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New England Patriots Links 4/07/10 - Belichick Doesn't Believe in Trading Future Picks on Draft Day

By Marima

Mike Reiss profiles Cal's Tyson Alualu, a durable, powerful and versatile defensive lineman who has attracted the Patriots for his ability and his character.

The trip to Gillette Stadium was his first and included meetings with Patriots coaches, a quick hello to defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, and plenty of film work. One aspect that stood out to Alualu was when coaches put him on the board, asking him to diagram a play they had watched on film.

"A big part was knowing the game and not just what you do, but what everyone else is doing as well," he said. "At Cal, I might know what the D-linemen and a few linebackers were doing. The Patriots, on the board, I had to know everyone's position and what they were doing at different times."

In many ways, Alualu sounds like the type of player the Patriots would target -- tough, passionate and grounded. He describes himself as a player who is never satisfied, which has been the case since his Pop Warner days, when Ta'avoa [his father] would tell him he could always do better.

Paul Perillo shares his thoughts on the Patriots offseason thus far.

I’m also fine with the way the offseason has gone thus far. There weren’t a lot of quality players available via free agency and it made sense for the Patriots to stick with their own players instead. Like Belichick said at the owners meetings, "some of the best players in free agency were Patriots."

There is some talented youth on the team but it remains to be seen how much of an impact those guys will have. Mayo should improve with two healthy knees. Sanders and Meriweather are OK … nothing more. Sanders didn’t even start most games for the Patriots last year, let alone anyone in the league. I love Butler and believe he’ll be a key player in 2010. I’m not as high on Chung. He looks like a solid special teams player but I haven’t seen much as a safety that has made me take notice. Same thing for the young defensive linemen, who could both be pressed into duty this season.

Basically, the team that walked off the field 33-14 losers in a home playoff game will be returning (plus a new draft class obviously). I’m not sure how much better the team be, but I am glad they re-signed the players they chose to.

As for the coaching situation, I would prefer that the team named specific coordinators but you can be sure that someone will handle those duties. Bill O’Brien is likely the guy on offense and Matt Patricia on defense. Belichick has said he will work more with the defense this season but that doesn’t mean he’s going to do everything – at least not more than he always has.

TEAM TALK

  • Ask PFW: Pick your poison.  Part 1 and Part 2.
  • Patriots Today - Bruschi checks in during the Pats' recent draft preview party at Gillette stadium. (2.50 min. video)

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