ESPN.com - NFL/PREVIEW00 - Patriots face uphill climb

NFL

  Scores
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  Weekly lineup

Sport Sections

Thursday, August 31
Patriots face uphill climb

By Glen Farley
Pro Football Weekly

So which New England Patriots team do you suppose will show up this year?

With Ted Johnson, Chris Slade, Willie McGinest and Andy Katzenmoyer the Patriots have good athletes who are play makers on the defensive side of the side of the football. Under Bill Bellichek, who's widely considered one of the preeminent defensive minds in the game, they should be solid.

Offensively, Drew Bledsoe is one of the premiere quarterbacks in the league, but with Ben Coates gone, Terry Glenn will have to emerge and stay healthy to be productive. They don't have a proven running back and they've had some changes on the offensive line.

The key is to balance the offense and try to find guys who can step up and take pressure off Bledsoe; he gets in trouble when he feels like he has to carry the team.

The one that went 6-2 over the first half of the season with dramatic victories over AFC East rivals Indianapolis and the New York Jets and a thoroughly convincing 27-3 romp at Arizona in Week Eight?

Or the one that went 2-6 over the second half of the season with an 0-5 mark within the division and a thoroughly embarrassing 24-9 loss at Philadelphia in December?

This much is certain: This isn't Pete Carroll's team anymore.

Team owner Bob Kraft waited less than 24 hours after last season's second-half collapse had come to a merciful end to fire Carroll, whose teams had consistently declined from the 11-5 AFC championship team he had inherited from Bill Parcells in the winter of 1997.

It took Kraft another 24 days to pry Bill Belichick away from the Jets, but in the end, the owner got his man.

Soon after that, the wholesale changes began.

Vice president of player personnel Bobby Grier, whose drafts had been openly questioned, was evicted from the front office. Five-time Pro Bowl tight end Ben Coates, No. 2 wide receiver Shawn Jefferson and fellow starters Terry Allen (running back), Zefross Moss (right tackle) and Steve Israel (right cornerback) are no longer with the team. In a move reminiscent of the Parcells years, one veteran player, offensive tackle Ed Ellis, was cut on the spot after reporting to training camp out of shape.

Yes, on the field and off it, this is Belichick's team and if you don't like it, well, don't let the door hit you in the fanny on the way out.

Carroll's light-handed style has been replaced by Belichick's my-way-or-the-highway tack.

"A message was sent right away," wide receiver Troy Brown said. "This isn't a game. It's a job now. You'd better take it seriously."

Offense
Quarterbacks: Which Patriots team will show up this year? How about which Drew Bledsoe will show up? The one who threw for 13 touchdowns and was intercepted only four times in an MVP first half of the season? Or the one who threw for six TDs and was intercepted 17 times in an absolutely disastrous second half?


	Drew Bledsoe threw 21 interceptions last season.

Much of that is in the hands of an offensive line that surrendered 56 sacks last season, but more on them later. Veteran backup John Friesz and second-year man Michael Bishop, whose athleticism provides change-of-pace possibilities, are behind Bledsoe.
Grade: B+

Running backs: Once again this year, the Patriots head into a season with no clear-cut starter and the distinct possibility they'll take the RB-by-committee approach. By now, you know the story. Robert Edwards succeeded Curtis Martin, who took the New York shuttle out of Boston. Edwards turned in a 1,000-yard rookie season, then blew out his knee playing flag football on a beach in Hawaii.

Allen was summoned late last preseason, ran for 896 yards and was banished by Belichick. In his place are the oft-injured Raymont Harris, who didn't even play in the league last year, third-round draft pick J.R. Redmond, who underwent groin surgery in June, and second-year man Kevin Faulk, who may fill the role of third-down back. Tony Carter and Chris Floyd are the fullbacks.
Grade: D+

Wide receivers: No. 1 wide receiver Terry Glenn caught 69 passes for 1,147 yards (16.6 yards per reception) last season and made it to the Pro Bowl. All this after he finished the season on the Patriots' suspended list following a controversial case of the flu. That is the essence of Glenn: explosive on the field, enigmatic off it. Brown will continue in his role as "Third Down" Brown, moving the stakes.

This is a make-or-break season for third-year speed burner Tony Simmons, a disappointment to date. Simmons probably will start opposite Glenn after Belichick surprisingly cut Vincent Brisby, who had been a first-teamer early in camp. Chris Calloway takes Brisby's spot on the roster.

At tight end, the post-Coates era begins with the less-than-dynamic duo of Eric Bjornson and Rod Rutledge.
Grade: C

Offensive linemen: It used to be the Patriots' offensive line didn't run-block particularly well but gave Bledsoe protection worthy of a franchise quarterback. Last year's crew did neither. Damien Woody, a first-round pick last year, is the man in the middle. Who opens the season around him will in large part be determined by trainer Ron O'Neil.

Bruce Armstrong, top draft choice Adrian Klemm, Todd Rucci, Lance Scott and Grant Williams have all spent their summers rehabilitating knee injuries. For most of the summer, the only true starters in the front line have been Woody and veteran OG Max Lane. Fourth-round draft pick Greg Robinson-Randall has opened some eyes at right tackle this summer.
Grade: D

Defense
Defensive linemen: With the team implementing aspects of both the 4-3 and 3-4 schemes, the line will be a changin', but the key will be veteran Willie McGinest, who will play the "elephant" role, at times in a down position, at other times lined up like a linebacker.

Former media darling Chad Eaton has stopped speaking, sending a message that after a drop in his performance last season, he'll let his play do the talking this year. Belichick brought Bobby Hamilton in from the Jets to man one defensive end position. Veterans Brandon Mitchell, Greg Spires, Henry Thomas and rookie free agent Reggie Grimes all could figure into the rotation.
Grade: C

Linebackers: This unit revolves around the scheme and Ted Johnson's health. After missing time the past two seasons with biceps tears, Johnson suffered a hamstring injury early in training camp and limped to the sideline.

Either he, second-year man Andy Katzenmoyer or both will be inside. They're flanked by veterans Chris Slade and Tedy Bruschi on the outside, where Katzenmoyer can also play. Depth is questionable, but if healthy -- and that's a big "if" here -- this group is a team strength.
Grade: B+

Defensive backs: Lawyer Milloy and Ty Law give the secondary Pro Bowl-level players at safety and cornerback, respectively. After two years as a bust at cornerback, could Tebucky Jones be a boon at free safety?

Antonio Langham, who played for Belichick in Cleveland, and Kato Serwanga, who's looking to expand his part-time role, are battling on the corner opposite Law.
Grade: B

Special teams
For the first time in his four-year career, kicker Adam Vinatieri failed twice with the game on the line last season, but he is still viewed as a trustworthy kicker from 40 yards and in.

Thirty-eight-year-old Lee Johnson has been punting the ball like a 28-year-old this summer. Faulk is a threat as the kickoff-return man. While he may not be a home-run hitter, Brown remains steady on punt returns.
Grade: B

Material from Pro Football Weekly.
Visit their website at http://www.profootballweekly.com

MORE ON PATRIOTS

ALSO SEE

Bills get younger, but are they better?

Colts have sights set on Super season

Dolphins remain a defensive bunch

Jets looking to return to playoff ways