The Patriots have released TE Marcus Pollard today after an uninspired pre-season. The move stresses the team’s confidence in TEs Benjamin Watson and David Thomas. To fill his roster spot, the team re-signed TE Tyson DeVree. Here’s the bit from the team’s press release:

DeVree, 23, was originally signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent on May 5, 2008 and was released by the Patriots on June 11, 2008. He finished his college career at the University of Colorado (2006-07) after transferring from Western Michigan (2003-04) after his sophomore year. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound tight end played in 44 collegiate games, making 96 receptions for 987 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns.

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After visiting for a workout earlier in the week, former-Broncos safety John Lynch has signed with the Patriots.

The signing comes shortly after S Tank Williams was placed on the IR. Lynch (a 4-time Pro Bowler) is getting old, but should be able to contribute as a backup to Rodney Harrison and Brandon Meriweather. Also, look for the Pats to use Lynch much in the same way they planned to use Williams: at safety and at linebacker.

His scouting report reads as follows:

Lynch played the first 11 years of his career in Tampa Bay before signing with the Broncos prior to the 2004 season. He is a leader in every sense of the word and brings a definite presence to the entire defense, not just the secondary. His intensity is contagious and he is definitely the quarterback of the secondary. He has very good size, strength and instincts, and is an above-average athlete for the position who shows good range. Even though he plays free safety he will sneak up close to the line of scrimmage and play more like a strong safety or linebacker at times. He takes good angles and has a lot of awareness in zone coverage. He does a good job of reading the quarterback and has good route recognition. He will sometimes go for the big hit rather than the interception, and is most effective when he can work downhill and make plays in front of him. Lynch can be pretty ordinary in his transition but his instincts help him to get a good jump. He is a little stiff and can overrun some plays as he may become overaggressive.

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As the 2008 season looms and the team prepares for another AFC East title, the Patriots have several positional battles to solve. The pre-season is where those battles are fought and won. Although you can't read too much into individual player performances during these games, their successes will ultimately decide where they fall on the team's depth chart.

Here are some key battles to watch:

• Backup QB: Brady is the Football Jesus, we all know that. Although he has ice water running through his veins, we all learned last year that his bones are not made of steel. He seems to be fully recovered, but his potential absence due to injury is enough to make some Pats fans nauseous.

  The QBs behind Brady certainly don’t help. Matt Cassell was pulled during a blowout over Miami last year due to poor performance. Matt Gutierrez is quick, but hasn’t shown any signs that he could consistently lead a team. Enter Kevin O'Connell, the shifty quarterback from San Diego State who has impressed during training camp. Cassell is listed as the #2 QB, but will O’Connell be able to take his place? Will Gutierrez play well enough to earn a spot on the roster, or will he be cut?

• Right Offensive Line: Although the Pats have been masters at moving offensive lineman around and minimizing their weaknesses due to injuries, there is still no clear-cut right side to this offensive line. Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur should get the nod, but Neal is aging and fragile while Kaczur may fall victim to a suspension. The Pats seemed to help their chances by signing a few lesser-known lineman, but their depth at the spot does not overcome their lack of a pure-starter. By all means, the RG and RT spots are up for grabs, and preseason should determine who starts.
• Free Safety: Rodney Harrison has the Strong Safety spot locked. James Sanders was the primary FS last year, but he’s much more suited to play SS. Essentially, the Patriots played two strong safeties last year. This year, 2nd year man Brandon Meriweather should seriously content for a starting spot. He’s got quicks and hits with great power - he just needs to improve his smarts and catching ability. Watch the battle for FS to see if Meriweather impresses enough to overtake Sanders for the starting spot opposite Harrison.
• Middle Linebacker: Bruschi is aging, but he should still start. The question truly lies in who will play next to him: rookie LB Jerod Mayo or veteran LB Victor Hobson. Hobson has had a less than amazing training camp, while the opposite is true for Mayo. So far, Mayo looks to have the lead, but a few costly mistakes in preseason could cost him his job.
• Running Back: Will Sammy Morris be back in time to compete for the bruiser-back role on the team? Will LaMont Jordan take those responsibilities? Maroney is clearly the #1 back, and Kevin Faulk is a lock as the 3rd down back, so the only battle is the bruiser.
• and finally, Cornerback: CB is clearly the biggest question mark for the Patriots. Will Fernando Bryant be able to fill in for Asante Samuel? Will rookie Terrence Wheatley earn a spot over returning CB Ellis Hobbs? This is the biggest and most interesting battle. Literally ever CB spot on the depth chart is up for grabs. Whoever performs well (and consistently) in preseason should earn a starting role.

This looks to be an interesting preseason with key positional battles to watch. Tune in at 7:30 to watch the first round of battles, pitting our team against the Baltimore Ravens (who have several key battles to watch as well).

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Everyone has heard of the Brett Favre saga. After his reinstatement to the NFL, the Green Bay Packers traded the veteran QB to the New York Jets for a draft pick.

The Jets gave up a conditional 4th round pick to acquire the ironman, but the cost could rise depending on the 2008 season. According to the NFL Network, if Favre takes 50 percent of total snaps with the Jets in 2008, the fourth-rounder becomes a third-round pick. If he gets 70 percent of the snaps and the Jets make the playoffs, it becomes a second-round pick; and if he gets 80 percent of snaps and the Jets make the Super Bowl, it becomes a first-round pick.

Favre’s durability will help an injury-prone and experience-starved quarterback unit in New York. Favre has started 253 straight regular-season games since his first Packers start in 1992. Over that same time period, the Jets have started Browning Nagle, Boomer Esiason, Frank Reich, Ray Lucas, Rick Mirer, Neil O'Donnell, Chad Pennington, Vinny Testaverde, Quincy Carter, Bubby Brister, Glenn Foley, Brooks Bollinger, Kellen Clemens, Ken O'Brien and Jack Trudeau.

Beyond his durability, though, there are several concerns. Although Favre has the most touchdown passes of any QB in NFL history, he also holds the record for most interceptions in NFL history - a stat that the Jets could truly do without. The Jets need to possess the ball and play smart football - Favre’s improv may bite them at some point. To make matters worse, Chad Pennington has a better interception-per-pass-attempt percentage (3.36%) than Favre (3.62%) since 2003.

Favre has also played with the same top-notch receivers over a long period, and was clearly perfectly timed with Donald Driver. With Favre missing all of training camp, he’ll be thrown right into action to see how well he adapts to the offense. However, the true limiting factor to Favre will be the Jets’ offensive line. Since 2003, Favre has had a stellar offensive line, allowing at most a 3.9% sack per pass attempt average. The Jets, however, have been terrible since that time, yielding a 4.6% sack per pass attempt average at best. In fact, since 2003, the Jets quarterbacks have been sacked on 7.8% (2003), 4.6% (2004), 9.8% (2005), 5.8% (2006) and 9.7% (2007) of their pass attempts.

Although the Jets have bolstered their O-Line this offseason, it’s not clear that the unit will perform well. Alan Faneca, for example, was a Pro Bowler for the Steelers, yet the Steelers fielded a terrible offensive line last year. Faneca could easily be on the decline. Right Tackle Damien Woody is on the decline as well. He couldn’t even help the Lions’ O-Line woes.

In the end, Favre’s on-field success truly depends on these new pieces. Off the field, he will clearly aid in Kellen Clemens’ development, but will that be enough? Only time will tell, but I’m not worried. Yet.

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The Pats added to their already-stacked running back corps by signing former-Raiders RB LaMont Jordan. Jordan, a 5-foot-10-inch 230 pounder, runs with a very low center of gravity and looks to fill the "bruiser" back role on offense. He will spell for Maroney and get the opposing defensive-front extremely tired, at which point Maroney will skip by them or Brady will have extra time to make a great pass.

Belichick commented on the signing: "I think LaMont adds some quality depth to our backfield. We played against him a number of times. He’s a tough guy to tackle, a hard runner, good in the passing game, good with the ball in his hands. He’s a good football player that we’ll put into that mix and give us a little more depth at that position."

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The New England Patriots have a long-standing offseason awards program devised by Coach Belichick. The awards are given to certain players based on their off-season performance in such areas as improvement from last year, attendance to team-sponsored events, and the players’ workout regimen. The prize? A reserved parking spot closest to Gillette Stadium.

Although Tom Brady is usually the winner of the best parking spot, he didn’t participate this year. "I gave it up. I didn't compete for it this year," Brady said. "I'm sure if I competed for it, I would have won. But I didn't compete for it."

The winners are:

MLB Tedy Bruschi
WR Jabar Gaffney
K Stephen Gostkowski
LG Logan Mankins
RB Sammy Morris
S James Sanders
DT Vince Wilfork
DE Ty Warren

Although Bruschi was on the list, it is hard to believe he was part of the “most improved” group. However, having improvement from the others will make our team simply scary. This is going to be a great year for the Pats.

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After signing their rookies from the bottom-up, the Patriots have finally inked a deal with first-round pick LB Jerod Mayo from Tennessee. Details of the contract were not disclosed, though we can estimate based on last year’s contracts: 10th overall pick Amobi Okoye, a DE drafted by the Texans, signed a six-year, $15.4 million contract. Expect Mayo’s to be a similar length, but with slightly more money. We’re thinking six-years, $17 million with around $10 million or so guaranteed.

UPDATE: Mayo's contract is for $18.9 million over five years with $13.8 million in guarantees and bonuses.

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The Patriots continued their "bottom-up" rookie signing trend by inking second round pick CB Terrence Wheatley to a contract today. Details of the deal were not disclosed. This signing leaves only first-round pick LB Jerod Mayo unsigned.

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Offensive Lineman Nick Kaczur, who was arrested near the Canadian border with over 200 prescription pain killers, pled guilty to drug possession charges. The 28-year-old was ordered to pay $355 in fines and fees by Whitestown Town Justice Stanley Wolanin, who said the drug possession charge will be dismissed if he stays out of trouble for the next six months.

Kaczur was originally charged with "seventh-degree" criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. According to several reports, Kaczur wore a wire to help federal authorities arrest the man accused of supplying him with the drug.

He plans to report to Patriots training camp on Wednesday.

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Rookies kick off training camp today, with veterans showing up Wednesday. At the start of camp, the Patriots have inked deals with four of their six draft picks - leaving only the top two players unsigned (LB Jerod May and CB Terrence Wheatley).

With the NFL minimum base salary for rookies set at $295,000, the Pats have been seemingly getting great deals with their second-day picks. Here’s how the contracts break down thus far:

WR/S/KR/PR Matthew Slater signed a 4-year contract on June 14th. The deal, which includes a $175,000 signing bonus breaks down as follows:
2008: $295,000 - minimum base salary
2009: $385,000
2010: $475,000
2011: $565,000

The team’s 6th round pick, LB Bo Ruud, signed on July 1st. Ruud’s contract is for 4-years and includes an $84,900 signing bonus and breaks down as follows:
2008: $295,000 - minimum base salary
2009: $385,000
2010: $470,000
2011: $555,000

Fourth round pick CB Jonathan Wilhite signed on July 17th. The deal is of the 4-year nature, and financial information has yet to be released.

To mark the start of training camp, the Patriots announced the signing of third-round draft choices LB Shawn Crable and QB Kevin O'Connell.

First and second-round picks Jerod Mayo and Terrence Wheatley are expected to sign contracts in the near future.

Confused? Check out my Salary Cap Explanation, or read up on Contract Incentives

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