Once the season starts, it's a whole new ballgame; we know that," coach Bill Belichick said. "What counts is how you play in the regular season. That's what matters. It doesn't mean that the individual performances and group performances and how you execute plays isn't important. It is important, and that leads to your execution at a later point in time, but I'd say that's what you gain from preseason."

That quote from Bill Belichick just about sums it up.  Without saying too much, he's essentially saying preseason is for evaluation of players in various situations, especially players you may think are on the bubble and you want to get 1 more look at them.  And there is little doubt in my mind the coaching staff told the players to try, but not too hard; stay healthy, don't get hurt and get some reps in.

On the flip side, the fact that we haven't seen Brady in one game and the Patriots are 0-4 does give me pause.  I have faith in the players and the coaching staff.  I have faith they know what they're doing and are out to march our boys into Feb, '09.  But...give me some evidence.  Give me something to latch on to.

Like a smackdown against KC.  I know the talent level of this team.  I know what they're capable of.  But, let's be real: it's a very different team from last year.  A rotating door of FAs and injuries make it hard, as a fan, to be 100% right now.

Quarterbacks - With Brady a no-show, all eyes were on the backups.  Cassel again failed to impress, but his numbers were not horrible: 4/6 for 37 yards.  Gutierrez managed 5/9 for 69 and O'Connell 3/4 for 22.  O'Connell had the only TD pass of the game with a nicely placed floater to Chad Jackson.  Did I also mention O'Connell had the only rushing TD of the game, too?  Kid's making a case for himself.  As far as who stays and who goes, I have no idea.  Cassel is playing against starters while Gutierrez and O'Connell are playing against backups and backups to backups; it's hard to gauge.

Running Backs - Mediocre is all I can say.  Maroney never got started with 4 for 5 yards.  Green-Ellis and Jordan managed 6 for 28 and 6 for 27 respectively which is a little over 4 yards per carry - not bad.  More important to me is Jordan's hands; he managed 23 yards on a reception.  Faulk and Jordan will make a nice pair of third down and redzone weapons.

Receivers - The ball was spread around too much to key in on any one guy's performance.  Chad Jackson had a decent 2 for 32 and CJ Jones went 2 for 14, but Jones managed to rip it up on kickoff returns; he may have secured a spot there.  Washington missed a nice toss right at his shoulders.  I'm getting concerned that Welker may be out for a bit and Washington is the stand in.

Defense - I won't go into every position because I'm truly tired of knitpicking every move, but this was somewhat brutal to watch.  Gary Guyton was a bright spot with 10 solo tackles, but the biggest bright spot was John Lynch.  He went 5 tackles and 3 assists, but he was all over the field, reading everything and jumping in when needed.  His stop at the goal line was very cool and heads up.  Cornerbacks were playing WAY to soft.  Ex: Fernando Bryant basically "hugged" a guy into the endzone.  Push him out of bounds!!  Sheesh.  Bruschi and Mayo appeared to be phoning in their performances.  I want to see these new young dudes step it up a bit.

Special Teams - Defensively, we did well, mostly due to Hanson absolutely spanking the crap out of the ball with ridiculous hang times.  By the time the Giants' returners had the ball, they were swimming in a sea of Patriots.  Offensively, CJ Jones made a case for himself as a returner.  He had some nice runbacks and made good decisions (letting the ball go for a touchback).

I have left out both offensive and defensive lines for now; more to come in another story.

While we may be harping on the individual performance of these players and an 0-4 showing is not, at all, what we're used to, I do believe there's a wildcard here and that wildcard is the coaching staff.  We have no idea what they're telling the players to do or how to play these games.  I'm cautiously optimistic they're instructing the boys in uniform to cruise a little bit, to stay healthy for the long haul that is the regular season.  Let's hope that's what they're saying.  Bring on KC.

The New England Patriots' last preseason game against...drumroll please...their arch nemesis, the New York Giants.  The team that snatched victory from the hands of our boys from Foxboro...please.  It's a time for Belichick and the coaching staff to make some determinations about the roster, to test a few more theories and to get some final reps in before it matters.

As much as we've harped on the poor showing of our guys on the field, I've come to believe only the coaching staff truly knows why they played that way.  Ellis Hobbs playing soft for the past 2 games?  He may have been told to do so in order to prevent injury (he is recently off of the PUP, ya know).  Matt Cassel getting hammered?  Some folks have already pointed out he's played against first stringers vs. the 2nd and 3rd stringers Gutierrez and O'Connell have come up against.  And, as I've stated before, there's the mad scientist, Bill Belichick, cooking up who knows what and hiding large portions of the playbook.

Quarterbacks - We shouldn't read too much into this, but Tom Brady is in the projected starting lineup.  However many (or few) reps he takes doesn't matter; it'll be good to see him in a game situation, albeit preseason.  What happens to numbers 2, 3, and 4 is anyone's guess and I'm more confused than ever.  I will say if Belichick needs an open roster spot, he may look at one of these 3.

Running Backs - I am 90% that this gang of 5 (Maroney, Morris, Faulk, Jordan, Evans) is protected.  I firmly believe Belichick thinks teams are scheming against the aerial assault of the '07 season, so he's switching gears and emphasizing the run.  I haven't seen Jordan's hands, but we have Faulk for that; I believe Jordan's our redzone back.

Wide Receivers - Randy is Randy; he'll always have a starting spot.  Monday, the other WR spot in the projected starting lineup was empty, but now contains Jabar Gaffney.  This is interesting for a couple of reasons: 1) Wes is not there and may be recovering from his rib injury (I will bring him chicken soup and tea with honey and magazines...STOP THAT!) and 2) Jabar is the guy, not Chad.  Chad's play has improved through the preseason, but only the coaches know if he can move forward.  Even though CJ Jones made some plays in the last outing, he has not impressed me in the preseason; I think he's at risk.

Offensive Line - Matt Light returned to practice on the 25th, but is not seen in the projected starting lineup for thursday night.  It still adds a needed boost just to know Matty's back.  I won't go into each player in detail, but overall, possibly reading too much into it, Belichick is a little more confident in the O line as he's put Brady back there.  Again, Brady taking reps could change in a heartbeat, but that's my take.

Linebackers - Bruschi (obviously) and Mayo at ILB.  Not Victor Hobson, the veteran from NYJ, but Jerod.  Victor has struggled to transition from OLB to ILB and has, in my mind, been beat out by Mayo.  Victor is on the bubble.  At OLB we find Mike Vrabel and Pierre Woods.  This may mean Woods got the job over Crable, but it's still tough to tell.  I hope Crable isn't on the chopping block; I like him.

Cornerbacks -  We find Ellis Hobbs and Fernando Bryant and I think #3 will be Terrence Wheatley.  At one time, we were carrying no less than 10 cornerbacks and we're now down to 8 with the most recent roster cut being Jason Webster.  I believe this to be the most vulnerable group of all (we only carried 4 in 2007).

Safeties - For months I've been saying Rodney Harrison and Brandon Meriweather own these roles, but just realized they both play the SAME position - strong safety.  We may see both of them on the field at the same time, but not always.  Your free safety will, most likely, be John Lynch.  John will also assume the nickel role on passing situations and either James Sanders or Antwain Spann will jump in at free safety.  The Patriots have been placing a lot of emphasis on nickel packages so I'm interested to see how it plays out.

Special Teams - in the depth charts, CJ Jones, Wes Welker and Chad Jackson are listed as punt returners, while Chad Jackson and Matthew Slater take kickoff returns.  This could be a saving grace for guys like Jackson and Slater who may be on the bubble in other positions, but can contribute here.

Whew, if you made it through that, gold star.  My fingers are tired of typing and my brain hurts.  The older I get, the less I can cram in there and something, inevitably, has to leak out first.  Fire away with your predictions on who stays or just cut this story to shreds.  It's all good.

I will admit "New England Patriots Links" is about the lamest excuse for a title or monicker that I know of.  I'm looking for something a bit cooler, something as cool as Horsetracks, used by our fine Denver Broncos blog, MileHighReport.  If you have an idea, post it here or send me an email.  My choice will be totally subjective and you will get no prize or compensation.  Your satisfaction will be derived from the fact that you saved my sorry butt. ;-)

BB has been using the defensive headset a bit:

"We used the headset with Tedy [Bruschi] and Mike Vrabel, both of them in the first half, a little bit in the third quarter," Belichick explained.

"We used it a little bit last week against Tampa in pre-game, not actually during the game -- it was on the road and all that. It's a learning experience for everyone and we know more about it now, and we have at least a game under our belts to try to figure out what is the best way to utilize it, and how to make it advantageous, and how to keep it from being a problem or another log on the fire that we really don't need.

On Wes Welker's rib cage injury, Belichick was "vague":

Later in the call, Belichick was asked if there was an update on the physical condition of Wes Welker, who left Friday's game with a rib injury. Belichick said he did not have an update.

From the Nation Football Post:

…NE needs to get Matt Light back at left tackle.  Tambi Hali of the Chiefs can rush a little and Wes Britt will struggle to block him.  The Pats need to get this line back and healthy.

Belichick on DeSean Jackson's TD punt return:

“It wasn’t a good situational play,” said Belichick, who quickly confronted his punter to tell him just that.

Finally, something sort of positive - Gutierrez's TD pass to Chad: 

"Yeah, I enjoy playing the game and all these guys do, too.  We work hard and when we do something good, we should celebrate it.  But like I said before, one or two good plays weren't enough."

The Chad pulls one down, patriots.com

0-3. That's right, New England Patriots fans, we are 0-3 in the preseason.  Asante's reunion turned out to be a defeat for our boys in blue and silver.  Should we worry?  There are certainly a few areas that need improvement.  There are individual plays which certainly appeared to be worrisome (John Lynch getting beat, for example), but overall, it was a better showing than Tampa Bay.  I'm still concerned about the fact that in all 3 games, our opponents managed to march down the field and score during their opening drives.  And THAT, my friends, we cannot blame on Matt Cassel.  More on that to come.

There is still a wildcard, in my mind.  That wildcard doesn't address poor individual play, but it may account for overall team dynamics.  That wildcard is Bill Belichick.  We all know he's a crafty dude and has a history of showing very little in the preseason.  I still hold on to the possibility that he's not showing all his cards just yet.  He is constantly rotating players in and out and giving lots of snaps to some of our newer players like Wheatley.  Granted, this is a fairly subjective viewpoint with little to no supporting information.  I simply believe Belichick uses preseason games for what they should be used for: evaluation of players in a "live" situation.  That being said, I'm not so worried that I would blow a gasket.  We still haven't seen wonderboy take a snap and we've, more than likely, only seen a fraction of the playbook.

Matt Gutierrez - 14 of 20 for 217 yards, Matty G was a bright spot in the QB battle of the backups.  Touchdown passes to both CJ Jones and Chad Jackson gave both WRs some needed positives given the trouble they've had in the past few games.

Matt Cassel - 8 of 14 for 60 yards, Matty C failed to impress.  I've said this is his gig to lose and he's losing it.  When #3 has a day like he had, #2 better equal or better those stats, especially considering the sinking row boat I think he's currently standing in.

C.J. Jones - With some questionable in the first 2 games, CJ Jones got it done Friday night.  With 3 receptions for 70 yards and a TD, he's making a case for himself.  Nice job, CJ.

Running Backs - I'm not feeling good.  24 yards in 5 attempts for Morris is not bad, but Matt Cassel had 22 yards in 1 attempt!  next on the list was Maroney with a whopping 18 yards in 5 attempts.  Kevin Faulk piped in with negative yards.

Defense -  Swiss Cheese is what comes to mind.  The linebacker corps are not plugging the gaps at all and CBs and safeties are just not there, allowing 390 total yards.

Special Teams - Allowed a 76 yard punt return for a TD by DeSean Jackson.  I would not want to be Larry Izzo right now.

What I am most concerned about is inconsistency.  Different people keep emerging as bright spots in these games, but noone is consistently knocking me dead every game.  What happened to LaMont Jordan?  Where's he been?  Laurence, you're the premiere guy, but you're not playing like it.  And Wes left with a rib injury.  Hopefully, it's not serious.

Every time I hear that monicker for a swashbuckler I think of the old joke my father used to tell me:

Father: Where are your buccaneers?
Me: I don't know.
Father: On the side of your buccanhead.

Bahdum, ssssss.  Thank you very much - I'm here all weekend.

Ugly is my word for this game.  Ugly, messy, stinky.  There were very few bright spots in what was an abysmal showing.  However, as I've mentioned before, relax.  This is preseason and it's not about winning, although winning would be nice.  It's a science experiement.  It's about putting players in situations and examining the outcome.  It's about getting as many players on the field as possible.  And it's about getting a look at players so coaches can decide who to send home.  A few rambling thoughts:

• A most excellent observation by standingpat during the game thread, the defense was "bend don't break" and very generic, as if BB was purposely "hiding" his good stuff.  This was evidenced by CB Ellis Hobbs playing very soft for the first part of the game.  Bucs QB Brian Griese made the same observation.
• Adam?  We heart you and thanks for the rings, but DANG!!  G-man spanks a 53 yarder.  2 games in a row he's money.
• Welker looked like he'd shaken off the rust from a post season groin injury which put him on the PUP.
• Cassel stretched out Moss midfield and I thought he was going to get crushed.  Brady never does that as it spells disaster for tall skinny guys like Randy or little skinny guys like Wes.  2 de-merits, Matt.
• Speaking of Cassel, he's in the fight of his career and he's losing.  No excuses at this point, because the vets were on the field.  Matt can't blame "The Chad" or CJ Jones for his woes when Moss and Welker were on the field for a crapload of snaps.  He managed only 3 points in 6 drives.  Not good.
• S Brandon Meriweather appeared to be in considerable pain when he left the game in the first quarter.  If it's serious, batter up - John Lynch.
• Kevin O'Connell, after looking pretty good in his first NFL outing against the Ravens, throws an interception on his first play against Tampa Bay.  Later, he admits he forced that one and the ball should've ended up in the stands.
• ILBs weren't plugging the gaps during Tampa Bay running plays.  Even veteran Bruschi was having a tough night.

General observations: There were some glaring individual mistakes on the field.  But, this is where I gotta say Belichick is smarter than me.  He's playing very basic, vanilla offenses and defenses.  There's nothing exotic nor is there anything special about what he's putting on the field.  It's all about evaluation in a "live" situation, against someone wearing a different helmet.

Buccanhead...I kill myself.

Yes, New England Patriots fans, preseason game number two is upon us.  For your viewing pleasure, tune in to The NFL Network or WCVB / Channel 4 @ 8:00 PM.  I'll have the game thread opened up around 6'ish as well.

After preseason game number one against the Ravens, I have a few things I'll be looking for, so here's a breakdown:

Quarterbacks - Matt Cassel did not have a good game.  Communication with wide receivers was off, despite a lot of reps in training camp.  Hopefully Belichick and the coaching staff worked on that aspect of Cassel's game and he comes out with a little more polish than we witnessed.  Matt Gutierrez wasn't much better, but he's backup to the backup; I'm less concerned about him.  Kevin O'Connell was a welcomed surprise and I hope to see more of the same.  Tom Brady did not make the trip to Tampa Bay due to a sore foot.  Which foot it is has not been revealed.  Happy place...happy place...ohhhhmmmm.  Seriously, relax.  Preseason is not the time to push an injury, especially with your star quarterback.

Wide Receivers - After Welker got off the PUP a few weeks back, he commented how it'll take some time to get back in the swing of things, that he was working to get his timing back with the QB's, specifically Brady.  Apparently, it didn't take long.  Mike Reiss has reported that the triumvirate is looking as sharp as ever.  Look for more playing time from Moss, Welker and Gaffney.  C.J. Jones is fighting for his job.  He did not have a good showing and will need to step up.  "The Chad" is another that needs to amp it up a bit.  I really hope he succeeds; we could really use the skills he projects to have.

Running Backs - LaMont Jordan was killer against the Ravens.  At this point, I really feel like he could own the redzone/goal line RB job.  I think Maroney and Morris will see more playing time as well as Faulk.  I'd like to see a few successful options to Kevin before a feel better.

Offensive Line - JHR is the guru, but overall the O-line struggled against the Ravens and has been hampered by injuries.  Barry Stokes has been IR'd and the boys are getting older.  A younger OL is a necessity, IMO but we needed to fix linebacker first.  Let's just hope we don't need Kevin O'Connell scrambling skills all around.

Linebackers - An area focused on so heavily, the linebacker corps appear to be shaping up nicely.  OLB draftee Shawn Crable is really looking good while ILB Jerod Mayo is turning into a stud and Pierre Woods was an animal against the Ravens.  OLBs Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas will see more reps as will ILB Tedy Bruschi.  I think if this lineup proves successful, fan favorite ILB Junior Seau will retire.  I'd like to see ILB Victor Hobson do well.  He's been struggling after moving from OLB for the Jets.  Rookie ILB Gary Guyton continues to impress.

Cornerbacks - Hobbs and Bryant continue to be the starters in my mind and rookie Terrence Wheatley has really gotten himself noticed in a field of 10.  Why so many?  Belichick's looking for something, some secret sauce that'll spell disaster for opposing teams.  With that many cornerbacks on the roster, this says to me he thinks this will be a key position for 2008.

Safeties - The Denver Broncos released veteran John Lynch and Belichick promptly snatched him up.  Lynch is known for being a super hard hitter and has signed a one year deal with the Patriots.  This appears to be a direct response to the loss of Tank Williams, the hybrid safety/linebacker guy who was such a good fit for the nickelback position.  I'll be watching John.

Defensive Lineman - Jarvis Green is back and Richard Seymour is feeling pretty good.  An interesting note: Belichick had the guys practice switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3.  A 4-3 is a good overall defense, but is very effective against the run so look for it during an obvious running situation.

From Reiss's Pieces:

Jabar Gaffney over Chad Jackson. In 11-on-11 work, the top receiving trio for quarterback Tom Brady was Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Jabar Gaffney. Chad Jackson, who struggled at times in the preseason opener, did not got any work with Brady when the team had three receivers on the field in the drill. Jackson came on with backup quarterback Matt Cassel.

Uh oh.  "The Chad", heir apparent to the Donte Stallworth crown, is not getting reps with Brady.  If I read too much into this, Chad's in a world of hurt regarding his spot at Donte's position.  If I relax and take a deep breath, Belichick is trying to spread the wealth, giving "Brady time" to all.

In the spring, it appeared that Hobson was a good bet to help the Patriots this year, but he’s yet to break through in training camp (most recently working next to Bo Ruud & Eric Alexander), and could be in jeopardy of not making the club if a player like Gary Guyton (rookie free agent) continues to excel on special teams.

Victor is moving from OLB in the Jets' 3-4 to ILB in the Pats' 3-4 and appears to be having a tough time of it.  Brian Basset from The Jets Blog, in Around the AFC East, Week 1, had his doubts about Hobson's effectiveness:

I think that Hobson is well suited to play inside, but at a minimum, the Patriots should be looking to start their young guys by the end of the season in Hobson's place.

Mike Vrabel and Ellis Hobbs join the first string. Outside linebacker Mike Vrabel and cornerback Ellis Hobbs seemed to have their workload increase.

It's good to see these vets back in the rotation after recently coming off of the PUP.  Interestingly enough, Hobbs is lining up opposite Fernando Bryant which, at this point, projects to be the 2 starters at cornerback.

The possibility of keeping 5 running backs on the final roster. With Belichick asked several questions about RB LaMont Jordan, the topic of possibly keeping five running backs came up (the Patriots kept 4 out of camp last year). The five would presumably be Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, Heath Evans and Jordan. "We'll keep the best football players, the players that will help our football team the most," Belichick said, pointing out that if the team would keep four quarterbacks (like it did in 2000) it would also consider keeping five running backs.

That's Bill being his usual cagey self.  Heck, I don't blame him.  You don't want to let the cat out of the bag too early.  But, can you imagine that lineup in the backfield?  Depth like a Roman Phalanx, mad skills, physicality and youth.  I could see Belichick hanging on to 5 running backs just to stuff it to all the pundits who claimed we didn't have a running game last year.

Jerod Mayo -- not a repeat offender. One aspect that the coaching staff and veteran players often stress is that mistakes will happen with young players, but the key is to not let the same mistake happen twice. Belichick noted that first-round draft choice Jerod Mayo has been solid in that regard, as he isn't a repeat offender.

Yup, great draft choice.  Time will tell, but I'm feeling better and better about Jerod Mayo.  Young, smart and big, he appears to be coming along nicely.  We're rooting for you, Jerod.  Keep up the good work.

With less than a month and 3 preseason games left until the Sept 7th opener with KC, the New England Patriots have their work cut out for them.  But, this is no surprise; every team has their work cut out for them.  Preseason games are not about winning, they're a science experiment designed to test many hypotheses in a live situation.  You'll see play calling I'd term "head scratchers" (pass on the 2 point conversion vs. hand off to Jordan), but coaches are experimenting with different packages, players and situations.  There's a lot of ingredients in this soup and we haven't even seen much of the starters.

Positives

Jerod Mayo - as any first rounder should, he's having an immediate impact.  Other than a few mis-reads in coverage, he appears to be stepping up to the NFL level and making an impact.  One play in particular, knocking of Ray Rice's helmet on a 1 yard run, was of particular note.  He smothered Rice.

Stephen Gostkowski - I said it in the game thread - Adam who?  I mean no disrespect to one of New England's heroes, but Gostkowski was money.  He hits 3 field goals for 36, 44, and 40 yards and was kicking off like a mofo.  Thanks G-man.

Shawn Crable - he used his long arms to bat down at least one pass.  When he was taken out on one play, I saw his eyes never the play and he bounce up running.  It's good to see the "never stop" mentality.

Kevin O'Connell - cool surprise.  He handled himself better than Matty Squared.  Sure, he may have been up against backups to backups to backups, but I thought he did a fine job and DAMN... he can run.

Pierre Woods - What tha?!?!?!  He was all over the field, reading pass coverage and making tackles.  I think we'll see more of him.

LaMont Jordan - the guy's a bull and fills the gap between fullbacks and running backs; he could be the goal line guy to blast through defenses.

Negatives

Cassel and Gutierrez - looked like O'Connell should've looked - deer in the headlights.  Whether it was their fault or receivers running bad routes, who knows.  I just know how Kevin looked compared to #2 and #3 - they should be worried.

CJ Jones - dropped passes, mental mistake during a kickoff return (should've let the ball hit the endzone for a touchback) and bad routes.  If he can't catch the backup's passes, how's he going to pull down Brady's rockets?

Chad Jackson - He's not showing me he can fill Stallworth's shoes.  Whether it was Cassel's fault or his, there was clear miscommunication between the 2.  Chad needs to build confidence with the QBs and hit the playbook.

Special Teams - FINISH! FINISH! FINISH!  That run back was ugly.  I mean, how many Patriots had their hands on the guy?  Finish the tackles by either knocking his block off or wrapping the guy up.

Head on over to Baltimore Beatdown for blogger Rexx's take on the game.

Pat Kirwan's article at NFL.com is a well written and objective article in my mind.  Pat asks a number of burning questions and throw out some opinions based on his observations and interviews with Kraft, Pioli, Belichick and some of the players.  I won't cut & paste the entire text of that article, but I'll attempt to answer the same questions in my homeristic, blogger frame of mind.  If you're even remotely interested in comparing, bring up Kirwan's article and track side-by-side.

1. Can New England repeat its 16-0 2007 season?
No.  Now, before you unleash a blanket party on my sorry butt and drop my sad carcass in an alley behind the Bell In Hand, hear me out.  Most teams in the first half of the season were taken by surprise.  Before they knew what hit them, it was over.  Call it carpet bombing or call it a Blitzkrieg, the first 8 games were a massacre.  And then came the Colts.  As banged up as they were, it was a 4 point "Whew!!!".  It's my opinion that most teams are preparing for the carnage we unleashed last year.  I'm not saying we're gonna lose to Indy, but they're healthy and looking to prove it.  I also feel that 2 west coast swings with back-to-back games will take their toll; I think we can expect a loss from 1 of those games.

2. Is secondary a primary concern?
Maybe.  Rodney's aging, but he's still Rodney.  Tank Williams is showing some stuff like a good veteran should (besides, I like his name).  Terrence Wheatley appears to be challenging the vets for a spot.  That's what we need - talented young guys willing to throw themselves in harm's way.  I think the secondary will be underestimated.

3. Will problems that the Giants exposed be resolved?
The O line gets a bad wrap for the Superbowl.  Unable to stop the crushing pass attack unleashed by the Giants' defense, Brady spent a lot of time eating fertilizer.  But, let's not forget they protected him smashingly for most of the season.  My biggest gripe, however, was not with the O line; it's with OC Josh McDaniels.  The Patriots are known for adjusting in the second half and McDaniels didn't.  Brady was taking too much time in the pocket and should've gone to a Manning (Peyton, that is) style quick release.  I don't want to send too many props to the midwest, but Manning is one of the best in the league at this style of offense and I see the Patriots adopting some of that.

4. Is Seymour ready to return to his All-Pro form?
Seymour had a tough 2007, but supposedly he's healthy.  He hasn't been practicing a whole lot, but don't read too much into that.  Brady is only throwing one practice a day.  Belichick seems to be protecting his vets and stars so they don't get worn out.  Remember, the Patriots played a month more than most and need to rest their key players.

5. Where are the most critical position battles?
This is where I disagree with Kirwan.  3 out of 4 of his position battles are dead on except for Gaffney vs. Jackson.  Kirwan feels Gaffney is in the lead for a third receiver spot.  Gaffney has never struck me as a WR who lines up almost every play; in my mind, he's a speciality guy brought in to make sideline or corner grabs.  Jackson is supposed to be the bull of the WR group; a receiver with RB capabilities post catch.  I think that Gaffney and Jackson take on totally different roles.

Be careful what you wish for.  The time between OTAs and Training Camp is a relative deadzone for information, a blackout period that I can't stand for 2 reasons, a) not much to talk about or report on and b) syndicated columnists writing stupid articles about power rankings, best receivers, who IS and who IS NOT going to win the super bowl - shutup people!!  Noone's thrown a regular season pass yet.

At any rate, come Training Camp it's like drinking from a firehose.  The media, like sharks circling a bloody carcass, are certainly pounding the keyboards.  I've been cruising around and thought I'd summarize some interesting tidbits for you.

As usual, Mike Reiss is doing an awesome job of reporting on Training Camp.  A few interesting quotes and some observations:

Training camp is both a physical and mental grind and Bill Belichick had the team in full pads in both practices today, putting his club to the test right off the bat.

18-1?  Record breaking season?  Get your butt on the field and put the pads on.  Belichick doesn't appear to be letting up starting from the first day.  They need to earn every no-pad minute or cancelled session BB sends their way.

Brady tried three long passes to Randy Moss – one of which was completed down the left sideline for a touchdown. But the play looked to be a blown coverage, with safety Antwain Spann late in getting over to help rookie cornerback Terrence Wheatley, who had lined up across from Moss.

No worries here.  50 TD passes for Brady and 23 TD receptions for Moss in 2007 ease my mind.  Plus, it's the first day.  If I can read anything into Brady and Moss missing those passes, I'm more encouraged that Spann and Wheatley seem to be doing well.

In a passing drill against eight defenders, Tom Brady attempted a long pass to Randy Moss down the right sideline, but Moss was well covered by cornerback Fernando Bryant in the end zone and the ball fell incomplete. The play seemed to be a good indication that Bryant still runs well, as he was stride for stride with Moss – in full pads.

It was projected Bryant may end up with the departed Asante Samuel's spot and this may be a good indication.  Granted, it's very early, but if Fernando is keeping pace with Moss, one of the best receivers in the NFL, I'm encouraged.  And happy he's on OUR team!

The Tom Brady/Chad Jackson connection was off on successive throws, which led Brady to share a few thoughts with Jackson. It appeared the two were not on the same page.

Uh oh.  It's early in the season...It's early in the season.  10..9..8..7...  Deep breaths.  Ok, a bit over dramatic, but "The Chad" is Stallworth's heir apparent; we need this to work.  My impression, given Jackson has route trouble, is that he's a tremendous physical talent with playbook issues.  Or, quite simply, Brady and Jackson haven't had that much time to work together given Jackson's 2 years of almost no play.  Time will tell, but I'm hoping for the latter.

And finally, Jerod Mayo is signed and on the field (props to bartHML for tracking this down).  Jerod, meet Tedy.  Tedy, meet Jerod.   Bond.  Play frisbee together.  BB, move their lockers side-by-side.

FOOTBALL!! FOOTBALL!! FOOTBALL!!  Relax man, it's only training camp.