On his Meri way

"In Bill We Trust."

That's what the Sports Blabosphere would have you believe all Pats fans say every night as they put their little head on their pillow emblazoned with the Flying Elvis.

Don't believe it. Pats fans are always questioning the coach/GM/czar of their local football team. I know am I today.

It's cut-down day in the NFL. Each team has to get their roster down to the final 53 players that will be on the active squad. There are injured lists and practice teams that will hold some extra guys, but players will have to go. And there are always surprises.

Surprise #1. Two-time Pro Bowl safety Brandon Meriweather.

I should have put Pro Bowl in quotes because Mr. Big Bang Clock was a borderline all-star those two seasons. But he can list it on his resume nevertheless. He was a first-round pick out of Miami who had been to two Pro Bowls. Meriweather was not one of my favorite players but he still made lots of plays. And entering his fourth season I thought he might take the next step and learn to hit more than he missed. I thought he might become one of my favorite players.

But that's out because he clearly was not one of the coaches' favorite players. Especially THE coach. Belichick drafted Meriweather in the first round in '07. Belichick has already had to cut way too many high round picks from the last seven or so years. So he had to be reluctant -- if that's possible for him -- to cut another first round pick.

But cut him he did. Which tells you just how out of favor Meriweather had fallen.

Meriweather -- as you can tell in the video in the link above -- is a character. If you look at his Wikipedia page one of the categories is entitled "University of Miami Controversies." The first is a little shooting incident in 2006 (can you say foreshadowing to the offseason incident?) and the second one -- my favorite -- is when he was caught on video stomping, several times, on the helmeted head of an opposing Florida player. That was the one that made me want him on the Pats.

But the tough, nasty Meriweather never really appeared. Belichick must have thought he would be the next Rodney. Harrison. Not Dangerfield.

So now the Pats have cut James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather. That leaves what I consider a rather thin group at safety. One starter is Patrick Chung. He was great last year. But he's only entering his third season. Safety is a rather important position when it comes to stopping the pass, stopping the run ... well, important in stopping whatever offenses throw at you. Especially if the Pats play a lot more 4-3. The other three safeties currently on the roster with Chung are Sergio Brown, Josh Barrett, and James Ihedigbo.

In Bill We Trust? Not when it comes to the current roster of safeties. Not today.