacker Jonathan Vilma. The staff is inexperienced. It’ll be a long year for the Jets.

AFC NORTH
Pittsburgh brings back their power running game and bruising defense. They should be back in the playoffs. However, the loss of Antwan Randle-El costs them a certain game breaking ability on offense. With coach Bill Cowher unsigned for next year, a few injuries and the post-Super Bowl effect could send them into a tailspin around midseason with a few bad breaks. If they can avoid that misfortune, they’re still a team no one will want to play come playoff time.

Cinncinati has a very explosive offense led by recuperated quarterback Carson Palmer. Rudi Johnson is a workhorse back and Chad Johnson among the best receivers in the NFL. Their offensive line is very good. Their weakness is defense, but they showed progress there in the preseason. Still, the personnel is largely the same and they’re still going to have to outscore teams to go anywhere. That’ll probably get them to the playoffs, perhaps even a division championship, but they don’t have the defense to win it all.

Cleveland is improved under former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennell. But they also lack playmakers on offense. Reuben Droughns is solid, but not a top back. There receivers are pedestrian and they have a young quarterback. They’ll have to wait another year in the Mistake by the Lake.

Baltimore added quarterback Steve McNair and even an aging, beat up former MVP like McNair is better than the Kyle Boller. At running back, Jamaal Lewis appears to have seen his best days a few years ago. There isn’t anything too impressive behind him. That will hurt the running game. They do have an impressive stable of young receivers such as Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams, and a top tight end in Todd Heap. But the lack of a running game will make them an average at best offense. On defense, they’re not the stout defense of days gone by. Ray Lewis is still good, but no longer the best defensive player in the NFL. Terrell Suggs is one of the best pass rushers in the league. They have a top cornerback in Chris McCallister and a All-Pro safety in Ed Reed. The defense will keep them in games and, with some close wins, they could be a playoff threat. But not a championship threat.

AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis is another media darling. The thought there is the new kicker, former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri, is going to push them over the top. This is hard to fathom being a factor before the post-season, given that their kicker last year didn’t miss more than two kicks during the regular season. It’ll be pretty hard to upgrade the regular season performance anyways. And the loss of one of the more underrated keys to their offense, running back Edge James will be much more fatal than a shot in the dark hope you’re season might come down to a kick in January. You sorta got to get there first. Maybe the media is forgetting that. A significantly downgraded running game could actually cost the Colts things like home field advantage, bye weeks and easier opponents come playoff time. To the point that the upgraded post-season kicking game, in theory, never will even come into play. The proposed replacements for James at running back have been frightful in their preseason performance and while they should improve in the regular season, you simply can’t replace an All-Pro with lesser players and think its not going to hurt. On defense, they lost three starters there as well. The Colts still have some talent, but their window is rapidly closing. They will likely still make the playoffs, but their days as a threat have ended. If it even ever existed that is.

Houston will be a much improved team in 2006, though it may take a year in the new system under new head coach Gary Kubiak for it really to come together. David Carr has always shown flashes, but has been one of the more harassed quarterbacks in the league in his young career. If they can give him time, he can be a good player. They are a little thin at running back, but look for receiver Andre Johnson to return to his old Pro Bowl form and for an upgraded defense behind young stars like Mario Williams and Dunta Robinson.

Jacksonville could be a team worth watching in the AFC. They got a taste of the playoffs last year. The loss of their best receiver Jimmy Smith to retirement will hurt, but they have a young crew in Ernest Wilford, Matt Jones and Reggie Williams ready to pick up the slack there. Quarterback Byron Leftwich is a gamer, but inconsistent. Their line is decent, but not great. Where Jacksonville really makes their bones is on defense where they have the best tackle tandem in the NFL in the middle of it in Marcus Stroud and John Henderson. Cornerback Rashean Mathis is a borderline Pro Bowler and heart and soul Donovan Darius, the Jaguars Rodney Harrison, returns from injury after only playing two games last year. Look for the Jags to be back in the playoffs and perhaps ready to make noise.

In Tennessee, the Titans are still rebuilding. They have some young talent in running back LenDale White and quarterback Vince Young. They’ll likely be playing by season’s end to get them experience in a lost season.

AFC WEST
San Diego has one of the NFL’s top back in LaDaniana Tomlinson. That alone can keep them in games. They also have perhaps the games best pass catching tight end in Antonio Gates. On defense, Shawne Merriman enters his second year and could be a Defensive MVP type player. A big question mark is can new quarterback Phillip Rivers replace the departed Drew Brees effectively? I’m guessing no. Rivers has the bigger arm, but will prove to not be yet ready to be the game manager Brees was.

Denver looks to be another solid Super Bowl contender in the AFC. They have a slew of young running backs. As usual its anyone’s guess which one will emerge. I’m guessing a combination of the more complete back Mike Bell, a rookie, and the blazing fast Tatum Bell. They add Javon Walker, an upgrade over the departed Ashley Lelie at receiver and still have some playmakers on defense, such as the great cornerback Champ Bailey. Look for them to win the West and be a threat for the number one seed in the AFC. Still, with Jake Plummer at quarterback, the Broncos are skating on the edge of another disasterous playoff performance he tends to have.

Oakland should be a tougher, more cohesive team with a more definite philosophy under new head coach Art Shell. He’ll certainly want to play a little tougher brand of football than the Raiders have played in recent years. Still, the talent is mediocre and Aaron Brooks not an ideal quarterback for any team that has aspirations of being good. Their defense has few playmakers. If they reach .500, it’ll be an accomplishment for Shell.

Kansas City has Larry Johnson, a premier back which will keep them scoring points. They also have a top weapon in tight end Tony Gonzalez and a decent defense led by young linebacker Derrick Johnson. They also have a top home field advantage and were one of the better teams to miss the playoffs in recent years. But alas, they also have a charlatan as their new head coach in Herm Edwards and this will prevent them, even were they otherwise capable, of doing anything of substance.

NFC NORTH
Dallas certainly has some weapons on offense, from running back Julius Jones to their top notch tandem at receiver of Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn to tight end Jason Witten. They’ll score points. The betting here is Owens will keep his head on straight for the most part his first season in a new place and have an excellent year. Glenn seems to be playing the best football of his career at this point. On defense, they aren’t great, but decent. They are a definite contender to win this division.

Washington, on the other hand, looks primed to take a step back. They go into the season with their running back banged up in Cliton Portis. He’ll be back, and he’s good, but he never seemed to fit perfectly Joe Gibbs more power running game philosophy and Gibbs did inherit Portis and his big contract. Santana Moss is a very dangerous receiver, but one wonders if the quickly aging Mark Brunnell can still get him the ball enough from the quarterback position. They lack playmakers on defense. This could be a basement dwelling team.

Philadelphia has questions, but here is betting they answer them and return to the playoffs. Donovan McNabb, it seems to be forgotten, is a very good quarterback who has a decent stable of receivers led by Donte Stallworth and Reggie Brown and a good pass catching tight end in L.J. Smith. They utilize running back Brian Westbrook in both the passing game and running game and he’s dangerous at both and they add a power runner with the return of Correll Buckhalter from injury. On defense, they’re still good and essentially have the core of their Super Bowl defense from two years ago intact. The addition of pass rusher Darren Howard at defensive end adds another dimension. I’m picking Philadelphia to return to form, win this division and return to the Super Bowl from the NFC.

The New York Giants have a good young quarterback in Eli Manning, one of the most dangerous running backs in the NFL in Tiki Barber and a preseason terror on defense in the form of Mathias Kiwanuka at defensive end. They are a good but great team and could be back in the playoffs. But they lack the overall talent at all positions to be a Super Bowl team.

NFC NORTH
Chicago has some great players on defense including linebacker Brian Uhrlacher, defensive lineman Tommie Harris and cornerback Nathan Vasher, Pro Bowl quality players all. They mix it up with other very solid players at virtually every defensive position. They’ll be tough to score on if they stay healthy. On offense, the production should be improved with Rex Grossman healthy entering the year at quarterback. Running back Cedric Benson is as talented as they come, he could be primed to breakout. But if not, they have another good running back in Thomas Jones. They’ll visit the Patriots this year and that should be a very entertaining game and a possible Super Bowl preview.

Detroit brings in a new head coach in former Tampa Bay assistant Rod Marinelli. They have some good players, running back Kevin Jones, wide receiver Roy Williams and tackle Jeff Backus. But they lack depth and are playing with a new system. It’ll be another long year, with perhaps some hope for the future with some good young players developing.

Minnesota is another pedestrian looking team in this very bad division. There just isn’t much top talent on this team, though there are many solid players. In a weak division and with their homefield advantage, they may be able to squeek out 8-8 or 9-7. But they aren’t a serious contender.

Green Bay should be improved, if only because the division is so weak. Ahman Green returns from injury at running back. A.J. Hawk is the rookie hope at linebacker and be primed for another year of “will he or won’t he?” in regards to ancient quarterback Brett Favre. The Patriots visit historic Lambeau Field this year and that should be interesting to watch.

NFC SOUTH
Carolina has always been a favorite of some for their tough play. And they played a great Super Bowl against the Patriots a few years back, no doubt about it. But something isn’t there for me when I look at them. DeShaun Foster is a good, but not great, back who has battled injuries every year. DeAngelo Williams showed some flashes in preseason that indicate he could be a ground weapon. Steve Smith amazes at receiver what he gets done at his smallish size and the line is good. On defense, they’re solid there as well. Chris Gamble is an up and comer at cornerback. They’ll challenge and probably win this division, but I don’t see the consistency on offense to win the NFC.

Tampa Bay was a very one dimensional team last year. Shut down their run on offense, and they couldn’t threaten much. I’m not sold that Chris Simms has the arm or pocket presence to win consistently in the NFL. Cadillac Williams is a good young back and they have a good defense still, but I see them taking a step back from their playoff season of last year.

Atlanta Quarterback Michael Vick can play great games at times and single-handidly win them. But he is still is inconsistent and not yet a top quarterback as a passer, if he ever will be. He has improved weapons around him now, with tight end Alge Crumpler in his prime and Michael Jenkins developing at receiver. Warrick Dunn is a very good tailback. On defense, they have some great players led by lineman Patrick Kerney and linebacker Keith Brooking. DeAngelo Hall could be ready to be a Pro Bowler at cornerback. Look for Atlanta to also be a factor in this competitive division.

New Orleans should be an interesting team to watch, if only for the electrifying Heisman Winner Reggie Bush arriving as a rookie at running back. Drew Brees arrives and should bring some game management skills and improve the offense. On defense, there is some talent there up front, but the linebackers are weak and the secondary lacks depth. They’re headed for the basement but could pull some exciting upsets at times. They’re return to the Superdome one year after Hurricane Katrina on Monday Night Football September 25th should be must see TV for any NFL fan.

NFC WEST

The returning NFC champs Seattle figure to be at the top of this division again. Shaun Alexander is among the best backs in the NFL, if not the best. Adding receiver Nate Burleson gives quarterback Matt Hasselbeck another weapon and the defense was much improved last year.

Arizona made a lot of improvements, adding running back Edge James on offense, a big-time move. They also feature two of the best receivers in the league in Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. They should be tough to stop in their new stadium this year. If they can get some defense, they could sneak into the playoffs. Watch for cornerback Antrell Rolle to return from injury and help out quite a bit.

In St. Louis, good offense will be on display as usual with weapons Steven Jackson at running back and receivers Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Kevin Curtis the threats. They also have a solid defensive line. But they’re adapating to a new system after years under the old one and are a little thin on defense. They’ll be .500 at best under new, inexperienced head coach Scott Linehan

San Francisco made some progress last year and got out of salary cap hell by suffering for a year and cutting big veteran contracts. This year they’ll look to develop young, talented guys like quarterback Alex Smith, running back Frank Gore, both in their second year and continue the defensive improvement they showed last year. Look for marginal improvement, but they’re at least a year away from .500, maybe two years away.

Patriots Second Look
by Greg Doyle
greg_AT_bostonsportsmedia.com

A second look at this game on tape was even more revealing, in terms of how badly the Patriots dominated Washington Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, than it was the first time live. Again, Dean Pees work with the defense, and admittedly its very early to draw any definite conclusions, continues to impress. In addition to that, stellar play could be found among numerous players at every position on the field.

QUARTERBACK: Tom Brady is in midseason form. He did miss a couple throws he could have made, but overall he picked apart the Redskins with accuracy and good decision making. Its amazing, for a basically slow footed quarterback, how he can slide and step up in the pocket to buy just the amount of time he needs to make a play. A healthy Brady and the Patriots are automatically among the favorites for the Super Bowl this year. Matt Cassel had a very good performance. It does come with the slight caveat that he was playing against Redskins backups that, in addition to being overmatched, didn’t look too interested by the time Cassel came in. Still, Cassel made some good throws, in particular an out pattern to Reche Caldwell for a first down throw in the fourth quarter that was as good a throw as you’ll see any quarterback make in the NFL this year.

RUNNING BACK: Not much work for Laurence Maroney, but he did display some power on his touchdown run that shows there is more to him than mere shiftiness. Corey Dillon ran hard, but hasn’t broken away as Maroney has this preseason. There is an obvious difference in quickness between the two, but Dillon still looks to have well above average power in his running. Kevin Faulk looks healthy for the first time since 2004 and that can only be a bonus to the team this year.

WIDE RECEIVER: Another disappointing night, to some degree, from this unit. Troy Brown was good and Bam Childress showed some things again late. But Reche Caldwell had a couple drops early on. I still feel Caldwell will be a good player this year, but it appears he’s coming along slightly slowly on his new team. He did make some nice catches later in the game and displayed some nice hands on catches from Matt Cassel. No one else stood out and in fact, John Stone had a difficult time doing much of anything even with extended playing time.

TIGHT END: Obviously a completely dominating performance by Ben Watson. Brady appears to look to him first on big plays where they need to convert. Not sure that trend will continue, Brady has never been one to lock onto a single receiver consistently, but its clear Watson is primed for a breakout year if he can stay healthy. A review of his tape reveals his blocking is much improved this year as well. He at times blew the man he was blocking several yards downfield, even at times bigger guys. Speaking of blocking, Daniel Graham was his usual force in this area as well. Its says something about how good at tight end the Patriots are when Graham is somewhat of an afterthought in the passing game. This is a guy who can be a very effective weapon in that area, as he displayed on the one nice down the seam catch he had from Brady. Opponents are going to forget about Graham this year worrying about Watson and he has the speed and hands to burn them for big plays.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Extremely impressive debut from Dan Koppen. He showed no ill-effects at all from his shoulder injury and opened some gaping holes up the middle for Patriots runners, while also stonewalling any pass rush up the middle on passing plays. Ryan O’Callaghan had another nice game. All in all, the line has gelled better than at any time in recent years with Matt Light, Stephen Neal, Logan Mankins and Dan Koppen all pretty much in the prime of their careers. Add in one of the bigger, more physical and talented linemen they’ve had at right tackle in O’Callaghan and it appears Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli have developed their best line seven years into their tenure. Rookie Dan Stevenson did some nice blocking later in the game and appears to be another draftee with good long-term potential

DEFENSIVE LINE: Another very encouraging performance from Ty Warren. He is on the verge of becoming a near Pro Bowl player if he keeps up this level of performance. But the story of the game on the d-line was Mike Wright. The Patriots really have found a diamond in the rough with this undrafted free agent from last year. He was a load to handle on both running and passing plays and caused a ton of disruption for the Redskins. He even showed up on special teams on the Patriots top coverage units and had a tackle there as well. Its unusual to see a defensive lineman covering kicks, but Wright does a nice job. Expect to see him receive regular playing time this year.

LINEBACKER: A nice debut from Junior Seau. He seems to be picking things up quickly and plugged his lanes and made any running difficult for Washington. He also did a nice job in coverage. Roosevelt Colvin had a dominating night and looks to be picking up this year where he left off last year during an outstanding season.

DEFENSIVE BACK: Eugene Wilson is back to playing at Pro Bowl level. Maybe its the return of Rodney Harrison that has taken the weight off his back, but he is back to his 2004 form after a so-so season last year. Ellis Hobbs had a nice night, he’s earned a starter position and Asante Samuel has had a nice camp too. He’ll have his occasional hiccups, but is a good player overall and a solid starter. Of the backups, Randall Gay and James Sanders stood out the most. There will be good players cut from this group, it looks like Gay and Sanders have gained an upper hand on making the roster.

KICKING: Nothing spectacular here of note, but as of yet, no reason for concern either.

It would be easy, I suppose to get caught up in a completely dominating performance. But it is, afterall, only preseason. It will mean nothing in a month. But its a good sign to see the team relatively healthy, with most of their players out there playing at a high level. It just reinforces that if they can avoid an inordinate amount of injuries, they’re probably a better pick for the Super Bowl than any other team in the AFC. But its a long season. Injuries will happen. A few players won’t play as well as they are now. But that will happen to every team and, at least for now, the Patriots are clearly functioning at a higher level than they did for much of the season last year. Or at least seem to have potential to do so.

The last preseason game will likely not be too revealing. I expect very limited playing time from the starters. It may help to decide some of the last spots on the roster though, such as at linebacker, defensive back and defensive line. So it will be interesting to watch those battles Thursday night versus the New York Giants.

The most significant thing that appeared when reviewing last week’s exhibition game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Patriots was how agressive new defensive coordinator Dean Pees was. Considering this was an exhibition game, one wonders how agressive with the blitz and mixing up defenses he’ll be when the regular season begins. But the thing that stuck out in watching the tape of this game, Pees is much different in style than former coordinator Eric Mangini. Pees, it appears based on the early returns, will come after offenses more than Mangini was willing to and mix things up more often as well. If the Patriots can take this approach on defense this year, while also avoiding the big plays that plagued them last year, even with Mangini’s conservative scheme, they could be very tough for opposing offenses to deal with and create some big plays more often.

Lets take a look at the individual units:

QUARTERBACK: A very proficient showing by starter Tom Brady. The Brady we have all grown to know was on display….spreading it around, moving well in the pocket, good decisions, good accuracy. He looks like he is in fine form. Matt Cassel came in next and was better than last week. He still occasionally held the ball too long before deciding to throw it and other times took off running way too quickly, but he was improved and ran the offense efficiently for the most part. Too many of his plays are coming on broken, exhibition type situations where pure athletic ability is allowing him to get things done, however. He needs to show he can consistently sit in the pocket, move just enough to buy time and let the play develop as it was drawn up. There is clearly improvement and athletic ability there to work with. Its just still an on-going project.

RUNNING BACK: Another impressive performance from Laurence Maroney. Corey Dillon ran hard again, without much room. He did have a touchdown, however. Garrett Mills slipped a little bit at fullback from his debut. He struggled pass blocking at times, including getting called for holding to negate one completion. He did show some potential as a blocker though, throwing one great block to help Dillon score his touchdown. Patrick Cobbs showed some decent hands, which is surprising for a guy from a running school like North Texas. However, he was inconsistent and mishandled a screen pass almost causing an interception. He also had a fumble in the red zone and hurt his chances at a practice squad spot overall for the night.

WIDE RECEIVER: Another fairly quiet night, but Bam Childress had a nice game. He showed an ability to sit down in zones and got some nice separation from coverage on several ocassions. He had a nice night. The rest of the crew was average, nothing spectacular.

TIGHT ENDS: A good night for Ben Watson. He is turning into a great tightend. Dan Graham also was close to one hundred percent and was his usual outstanding blocking self. David Thomas needs to work on his blocking a bit, however, and got manhandled several times. When he got himself into good position, he did a nice job blocking, however. He also showed the ability to sit down in zones and get open.

OFFENSIVE LINE: An outstanding debut as a starter for Ryan O’Callaghan. He had a dominating night both run and pass blocking. Watching him closely, he displayed some of the best right tackle play the Patriots have had in the coach Bill Belichick era. All in his debut appearance on the first team. This bodes very well for his future. Others who had a good night include Russ Hochstein, who has really taken well to the center position since Dan Koppen got hurt and another youngster in Wesley Britt. Britt played with the second team and also held up well at right tackle on both running and passing plays.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Jarvis Green struggled against the Cardinals massive tackle Leonard Davis and got pushed around at times. Davis had a decided size advantage on Green, however. Ty Warren seems to be playing his best football of his career, after a down season last year. If he continues to show what he is now, it would be a big boon for the defense. Nobody else stood out on the line, but everyone was solid and seems to be playing well.

LINEBACKER: Barry Gardner seems to be fitting in nicely. If Junior Seau, recently signed, can contribute and Tedy Bruschi comes back early in the regular season, this unit is shaping up with more depth than initially thought. Perhaps one addition is still needed, but they played much better this week. Tully Banta-Cain was among the best players on defense Saturday. He caused plenty of havoc in the Cardinals backfield while he was in there and looks to be taking to the starter role. Eric Alexander had another nice night on special teams and caused a fumble that was recovered by the Patriots on a kickoff.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: Eugene Wilson was back at safety and looked comfortable. Asante Samuel had a mostly good night, though he was slow in coverage on one pass in the flats early in the game which allowed a first down. He followed that up a few plays later with a nice interception, however. He had an overall good night. Hank Poteat had an off night and he’ll need to do better to make the team this year.

KICKERS: A good night for Stephen Gostkowski. His kickoffs were long and he had no problem with any of his kicks. Josh Miller seems in good form and ready to continue his outstanding 2005 season.

All in all, a good night. The Patriots will probably play the next game, Saturday versus the Washington Redskins, as close to a regular season game for three quarters. It’ll be interesting if Pees continues his agressive defensive playcalling, as that’ll be a signal of a much different Patriots defensive style this year from last once the season starts. Watch for that.

Considering the players out for the Patriots, a second look at the first exhibition game against Atlanta on tape proves encouraging, if not perfect, on the whole. Many of the younger players had very good or at the least flashes of good performances Saturday night. Lets take a look at the individual units to evaluate these performaces:

QUARTERBACKS: Tom Brady really didn’t play long enough to make any substantial evaluation of where he is at. But suffice to say, nothing stood out to indicate he’ll be anything but Tom Brady this season. Which is all we really need to see in pre-season. Matt Cassel had an uneven performance. At times he looked in command of the offense, and he made some good throws particularly in the second half. But he also showed he is still a work in progress and at times appeared a little unsure of himself, made poor decisions and was too hesitant. His habit of looking to run, while it produced decent results about half the time, is not what the Patriots are looking for from their quarterback and a tendancy they have tried to correct in Cassel unless it truly is a last resort. The talent is obviously there, but he is still not a finished product. Still, there was a sense he has improved from last year. Its just not going to be the amazing transformation we witnessed in Tom Brady from year one to year two. More evidence is needed, but the performance was good enough for Cassel to still win the backup job on the Patriots with some improvement in the next three exhibition games.

RUNNING BACK: While in there, Corey Dillon ran hard and with determination. He showed some improvement in his quickness from last year, probably because he is now healthy, and was productive in his first outing. But the story was rookie first round pick Laurence Maroney. Maroney was eye-popping good in his debut. Quick, strong, shifty, he really had the Falcons spinning in their tracks and not sure how to bring this young runner down on several carries. A very impressive showing. Still, one must temper their enthusiasm by noting the Falcons, like most teams, aren’t doing the full contact hitting in camp and this was their first time all year bringing runners to the ground. This may account somewhat for their trouble bring Maroney down on first contact. But still, it was a very encouraging, even exhilirating debut overall for Pats fans. Unheralded free agent Patrick Cobbs came in and showed a bit both in the receiving and running game. He led the nation in rushing last year in college, he must be doing something right. However, Cobbs is a project at best despite his good night Saturday. Not big or strong or fast enough to be a every down back in the NFL, he’ll have to make his niche somewhere else. The best thing he showed was in the passing game, where he fit in well and made some plays. He even did a decent job blocking. These could be the skills he has which helps him earn a spot on the Patriots practice squad this season. Another rookie, H-back Garrett Mills showed good hands and a knack for getting open. A good debut for him as well.

WIDE RECEIVER: This was clearly the area of the team that played the worst Saturday night. Only three catches between all the receivers and only one thru the first three quarters. Reche Caldwell had that first catch, but also got some criticism for a “drop” in the end zone on the first drive. While the drop was a much tougher play than portrayed in the local media as it was rifled at a short distance between a crowd by Tom Brady, it could have been caught. Not the worst incompletion you’ll see and a pretty tough play for any receiver, still you’d like to have seen him snare it if only to shut up the critics just looking for a reason to appear observant when it comes to a new player. The rest of the receivers didn’t show up at all. Kelvin Kight, who started and had played well in practice, didn’t show anything in the game and had no catches. The rest were equally non-descript. The Patriots will have to hope for a better performance Saturday in their next exhibition game.

TIGHT END: Ben Watson had a big catch and run and showed he’ll be a major factor in the passing game. Rookie David Thomas had a solid debut, blocking well, appearing completely coherent in the offense and had a couple catches as well. Good stuff.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Matt Light at left tackle appeared solid and back from his leg injury of last year. Rookies Ryan O’Callaghan and Dan Stevenson played well for their first NFL game and looked to belong as players. O’Callaghan in particular, a fifth round choice by the Pats this year, appeared comfortable in the running and passing games and made some really nice blocks to both give Cassel time and spring good runs. On the downside, rookie free agent Brian Barthelmes playing center was overmatched and clearly not ready yet, if ever, for this level of competition. He simply got overpowered too often and didn’t display much ability to get movement in his blocks even when not overpowered. Veteran Gene Mruczkowski was inconsisitent. He made several very good blocks, only to blow assignments a few plays later. He will have trouble making the team as a backup this season unless he can perform better from play to play.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Two young players stood out, Santonio Thomas and rookie draftee LeKevin Smith. Thomas was among the best Patriots on the field Saturday night. Playing mostly end, but some tackle as well, he shed blocks easily, held his ground when needed and was effective on almost every play he was in for. He looked outstanding and his versatility to play both end and tackle will help him. Smith also flashed similar versatility and had a very solid debut. Both these players are fighting each other for roster spots and both acquitted themselves well in round one.

LINEBACKERS: Two more young players showed up here, Pierre Woods and Jeremy Mincey. Woods was particularly good, showing power in the passing game and the ability to hold his ground when run at. Very encouraging debut by this 250 pounder who only started one year at Michigan. Mincey also showed up well, though perhaps a notch down. He flashed some pass rush ability and in general held his ground on running plays. The only negative was on a couple running plays he seemed to get sucked either too far inside or outside and thus left a gap in the defense. But a good debut overall. It should be noted linebacker Eric Alexander played well on special teams, which will help him earn a spot as a linebacker on the Patriots roster.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: Safety and draft pick Willie Andrews had a good night in general. It wasn’t perfect, he was late getting to one downfield pass to help, but he showed good ability defending the pass and stuck his nose in there on the runs as well. He had very nice range and was all over the field, which is what you want to see from a safety. On special teams, he also showed up so he is in good position to make the team if he can keep up the solid performances. No one else in the defensive backfield showed up much, but the lack of quickness from Chad Scott makes one wonder if he has anything left. Apparently a smart, hard working veteran who coach Bill Belichick respects, he is getting up there in years and appears a step slow at times. He’ll have to show more for him to continue his NFL career.

KICKERS: Both Martin Gramatica and rookie Stephen Gostkowski did nothing to hurt their chances or make any critical mistakes. They go in round two this week still dead even.

The story of the night was the young players, particularly Maroney, O’Callaghan, Santonio Thomas, Mills, Smith, Woods, Mincey, and Andrews. First looks can often be wrong, but based solely on that, it appears the Patriots are off to a good start in restocking their roster this year. It remains to be seen if these players can build off this good start Saturday in Foxboro against Arizona. And for those who didn’t play well, its time to turn it around as two bad performances or even mediocre performances for a borderline player could be fatal to their chances to earn a job with the Patriots. It should be interesting to see who sustains their showings and who takes a step forward or back. Until then, thanks for reading.

Everywhere you look, you see training camp preview. We’re no different, though we think ours are more thorough and more entertaining to read. See if you agree:

Defensive Preview By Greg Doyle

The Patriots head into camp looking very strong along the defensive line, with little room for competition. The top four will be the newly signed to a long-term deal Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green. It seems unlikely anyone could crack that top four rotation. Marquise Hill should be set as the fifth guy and depth despite an unproductive first two years. This will be the year to prove himself, though he should at least get the roster slot to have an opportunity to do so. The last couple spots seem to be where the competition will be. Mike Wright stayed on the roster, after being an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati, for most of the season. He showed hustle and some versatility to play outside and inside. He has a good chance to make the team and even join the rotation. Santonio Holmes, a nose tackle, has some talent and should compete with draftee LeKevin Smith for the backup spot to Vince Wilfork. Give Thomas the edge with a year in the system and Smith could head to the practice squad. Dan Klecko could be out of opportunities and reports from mini-camp are he is working with the linebackers. Recent pickup Jonathan Sullivan is loaded with talent, but has shown little inclination to use it in his time in the NFL. He’ll have to demonstrate an immediate 180 to work his way into the rotation consistently.

Linebacker is a little slimmer, depth wise, heading into camp. Tedy Bruschi, Roosevelt Colvin and Mike Vrabel all will be mainstays, obviously. There is some question if Vrabel spends most of his time outside or inside. The thought is, he’ll probably prepare in camp for both, but start the season outside where he is best suited. He can capably play both, however. The fourth spot will likely be between Tully Banta-Cain and Monty Beisel. Beisel needs to show he has adjusted to the Patriots system better early on if he wants to start the season in the rotation. Banta-Cain needs to show he is ready to take on a bigger role outside, helping to replace Willie McGinest. He’s been in the system long enough and has shown flashes. It’ll be interesting to see what he does with more opportunity. Recent re-signee Chad Brown is back to hopefully make a bigger contribution in his second year with the club. Larry Izzo should make the team due to his special teams ability. Don Davis is probably a good candidate for the same reason. The rest of the spots come down to competition between draftee Jeremy Mincey, an outside player with good talent, and free agent signee Barry Gardner who has a lot of experience in the NFL. Eric Alexander, who has spent some time here learning the system, also has a shot. The last few spots will come down to whom among these four plays the best in camp and pre-season games.

The secondary the last two years seemed stacked in pre-season. Yet in both season, injuries hit hard and the Pats were scrambling by seasons end to field experienced guys. This year they look solid again heading into camp. Asante Samuel, last year’s talented rookie Ellis Hobbs, Eugene Wilson and free agent signee Eric Warfield all appear assured of spots. Rodney Harrison too should rejoin the group at some point depending on how he progresses off the major knee injury he suffered last year. At that point, it becomes less clear. Watch to see how Randall Gay performs. He looked like a top flight prospect in 2004, only to suffer thru an injury riddled season last year and missing most of the year. If he returns, he’ll contribute. Camp and pre-season games should point towards how that will sort out. Artrell Hawkins came in and played well last year and should be safe as a safety/corner depth swing man. Hank Poteat at corner is a journeyman, but has generally played well since joining the Pats. 2005 draftee James Sanders showed ability at points last year and may be ready to start while Harrison recuperates. Watch to see how he plays in the preseason and what units he is paired with. On more shaky ground are free agent signees Mel Mitchell, safety Tebuckey Jones in his second tour with the Pats and returnees Gus Scott and Chad Scott. A few of these are likely to get a look. From all appearances, rookie Willie Andrews has ability and may stick if he shows he can both cover kicks and return them on special teams. Ray Ventrone is a safety and hard hitter, without much upper echelon collegiate experience, who the Pats liked last year, kept on the practice squad last year and allocated to NFL Europe, where he gained some experience, in the spring. He has a shot, but will have to make inroads on special teams. All in all, the most competition on the team for the final few spots may be found at defensive backs. Any injury causing a player to miss significant practice time could be fatal to his shot to make the team.

Offensive Preview by Scott Benson

A few words: Just to say that I’m happy to be back here at GDRV for the 06 season. I’m looking forward to being part of the new GDRV team approach, and to be honest, I’m kind of hoping we get blazers.

Now, here’s a few words about the 2006 Patriots offense.

Coaching: It’s safe to call Josh McDaniels the offensive coordinator now, apparently. That’s a relief. There were a few tears in the press box last fall when Bill Belichick wouldn’t admit to what was already evident to most of us anyway; McDaniels was calling the plays. Clearly Belichick bucked under the intense pressure and promoted McDaniels, probably in self-defense. Score this one for the Knights!

I’ll tell you something about McDaniels, though. The kid likes to air it out. He makes Charlie Weis look like Woody Hayes. It’s as though he looks in the huddle and says, “hey, that’s Tom Brady!” and then spends the rest of the game sending in pass plays trying to impress him. I’m too old for this 60/40 pass/run split, Josh. Criminy, at least run a draw play so I can catch my breath.

‘Bombs Away’ McDaniels will have his hands full in 06, with a group of rookies from a surprising draft devoted almost exclusively to offense. How he develops and integrates Chad Jackson into a receiving mix that is decidedly thin is to me the offensive focal point, though we’ll also be anxiously awaiting a glimpse of the future of Laurence Maroney.

Quarterbacks: Hey! That’s Tom Brady!

I’m no more objective than Josh, frankly. So here’s your preview – Tom Brady is the friggin’ quarterback. Beat that.

One more thing – I like a pissed off-Brady in 06. He didn’t make any secret of his frustration with the outcome (and his own play) in Denver, or of his intention to ensure it didn’t happen again. To me, this spells success. Let’s just say he doesn’t get the primo parking spaces for nothing.

It sure looks like Matt Cassel – like Brady before him – will move into the number 2 slot in his second year with the team. Most people seemed to think the Pats would move on a veteran quarterback when Our Doug retired this spring (after 63 memorable years in the game), but so far, no dice. It’s hard to believe they’d bring in anybody but a 3rd stringer now, and some (the estimable Mike Reiss, for one) are even wondering if the Pats will trim back on quarterbacks (to 2) to squeeze in players elsewhere.

I was impressed with (and amused by) Cassel’s Young-Steve-Grogan pre-season, and he acquitted himself pretty well in the final regular season loss to Miami (in fact, so well that people immediately accused him of throwing the game). He’s got a bit of athletic ability and a sound arm, and you have to like the makeup of a guy who comes from four years on the bench at USC (the University of Sitting Constantly?) to a number two spot in the NFL in a little over a year. I don’t think Matt Cassel has been coasting.

I look at it this way – do I really think that the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl without Tom Brady playing 16 games? No. Do I think that all could be saved if only Those Cheap Bastards had gone the extra mile for Jay Fielder? No. Do I think that if – God forbid – Matt Cassel had to come off the bench and take a few series or even finish a game, he’d embarrass or imperil anyone? No, not really. No more so than anybody else that had to follow Brady.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I say to you…Matt Cassel…why the hell not?

Running Backs: Corey Dillon is old and fat and hurt and he had a terrible 05 and he’s got a persecution complex and he’s probably going to submarine Maroney just like he turned on Heath Evans and I heard from some guy he carries a nuclear warhead in his car and BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH.

Maybe Dillon’s done. If so, what’s the point of beating the hell out of him for it? The Patriots got one magnificent season (and a world championship) out of a then-30 year old Dillon, and if that’s all they ever get, I’m fine with it. It’s not as though we can berate him back to form.

Maybe he isn’t done, though. Say Dillon hangs around long enough to burrow a few more tough yards, dispense a few more stiff arms, and own a few more fourth quarters…you can’t tell me you can’t find a roster spot for him. And with Maroney here, do you need Dillon to be the 300-carry back anymore?

I don’t know much about this young man Maroney and his career at Minnesota, except to say I don’t recall him playing for Hayden Fox in the old Craig T. Nelson series. I hope not. I don’t want to talk out of school, but I question the quality of the Golden Gophers’ coaching during the years 1989-1997. Van Damme, the defensive coordinator? An idiot.

And now we come to the part where we say that though they’re both a year older, and facing new competition, both Kevin Faulk and Patrick Pass have been invaluable cogs in the Patriots success and can never be taken for granted and are still likely to contribute to further success with their savvy playmaking and unselfish team play and downright affordability and…I have to admit I’m believing this less every year.

Kough It Up Kevin lost me – perhaps his most ardent defender – in Denver. The Patriots were grinding upfield with the lead and the ball and I was just turning to my wife to say ‘they have them’ when Faulk laid his most prodigious of eggs. You know what happened after that. I will forever believe it was all the inevitable consequence of the Worst Possible Thing at the Worst Possible Time.

Maroney doesn’t seem to be considered much of pass receiver, yet anyway, and the Pats don’t have another back with Faulk’s particular skill set (unless, strangely enough, it’s Pass, the titular fullback, who begins camp on the PUP). I’ll never argue that Faulk doesn’t provide a consistent spark as the lone back in the spread offense, or that he won’t be doing it again this year. But seriously, that fumble was a killer.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention intriguing rookie utility man Garrett Mills, the productive Tulsa alum who may be a fullback if he isn’t a tight end if he isn’t an h-back. What’s that Taylor Hicks always says? Possibilities!

Receivers: You one of those people who wants storylines? The receiver position has no fewer than six. They better set up a buffet table over there because spread-trolling scribes are going to hit this position group like moths hit my porch light.

Deion Branch – There is every indication the MVP of Super Bowl 39 will hold out when camp opens. As the Boston Globe has made abundantly clear (I thought the commemorative pull-out section on Sunday was a bit much), Branch wants the team to tear up the remaining year of his rookie contract and show him some love or respect or huge wads of cash or whatever the hell it is that people want in this situation. Personally, I can’t be angry with or disappointed in the Louisville sprite, because if anybody’s earned his slice of the cheddar, it’s Branch. Nor can I find fault with the team’s position. They’ve convinced me that a balanced roster is far more likely to produce the desired result than a top-heavy one. Overpaying a few players leaves you with, well, few players.

So I can’t get caught up in the passion-play here, putting black hats on everyone, and I’m old enough to know that this, too, shall blow over. I figure all that cap room means the Pats have planned to deal with Branch all along. Let them make the sausage; we don’t have to watch.

Chad Jackson – I hated to see David Givens go; I never thought of him as a ‘great’ receiver, but he was a receiver that made great plays. He was physical, he was athletic, he got open. He produced on third down, and he could score. His loss leaves an undeniable void in the Patriots offense. Filling it, and quick, is Offensive Job 1.

Jackson ran a 4.3 at the Combine, but I like the Patriots’ web site description of him as a ‘clutch short area pass catcher.’ That, to me, is what David Givens was. The Patriots should be so lucky to end up with a faster version of him. He needs to get off the PUP first, though.

Reche Caldwell – It’s a horrible ‘first thing’ to write about the guy, but when the Pats signed Caldwell, a BSMW poster immediately dubbed him ‘Paper Reche’. I thought that was priceless. And not entirely unwarranted; though he played 16 games last season, he had played just 15 of the previous 32. He’s got good size, he’s got some experience, but he’s never caught more than 28 balls in a season. He seemed to hit if off with Brady right away, but there’s no telling where this one’s going.

Daniel Graham – You can almost see Graham’s story write itself. If he doesn’t end up as the next free agent departure, I’ll be (pleasantly) shocked. With Ben Watson’s emergence (and to an extent, the drafting of Texas TE David Thomas), and Graham’s best years still ahead of him, it seems inevitable. That’s a shame, really – another likeable player hitting the bricks. I don’t care if Graham ever catches the balls he was supposed to catch; he’s proven himself to be a NFL player on his ace run blocking alone.

Ben Watson – Combine his seemingly limitless potential and the tantalizing flashes with his highlight-heaven 100 yard dash on Champ Bailey, and you’ve got everybody expecting the world from Ben Watson. A guy can go either way on that kind of thing. With Givens gone, Graham going and the receivers thin, the margin of error is pretty slim.

Troy Brown – Even now, you’re damn glad to have Troy Brown on the field for a crucial third-down play. But at some point, time must move on. Here’s hoping that Troy plays successfully for as long as he wants to play, but at the same time, here’s hoping that the next generation of Patriots go-to receivers arrives soon.

Offensive Line: Of immediate concern is the condition of center Dan Koppen, who begins camp on the PUP with the rehab of his bum shoulder. Without him, the Patriots offensive line isn’t as good, or as deep. Matt Light returns after a blighted 05, and frees up Nick Kaczur to fight for the right tackle spot. Logan Mankins (off a promising rookie season) and Steve Neal are back as the guards. Depth should come from the usual standbys (Hochstein, Gorin, and ol’ Cut and Paste Mruczkowski) and returning guards Billy Yates and Ross Tucker.

Other than an occasion of catastrophic injury, I rarely worry about the Patriots offensive line. They may rarely be a great line, but they’re never a bad one. Smart guys who are well coached are the most calming influence.

Yeah, we’ll cast a wary eye at the rehabbing veterans (Kaczur joins Koppen on the sidelines as things begin, though Light is cleared for takeoff), but we’ll also cast a hopeful one in the direction of rookies Ryan O’Callaghan (gargantuan tackle) and Dan Stevenson (Weis-recommended guard). Actual draft choices, even. Ideally, they push the standbys and give the Pats more youthful talent along the line.