New England Patriots Quarterbacks

 QUARTERBACKS

Tom Brady (pictured) is Tom Brady — still one of the league's elite quarterbacks, and likely even more confident this year with a full season on his reconstructed knee behind him. Questions linger as to whether his commitment to the team has been affected by being married to a globe-trotting supermodel, but he professes that it is as strong as ever. Brian Hoyer, an undrafted rookie out of Michigan State, was the only backup last year, showing that the team has confidence in him. New England Patriots might bring in a veteran, likely to serve as the third-stringer and not necessarily to take Hoyer's job as the No. 2 guy.

RUNNING BACKS

New England Patriots has an experienced group of runners, but their experience (read: age) makes it difficult to express a great deal of confidence in their ability to produce at a high level. Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris will all be 33 or older when the season starts, and both Taylor and Morris missed time last year to injury. Laurence Maroney will once again be itching to prove that he isn't the first-round disappointment he's largely been to this point, though it would certainly be a positive if his newfound fondness for the end zone were to continue (a career-high nine touchdowns in '09). In a perfect world, Maroney would be the first- and second-down back, Morris would get the short yards, Taylor would be the goal line back and Faulk, as always, would be lined up all over the field. New England did not draft a running back to add fresh legs to a decidedly middle-of-the-pack ground game.

RECEIVERS

It is unlikely that Wes Welker, who tore his left ACL and MCL in the regular-season finale, will return to the field before November, and there is no way of knowing how he will respond when he does play. Though he appeared to be progressing well in offseason workouts, it is best to plan to play without the league's leading receiver from a year ago, meaning New England will be counting on an aging Randy Moss and a young Julian Edelman to carry this unit. Assuming Moss as the No. 1 and Edelman, seen as something of a Welker clone, as the No. 2, someone needs to step up as a viable No. 3, something New England didn't have last year. The leading candidates are veteran Torry Holt, second-year pro Brandon Tate and rookie Taylor Price, who is seen as a vertical threat. The tight end has seemingly disappeared from the offense in recent seasons, but with the drafting of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, that could change. Brady has shown that he can make do with an average group of receivers, and right now that's what this group looks to be — two once-great players who are on their last legs and a host of others still learning the nuances of the offense.

 

Only three players — Smith, kicker John Kasay and left tackle Jordon Gross — remain from the team that reached the Super Bowl following the 2003 season before losing to the New England Patriots. Change is the word these days in Charlotte, and the locker room has had a decidedly different vibe than in recent years.

That's the word from Smith, who arrived in 2001 as a third-round draft pick before becoming one of the NFL's top receivers.

 

"I think it does, I mean, obviously it does," he says. "That's a good thing. I'm not trying to take away from anybody who was here in the past, (but) I'm also not trying to take anything away from anybody coming in. I'm really just looking at it like, 'Hey, it's a clean slate for everybody, for myself … for Matt Moore, for everybody.' It's just a different dynamic.

 

He could be paired at inside linebacker with former Tennessee Volunteer Jerod Mayo. The two have already had fun with their college rivalry.

 

"He was a great player at Florida," Mayo told NESN. "Those are kind of our rivals, if you want to call it that, even though they beat us the last, about, five times. I wouldn't really call it a rivalry right now at this present time, but he was a good player in college."

 

Cunningham Adjusts- The Patriots took Jermaine Cunningham to be a hybrid in their 3-4 sets. He played defensive end all four years in college for the Gators, and recorded 19.5 sacks in three seasons as a starter. He is a natural at getting to the quarterback, something the New England defense struggled to do last season.

Most of Cunningham's snaps are expected to come from the outside linebacker position. Tully Banta-Cain had a breakout season for the Patriots last year, and he could take one of the outside linebacker positions.

 

If Guyton stays as an inside linebacker, there could be an open starting position for Cunningham. If Guyton moves outside, it could be Spikes who takes the starting job on the inside. It looks likely that one Gator will start at linebacker for the Patriots, but two at this point may be a stretch.

Pouncey Pushes to Start- The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Maurkice Pouncey to bolster an offensive line that was getting up in years. He has already brought plenty of versatility and has become a candidate to start at multiple positions.

 

Pouncey started his Florida career at guard before moving to center, and those are the two spots he has lined up at for Pittsburgh. Head coach Mike Tomlin said last month