Roster reboot

The Patriots roster is in a constant state of motion. For a team that usually finishes near the top of the standings, it is always evolving. During the bye week the Pats made one of the few trading-deadline deals, acquiring super-talented and super-tainted cornerback Aqib Talib. The team also dumped Bobby Carpenter (again) and Sterling Moore while adding Visanthe Shiancoe and Jarred Fayson (who?). Never a dull moment with Bill Belichick.

The Pats started the season with several questions. How's the offensive line going to do without Matt Light and Brian Waters? How's the running game going to look without Bennie? How will Brandon Lloyd and Brady work together? How will all the rookies do? Who will rush the passer and who will defend the passes? Just to name a few. Considering there were all those questions coming into the season, maybe a 5-3 start with the three losses by a combined four points is pretty darn good. Even for the defending AFC champs.

A position-by-position breakdown of the roster heading into the second-half shows many of those questions have been answered already. Of course, the roster could change at any moment.

QB

Tom Brady (Ryan Mallette): There were no questions here before the season started. Brady has taken some shots in the Blabosphere for showing signs of hitting the downside of his career. What the hell are these people watching? 16 touchdowns, 3 picks. Does he make mistakes? Of course. He made them in '01, '03, and '04 too. All quarterbacks do. It's the nature of the position. But Brady makes plays week after week that not too many other quarterbacks can make.

RB

Stevan Ridley (Shane Vereen, Brandon Bolden, Danny Woodhead): How's the Pats running game going to look without Bennie? How about fifth best in the league. Ridley is lead the AFC in rushing. Before he hurt his knee, Bolden was just as good. Vereen is back from injury and made some big plays against the Jets and followed that up with another solid game against the Rams. Woody has completely taken over the Kevin Faulk role and he's doing a pretty good impersonation.

WR

Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, (Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater): Would Brady and Lloyd click? That's a very big yes. Lloyd has dropped a few easy ones, but he has caught way more tough ones and he and Brady are as one on the quick out. Welkergate -- thankfully -- is over. The toughest player on the team is on pace for another amazing year. Give him a 3-year deal at 12 million a year right now. Welker is the heart and soul of that offense. It's great to have Deion back and you get the sense that he will play a bigger role in the second half. Edelman and Slater are doing their thing.

TE

Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez (Daniel Fells, Michael Hoomanuwanui): The only problem this position has faced is injury. Significant injury. Hernandez -- who just about everyone felt was going to have a breakout year -- suffered an ankle sprain in Week 2 and has been hobbled since, missing four games. The bye week should really help him. It won't hurt Gronk either. He's been pretty banged up but looked like his unstoppable self in London. A healthy Hernandez and Gronk in the second half will make the best offense in the league better. It may make the last 10 minutes of games a lot more fun, too. Fells and the guy whose name I can't pronounce are the backups at the moment, but the way Belichick likes to collect tight ends that could change three or four more times.

O LINE

Nate Solder, Logan Mankins, Ryan Wendell, Dan Connolly, Sebastian Vollmer (Donald Thomas, Marcus Cannon, Nick McDonald): One of the biggest preseason questions -- can the offensive line keep Brady safe and warm? -- has been answered the same way it always is. Yes it can. The O line had a miserable preseason. The Blabosphere was warning that not even Dante Scarnecchia could get blood from these massive stones. They were wrong. Either Scarnecchia is one of the greatest line coaches in history or the Pats have some real talent on the line. Probably some of both. Not only has Brady been kept mostly clean, but the line is doing some nasty run blocking. And with Mankins being hurt a few games. Belichick has a rep as a not-so-great drafter. But Solder and Vollmer are proof positive that he has his moments. And if you are going to have your moments maybe it's best that you have them when you are picking guys to protect your hall-of-fame quarterback.

D LINE

Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, Rob Ninkovich, Chandler Jones (Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Deaderick, Ron Brace, Justin Francis, Trevor Scott, Jeff Bequette): Can the Pats get a pass rush with the loss of Andre Carter and Mark Anderson? That was a very big question entering the season. So far, the answer is sometimes yes, mostly no. Chandler Jones is having a rookie-of-the-year season. And Ninko is building off his great 2011 production. Big Vince continues to build a case as the best nose tackle of his generation and Kyle Love is proving a very good protege. Cunningham and Deaderick are good situational pass rushers. The depth of the line hasn't really been tested yet. The D line has been one of the best against the run so far and it is starting to get some pressure on the QB. But it need to get more.

LB

Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, D'onta Hightower (Jeff Tarpinian, Tracy White, Mike Rivera, Niko Koutouvides): It was all about Mayo and Spike staying healthy. So far, so good. Mayo has been a tackling machine. Spikes has been a hitting machine. When they are both seeing everything in front of them they are as a good a linebacker duo as there is. Rookie Hightower finishes the answer to the question how would the rookies do. He's missed some time with injury but when he's been on the field he's made an impact. Not as big as the one Chandler Jones has made but there's still time for him to catch up. 

S

Patrick Chung, Steve Gregory, Devin McCourty (Tavon Wilson, Nate Ebner, Derrick Martin, Malcolm Williams): Who's going to stop the passes? Two big parts of that answer were supposed to be veterans Chung and Gregory. And for two weeks it looked great as they held both the Titans and Cardinals well below 300 yards passing. Then Chung -- as he always does -- and Gregory got hurt. And rookies Wilson and Ebner went from role players to starters. Then Belichick and Patricia decided to slide McCourty from corner to safety like they did near the end of last season. And like last year, McCourty looks better there. When Chung and Gregory get back it will be interesting to see what happens with McCourty. If the two veterans can play like they did at the start of the season then this could become a very solid and deep position. That's the second biggest "if" heading into the second half of the season.

CB

Aqib Talib, Kyle Arrington (McCourty, Alfonzo Dennard, Marquice Cole): The biggest "if" is if new cornerback Aqib Talib can get his act together and play like a top draft pick. If he does ... then the weakest position on the team could become one of the strongest. If McCourty stays at safety, then the question is does Arrington hold onto his starting spot or does rookie Dennard continue to push him. Talib is the key, but Dennard could be the surprise.

K

Stephen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko: These guys are among the best kicker duos in the league .. but with room to improve. Gosty missed the game-winner in the home opener against the Cardinals, but he has settled down since then. And his kickoffs are still rockets. Zoltan doesn't have one of the best averages in the league, but he's one of the best at dropping the ball inside the 15-yard line. When you have the best offense in the league, that kind of field position is key.

Five of the final eight games are at Gillette. Including a Monday night game against Houston and a Sunday night game against the Niners. Oh, and there's that Thanskgiving night game against the Jets in New York. What a second half it should be.

Week 1 rewind

The Patriots did something in Week 1 that they haven't done often enough the last few years ... beat a mediocre team soundly.

It was an all-around impressive performance. It's games like the 34-13 victory against Tennessee that make it easier to survive the long haul of the season. You don't want to have to expend every ounce of energy against teams that aren't in your league. You want the last 10 minutes of those games to feature lots of sideline shots of Brady, Wes, Vince, and Gronk laughing and getting ready for the post-game feast.

Each week, at mid-week, I'll highlight the good and the bad of each Pats game (including the tailgate menu for home games). There will be a lot more good than bad. A lot more.

GOOD

• Brandon Lloyd restored dignity to the number 85. After Brady missed a wide open Lloyd on what would have and should have been a great touchdown bomb in the first quarter, me and my nephew Pete were yelling for the trainer to get him a new jersey with a number that has never been worn by Ocho. But we calmed down after Brady and Lloyd connected for a nice 27-yard play early in the second quarter. Lloyd finished with five catches, one of the outstanding variety, for 69 yards. He wasn't the star of the offense -- that honor goes to the two-headed tight end again -- but he already has half as many catches as the last guy to wear #85 and should get better and better as he and Brady build chemistry. 
• Stevan Ridley did a pretty good impersonation of BenJarvus. Especially in the "no fumbles" department. Like Bennie, he often turned what looked like a loss or no gain into two or three yards. Those are key yards for an offense. And like Bennie, he bulled his way into the end zone when called upon. Ridley won't get 20-plus carries every week (although I wish he would), but he showed that when he does he can do something with those carries.
• Just as it's important to be able to run the ball, it's equally important to be able to stop the run. And stop the run the Pats did. Titans quarterback Jake Locker lead the team in rushing with 11 yards. Chris Johnson, who is healthy and will probably shred many defenses this year, could only gain four yards all game. Four. It didn't seem like he had that many. Big Vince and his not-so-little buddy Kyle Love were two immovable objects and Ninko and rookie Chander Jones were moving everywhere. The Globe's Greg Bedard goes into great detail about the D line's performance as only he can do. (Does he not have a life?)
• The offensive line looked much better than at any time during the ugly preseason. Logan Mankins looks healthy. A Pro Bowl year out of him changes everything.  The line did a solid job in pass protection -- Brady was only sacked once and was pretty comfortable most of the time -- and was even better in the running game.
• The youth movement on defense may have entered its final stage. It looks like the transition from the Bruschi-Rodney-Willie-Vrable defense is just about complete. Big Vince is the torch bearer from the past to the present, but he now has a young, talented, fast, and nasty group to pass that torch too. Jones and D'onta Hightower look ready to play key roles. With Mayo, Spikes, Chung, Tavon Wilson, Arrington, McCourty, Cunningham, and Deaderick, the Pats D is looking very deep. The addition of veteran Steve Gregory gives the Pats two solid safeties. 

BAD

• Brady got his nose smushed which could cost him a GQ cover or two.
• Gronk muffed a touchdown spike.
• The Titans only TD came on a broken play when Locker avoided the rush and found Nate Washington for a 29-yard score. The secondary went to sleep on the play.
• Offensive lineman Dan Connolly left the game with a head injury and didn't practice Wednesday. Word is he should be fine for the home opener against Arizona. 

If you're handing out a team grade for this game it is a solid A. Next up: At home vs. the 1-0 Arizona Cardinals.

Ground rules

WEEK 1
The two biggest questions I had about the 2012 Patriots coming into yesterday's opener was how would their running game do and how would their defense do against a healthy Chris Johnson and the Titans' running game.

The answers: Stevan Ridley... 125 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Chris Johnson... 4 yards and no touchdowns on 11 carries. Ridley will face stouter defenses and Wilfork and company will face fiercer running attacks, but the early signs are good.

As are the early signs from the Patriots rookie class. First-found picks Chandler Jones and D'onta Hightower teamed up for a forced fumble and recovery for a touchdown that broke open a close game in the second quarter. Jones and third-year man Jermaine Cunningham each had a sack and were around the quarterback all day. In the defensive backfield, rookie Tavon Wilson had an interception. Many times last year the secondary would give up more than 300 yards passing to a mediocre quarterback like Jake Locker and allow the other team to stick around. Not yesterday. Locker finished with just 229 yards (backup Matt Hasselbeck added 43) and the Titans were never in the game in the second half. That's the way a good defense should play against a mediocre offense.

The Pats offense put up close to 400 well-balanced yards. It was a clinic. Second-year man Ridley established himself as the lead back with his solid (fumble free) play. With the running game moving the chains and eating the clock, Brady didn't have to be his usual spectacular self. He just had to be efficient and he was, finishing with 236 yards, two touchdowns, no picks, and one smashed nose. The patched-up offensive line only allowed that one nose-busting sack and moved the line of scrimmage in the running game. Mankins, who was heaving in the huddle at one point, had a great game.

Brandon Lloyd put the shine back on the number 85 with a solid game and, of course, the two most important offensive players in the NFL, Gronk and Hernandez, each had a touchdown catch.

The only real miscue of the day was Gronk dropping the ball when he went to give it the Gronk spike after his great catch in the corner of the end zone. He'll have a chance to improve on that in the home opener this Sunday against Arizona. He may have quite a few chances.

Let the games begin

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Not that I haven't been enjoying the Summer Olympics from London. I have. The US-Canada women's soccer semifinal game was one of the 10 greatest non-Boston sporting events I've ever seen. (Do you believe in miracles is still at the top.) I like turning on the TV at 10:30 after I get home from work and having a wide variety of sporting events played at their highest level. What's not to like about that?

That said, I've been ready for this season for a while now. Brady and the Pats got back on the field for (almost) real against Brees and the Saints at Gillette last night. I had to work so Shep and his Dad took in the game on a perfect summer night for football. One of those nights that make you know why Texans love their football so much. The 2012 season has begun. The Pats are 1-0. It's all good.

And that's what Pats fans should focus on after the preseason opener... the good. There are always problems in the preseason. They are not really problems till Week 1. Or more like Week 5. The offense only scored seven points. Brady got whacked from behind. Nate Solder looked a little uncertain in stepping in for Matt Light. Brandon Lloyd is wearing 85 and at times playing like it. Brady got whacked from behind. Problems. But when you are coming off yet another run to the Super Bowl the odds are those problems will mostly get solved by September 10.

It's more relevant to look at the question marks coming into training camp and see how they are starting to be answered.

Q. Are the Pats two stud first-round picks Chandler Jones and D'onta Hightower good enough to make an impact right away?

A. Sure looks like it. Jones was everywhere. He only recorded one tackle but he disrupted many more plays. His size and speed looked NFL caliber. Hightower had one tackle (a crusher) and assisted on three others. He may not start, but he will see lots of playing time at key moments.

Q. Can Ridley and Vereen build on the promise from last year?

A. Once again... sure looks like it. Ridley averaged five yards a carry and looked very quick. His longest run was only five yards. That will have to get better. Shane Vereen, who was hurt most of last year, picked up 64 yards on 11 carries. His longest run was also only about five yards, but he made a few Saints miss on several rushes. And both backs held on to the ball. That is key.

Q. Is the team's depth -- a key to surviving the long season and finishing near the top -- improved from last year? A year that had pretty good depth.

A. Yes. Backup QB Brian Hoyer is clearly ready to play the role of Matt Cassel if he should be called upon. But more importantly the depth in the secondary is greatly improved. Free agent Steve Gregory -- a seven-year vet from San Diego -- looked solid in the middle of the field with Chung. Each had a nice pick in the red zone. McCourty and Arrington started at corner and didn't give up many big plays. The depth came with second-year corner Ras-I Dowling and rookie safety Tavon Wilson. Both played well and seem to have moved ahead of returning players Ihedigbo, Moore, Brown, Barrett, and Ventrone. 12-year vet Will Allen also looked good and could provide some veteran leadership to a young group. Then again I thought that about Joe Addai too.

Q. Can Belichick -- after all these years -- do what most coaches can't do and keep control of his team and stop them from tuning him out?

A. Do you have to ask? No one does it better. I saw the Pats on Day 2 of training camp. There was a lot of rust as you would expect. Less than two weeks later the coaching staff has the team well on its way to being ready for another season and another run at Lombardi #4.

Next up a game against Mad Dog Vick and the Eagles on the 20th. The second preseason game is always a big one in deciding position battles. It's a Monday night summer game at Gillette. And I don't work Mondays. Let the games begin.

Break it down -- defensive line

It all starts with the Big Man. Vince Wilfork. I can't remember a professional athlete playing better after signing a huge contract than Wilfork has the past few years. He deserves a lot of credit for not kicking back and being satisfied. A lot of well-paid athletes have done just that after hitting the contract jackpot.

Not Vince. And that makes him the perfect veteran to teach newcomer Chandler Jones exactly how to play the NFL game. It's been a few years since Wilfork was the anchor of a D line with Richard Seymour and Ty Warren. There's been a rotating cast of characters from Gerard Warren (still with the team) to Albert Haynesworth (soon to be arrested). Some of them have worked out, some not so much. Thus the trading up in the first round of the draft to grab Jones.

STARTERS
Let's pretend the Pats will play more 3-4 than 4-3 this year. But with Belichick, who the hell knows. In a three-man front it should be Wilfork, Jones, and third-year man Kyle Love. When the defense goes with a four-man front the other end will rotate between guys like Ninko, Jermaine Cunningham, Trevor Scott, and Brandon Deaderick.

BACK-UPS
The already mentioned Scott, Cunningham, and Deaderick are solid depth guys. As is Gerard Warren. Ron Brace was drafted as the next big guy in the middle but he hasn't been able to stay on the field enough to show what he can really do. Maybe this year? I would say I have high hopes for free agent pick-up Jonathan Fanene but every time I say that the guy either gets cut or retires the next day.

IN THE MIX
Fourth-year lineman Myron Pryor lost most of last year to injury so this may be the end for him. Rookie Jake Bequette comes out of Arkansas with a rep as a good pass rusher. The other rookies trying to make the team are Justin Francis (another Rutgers guy) and Marcus Forston. Marcus Harrison and Aaron Lavarias probably won't be around come September.

The Pats have been in search of a pass rush for a few years now. Chandler Jones will change that.

Sure sign of spring

Patriots rookie camp... the first look at first-round pick Chandler Jones.

JIM ROGASH/GETTY IMAGES

Two for one

When you think Bill Belichick and the NFL Draft one word comes to mind... unpredictable.

The first round of the 2012 draft was no different. Pats fans always go into the night with dreams of linebackers dancing in their heads but braced for the coach/GM to trade away most of the picks for more picks the following year and the year after that and the year after that and the...

Turns out the year after that is 2012. The Pats traded up twice in the first round. That's right. Belichick and co. traded up to go get a player. Twice. I'm not sure if he did it to help me get over the Super Bowl loss, but I think the drafting of two defensive studs finally did the trick. I've moved on. (Although I'm still pissed at Brady).

So who did the Pats get? Two guys I had hoped for in my mockest of drafts. The Pats were sitting at #27 when the night started and I hoped Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower would slide his way down the board to them. I also wanted Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones but thought he would hang around till the second round. Apparently the Pats were interested in both players too, but had no interest in waiting around to see if they would be there when the team got its turn on the clock.

First Belichick traded the 27th pick and the team's third-round choice to Cincy to slide into the 21st spot and grab Jones. I think the Steelers were going to grab him two spots later and I think Belichick thought that too. Jones is a 6-5, 250 end out of Syracuse who can get after the quarterback. I thought he was a bit of a reach at the 62nd pick so it seems like a huge reach at 21. But Jones was one of the hotter names rising up the board leading up to draft day. Hot enough to get Belichick to move on him early. NFL Network's Mike Mayock said that in a few years Jones will be considered the best defensive player to come out of the draft.

The Pats were then sitting at #31 when they decided to make a move again ... this time for Alabama monster linebacker Dont'a Hightower. I thought it was worth moving down in front of the Jets at 16 to stop them from getting Hightower. Somewhat surprisingly the Jets passed on the 6-5 linebacker in favor of defensive end Quinton Coples of North Carolina. A Tar Heel lineman instead of a Nick Saban bred Crimson Tide linebacker? Rex is having quite an offseason so far. Hightower was sliding to the Pats but the Texans at #26 were not going to let him get past them. So, for a second time in the same night, Belichick traded up, this time costing the Pats a fourth-rounder to get Denver's #25 spot. Hello Dont'a. Meet Ninko, Mayo, and Spikes.

The Pats didn't get Harrison Smith, the safety from Notre Dame. He was the guy I wanted after Hightower. The secondary will have to be addressed in the remaining rounds. Jones and Hightower may finally solve what has been the team's biggest weakness for years. A mediocre pass rush.

The draft is only one round in and for the Pats it's already a success.