Defense.....

Obviously on the defensive side of the ball, the Pats have big holes to fill. I don't believe the 'loss' of Romeo to be that big of a deal. From all reports, Eric Mangini is one of the best young minds in the NFL. Not only that, but keep in mind that he has been with Belichick since he was Belichick's ball boy in Cleveland circa 1995. Additionally, the players have all stated to a man that they don't notice a difference in the meetings or on the field.

As far as linebackers go, this MAY be where the Patriots hurt the most. Not only were the Ted's very productive stat-wise, but also were key to making presnap reads and adjustments on the fly. Those reads and adjustments are what makes Belichick's defense work. Without a seasoned veteran in there to 'quarterback' the D, they might get guys out of place and give up a big play every now and then. From what I gather, the Pats are experimenting with Vrabel and Harrison being the man so there is no added pressure on Beisel and Brown. Those two 'new' inside LB's have all they can do just to learn the system. Early interviews with Chad Brown the 11 year veteran downplayed the complexity of Belichick's D saying tht he had been in every scheme and done everything that could be asked of a linebacker. That was before it was shown to him. Immediately after the Pats first 'passing camp' Brown was singing a different tune. He started saying things like, I've never seen this before, it's so complex, I just want to learn my responsibilities. That being said, Brown and Beisel are expected to be major contributors this season. Beisel is just coming in to his prime and word from Kansas City is that the coaching staff was devastated when he chose to come to New England. Don't be surprised to see Matt Chatam getting a lot of playing time this preseason, as he's been turning heads at camp.

Greedy Pig, Richard 'Seymour Dollars' has returned to camp and everyone seems happy about it. This is the youngest, most talented, deepest D-Line in the League. They are without a doubt the strength of this years Defense. I'm excited to see Rodney Bailey play, after they signed him from Pittsburgh he tore his achilles tendon and missed all of last season. So far no one can really say whether or not Marquise Hill has made any strides this off season. After coming out of college early from LSU the Pats drafted him in the second round last year. He spent all season on the bench and only played when it didn't count against the 49ers, but he comes with high expectations.

That leaves the secondary. I can promise you that you will not see troy Brown play defense this season. At cornerback the Pats have Gay, Samuel, Poole, Poteat, Hobbs, Starks, Chad Scott and if need be Eugene Wilson. At Safety they have Wilson, Harrison, Guss Scott, Sanders, Reid, Edwards and if need be Don Davis. That is a lot of depth. Accordingly, there are some great battles for playing time going on right now in camp. One day Gay and Poole are with the first team, the next day Samual and Starks, etc etc. There is no one covering camp that has guessed who the starters will be at Corner. Patriots.com currently has the depth chart at corner as Gay and Samuel with Poole and Starks as the backups. Safety is a lock for Harrison and Wilson. The interesting battle is to be the 3rd man in. Guss Scott turned heads as a rookie last year before tearing his ACL and has looked solid so far this year. He is battling with Antuan Edwards, a veteran that signed from Green Bay, to be that 3rd guy. Sanders and Reid will be huge on special teams and for a rookie, Sanders might acually warrant a chance to be the 3rd man as well.
It will be interesting to see how Belichick uses all of the new pieces this year. He seams to have a knack for putting guys in the best possible position to succeed, and the outstanding depth will only add to what Belichick and Mangini can do. Remember, it was Mangini that first suggested that Troy Brown play cornerback in training camp last year.