No, there's no way Bill Belichick hands Samuel the starting job. Samuel might start, but it won't be because the was the starter last year. Samuel will start when Belichick and his defensive staff determine Samuel is the best cornerback on the team -- and not before. The good news for Samuel, Belichick, his staff, the team and the fans is that Samuel is the best cornerback on the team, and it won't be long before he starts. Hey, it might not be until Week 2 or 3, but he will.

The Patriots should be able to handle the Jets in Week 1 without Samuel, but the team could really use him at least part time when 'roid-ragin' San Diego comes to town in Week 2. That's 3 weeks from yesterday. I'm sure Samuel has kept himself in shape, and there should be no question he knows the playbook. Now it's a matter of working him in.

Belichick was noncommittal during his interview with The Big Show on WEEI this afternoon. He said little more than, "we'll wait and see" (pretty much what he said about Randy Moss, too).

The situation was unfortunate from the beginning. The Patriots did the right thing, the thing they always do. The determined what Samuel was worth to the team, and they stuck to it. Had not Nate Clements made an 8-year, $80 million deal, Samuel probably would have signed a deal months ago and been in camp weeks ago.

If Samuel still wants that big payday next year -- and there's no reason to suspect he won't -- he's going to have to perform. You see, there was no way Samuel was sitting out until Week 10. Without playing a full season, there would be no way for him to prove he's worth Nate Clements-level money -- to the Patriots or to anyone else. And now Samuel needs to prove last year wasn't a fluke (although he may not be able to prove that he's not merely a product of the system -- we'll save discussion for late winter).

But I'll tell you one thing: The Patriots won't be paying Asante Samuel $10 million a year next year. Or the year after. Or the year after. Well, if he nabs 20 interceptions and returns at least 5 for touchdowns. Maybe. That's not the Patriots game. Ty Warren is proof enough that if you put in enough time (i.e. - More than a year) at a high enough level, you'll be rewarded. But if you want to score an unreasonably big payday on a small body of work, have fun in Buffalo, or Cleveland, or Detroit.

If some other team wants to dedicate that much of their salary cap to a single cornerback (and some obviously will), expect to see Samuel wearing something other than a flying Elvis next season.

But he will be wearing Red, White and Blue this season, and fans will be very happy to have him.