Hey Joe

Does it really matter who carries the ball for the New England Patriots? That's one of those yes and no deals.

As long as the offense has Brady at the helm and a cast of Welker, Gronk, Hernandez, Lloyd, et al. then the running game is going to be secondary. And the choice of who leads that running game will be too.

That said, someone has to carry the ball. Someone you can depend on to take care of the ball and get it in the endzone when you're inside the 5-yard line. That's why Bennie was such a good running back for this offense. Not flashy. But solid. And tough. So solid and tough that he was able to land himself a nice signing bonus with the Bengals.

With Bennie gone the Pats are looking to second-year players Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen to step up. They were both high draft picks. Ridley showed some flashes last season. Vereen was hurt most of the year. They are just a lot of potential and not much more at the moment.

That's where Joseph Addai comes in. The Pats signed the 29-year-old veteran free agent from the Colts. It's worth a shot. Addai was drafted in 2006 late in the first round, just a few picks after Belichick and the Pats took Lawrence Maroney. When the Pats made their pick Peyton Manning reportedly called Brady and said "You got our running back." Seemed the Colts wanted Maroney too, but had to settle for Addai. You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need. The Colts needed a feature back to give the Manning-led offense some balance. That's what they got with Addai. And they got their elusive Super Bowl. Maroney was never quite that guy for the Pats.

Addai started with two 1,000-yard seasons but has been slowed by injuries the past four seasons. Yet he is only 29. He still has a lot of tread left. Just like former Packer Ryan Grant. He's also 29. He went to the Lions.

I favored the Pats signing Grant over Addai. I have a feeling one of them is going to have a big comeback season. We'll see which one that turns out to be.