Taking inventory

The Patriots' 53-man roster looks very different than I thought it would when training camp started.

Belichick stockpiled wide receivers in the offseason, at one point having more wide receivers than we have scallops wrapped in bacon at our tailgates. When the final cuts were made on Friday there were only four left standing. Four. Welker, new #1 receiver Brandon Lloyd, and special teams guys Julian Edelman and Matthew Slater. Gone were veterans Anthony Gonzalez, Jabar Gaffney, and Deion Branch (sob) along with youngsters Jesse Holley and Jeremy Ebert. And yet Belichick, in his now almost insane obsession with tight ends, kept four on the roster. Gronk and Hernandez (of course) along with Daniel Fells and Vinsanthe Shiancoe. I know the tight end position is all the rage, but what team has as many tight ends on their roster as wideouts? That would be the New England Patriots.

There's still a week of roster moves left before the season starts. Will offensive lineman -- and Pro Bowler -- Brian Waters come up from Texas to join the team? Will Branch come back after the season starts? Will Belichick add a few more tight ends? The Pats have 53-men on their roster... but you can bet that it won't be the 53 men they start the season with.

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACK: Tom Brady, Ryan Mallett

When you have Tom Brady does it really matter who the back-up is or how many you have? Not so much. If Brady goes down it will take an entire team effort to pick up the pieces like it did in 2008. It won't just be on the shoulders of the back-up. Second-year QB Mallett is that back-up. With the somewhat unexpected cutting of Brian Hoyer, Mallett is also the only back-up. I like the move. If something happens to #12 it will be fun to see what the kid can do. I'll tell you one thing, at 6-foot-6 he won't have many passes batted down.

RUNNING BACK: Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead, Brandon Bolden

I'm not sure what the Pats are going to get from this group. Ridley and Vereen head into their second year with not much more than potential on their resumes. I would have cut Vereen to keep Branch. He's often hurt and in preseason spent a lot of his time running for no gain. But he showed flashes late last year so maybe he can stay on the field and make some plays. Ridley starts as the guy and that's a lot of pressure. The Pats may be a passing team but they have to have some kind of running game. Ridley will decide how much they have. Woody is Woody. And Bolden had a very solid preseason, often looking like the dearly-departed BenJarvus.

TIGHT END: Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells, Vinsanthe Shiancoe

I'm very sure what the Pats are going to get from this group. Touchdowns spikes. Lots of touchdown spikes.  Gronk and Hernandez are the dynamic duo that is reshaping offenses in the NFL. The fact that the Pats only have four wideouts means more playing time for Hernandez. He could have the monster season this year. Fells is a solid third tight end but doesn't provide the blocking you like to see from that spot. Same with the veteran Shiancoe. The best thing about him is his name.

WIDE RECEIVER: Brandon Lloyd, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater

I still can't believe Branch did not make the team. He looked great at the training camp session I went to. He still has that zip and he was the guy keeping everyone loose. He had some nice catches in preseason. He and Brady still clicked. Word is his locker is still intact and that he might be brought back after Week 1 at a discount. The key guy among the four receivers left is Lloyd. We all know what Welker can do. Last year it was 122 catches. 122! But what will Lloyd bring to the offense? He and Brady reportedly spent a lot of time on their own working on building chemistry. If it's Randy Moss chemistry then the Pats will be tough to stop. If it's Ocho chemistry, then not so much. Edelman and Slater are great special teams guys but haven't shown much in the receiving game so far.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Logan Mankins, Nate Solder, Dan Connolly, Sebastian Vollmer, Ryan Wendell, Nick McDonald, Donald Thomas, Marcus Cannon.

Patriots fans are about to be reminded that the most important part of any NFL offense is its offensive line. Without a good line you can't run, you can't pass, you can't keep your hall of fame quarterback alive. You can't do anything. The Pats haven't had to worry about that for years. But Matt Light has retired. Dan Koppen wasn't able to comeback from injury, and Brian Waters is still way down south. That leaves Logan Mankins as the key. He hasn't really played up to the Pro Bowl level he's capable of for a few years. He has to be the Wilfork of the offense this year and bring it week after week after week. If he does, then that makes life that much easier for the rest of the line. Connolly took over for Koppen at center last year and was solid. He will stay there if Waters comes back. If Waters doesn't, then Connolly will slide over to guard and Wendell will snap the ball. Solder and Vollmer are first and second-round picks that are hopefully going to be mainstays of the line for years. Hopefully starting this year. I still think Cannon could surprise and have a big impact this year.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE: Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Deaderick, Ron Brace, Justin Francis, Marcus Forston, Trevor Scott, Jake Bequette.

The Pats intend to stick with the 4-3 defense more often than not. That's a good idea because it gets rookie Chandler Jones on the field more often than not. Jones looked NFL ready in preseason. At 6-5, he and Ninko form a very formidable edge on the D line. And Big Vince and Kyle Love form an even more formidable wall in the middle. The Pats were solid against the run in the preseason. Guys like Cunningham (who took out Vick with one hit in the preseason), Deaderick, Scott, and Brace are all solid contributors in different ways. The D line, long a concern of the Pats, may be a strength this year.

LINEBACKER: Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, D'onta Hightower, Mike Rivera, Tracy White.

Mayo, Spikes, and Hightower could one day be the best three-man linebacker group in the league. Actually, that day could be this year if all three can stay on the field and gel as a unit. Mayo is the rock of the defense. He is the leader and the play caller. When he is healthy and playing at the top of his game there are few better. He's a tackling machine. Spikes is a play maker, as he showed in the AFC title game last year. He's got long arms and a long stride, reminiscent of Willie McGinnest. And he's crazy like Willie. Rookie Hightower is a monster at 6-3, 270 pounds. I'm looking forward to him and Tim Tebow meeting. With the loss of Dane Fletcher for the season, the Pats are a little thin after the starting three. If I was Belichick I might be signing linebackers instead of tight ends.

DEFENSIVE BACK: Devin McCourty, Kyle Arrington, Patrick Chung, Steve Gregory, Ras-I-Dowling, Tavon Wilson, Nate Ebner, Sterling Moore, Alfonzo Dennard, Marquice Cole.

It's funny how a position that was such a big concern last year has been barely discussed this preseason. I guess all the attention has moved to the offensive line and wideout positions. But another reason might be because the cornerback and safety positions seem much improved. Chung's shoulder is a big concern. He may be the most important player on the team. When he is on the field the defense looks less lost. Veteran Gregory looks like a good addition in the middle. At corner, McCourty looks to put his sophomore slump (slump? more like sophomore stunk) behind him and Arrington looks to continue his good fortune of having footballs fall into his lap. If either one of them slip, Dowling will get his chance to step up. Gone are the Sergio Browns and James Ihedigbos, replaced by youngsters Wilson, Ebner, and Dennard. Rugby player Ebner could end up having a big impact. As could the entire secondary.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Stephen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko

The Pats have two of the best young kickers in the league. Actually, Gostkowski is not so young anymore. He is heading into his seventh year as the replacement to legend Vinatieri. Other than the clutch Super Bowl winning kicks, he has been as good or better than #4. Zoltan looked great in the preseason. He's entering his third season and is poised to have a Pro Bowl year.

I miss Deion and I'd like to see a few more linebackers and maybe one less tight end, but the Pats roster once again looks loaded. And it's the youngest Patriots team Belichick has coached. Young, big, and fast.