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WHAT CAN WE EXPECT OUT OF TEDY BRUSCHI THIS YEAR? (and the LB's in general.)

I think we've seen the best out of Tedy Bruschi and those days are behind him. This year should be pretty similar to what we saw last year, that is, a solid player but one that just isn't quite capable of making the game changing plays that he used to. That's OK though because Bruschi will get lots of help from A.T. (easier to type than Adalius Thomas) Brushi won't have to be the run stuffing MLB on every down anymore and that should lead to more production. The problem is that you're almost wasting A.T. if he has to play the run stuffer.

Belichick will do plenty of mixing and matching (and mismatching!) with the highly flexible group of LB's. Assuming that they all stay healthy, they should all be productive because they will all get some downs off and they will all be put in positions in which they will have the best chance to succeed.

While the top 5 LB's are excellent, this team will need some big time development from the likes of Pierre Woods and Eric Alexander in order to have real depth.



CAN MARONEY CARRY THE ROCK?

Laurence Maroney hasn't ever had to be a featured back, even in college he was splitting the carries. It will be interesting to see how he holds up. He hasn't really participated in the off-season stuff because of a shoulder surgery. Don't be surprised if he plays very little in pre-season games either. I've seen conflicting reports from the experts about Maroney. Some say he'll benefit greatly from a passing game that may force defenses to only play 6 men in the box. Others maintain that he isn't tough enough to have 300+ carries and lack of depth at RB will become an issue for the Pats. I would think that the Pats will try to pick up a veteran RB before the season starts but it's too hard to tell with Scott and Bill. Only time will tell if Maroney will hold up, but there will be enough one sided games for the Pats to let the likes of Morris and Evans run out the clock.



WHO WILL BE THE #1 CB IF ASANTE HOLDS OUT OR COMES BACK DOWN TO EARTH?

The same guy that was the best corner on the team last year - Ellis Hobbs. Why do you think Asante had so many picks and Hobbs so few? Teams weren't throwing at Hobbs as much as they threw at Asante because Hobbs is a better cover man. Regardless, there are numerous CB's looking to step in to the rotation as either starter or nickel corner. Leading candidates are Chad Scott, Tory James and old friend Randall Gay. In an interview with Gay that I read he said that he's 100% healthy and no one is more excited about camp than he is. Scott and James are Savvy vet's that should be able to hold coverage until Vrabel, Colvin and or A.T. can get to the QB. Don't rule out first round pick Brandon Merriweather either. Sources in the know said that he was by far the best CB at the U for the last couple of seasons, but he was so fast and atheletic they played him at Safety so he could impact the entire field. At the very least he should see significant time in Nickel and Dime packages.