ESPNMAG.com - New England Patriots

LAST SEASON: 11-5, Super Bowl champs
PROJECTION: 3rd in AFC East

Adam Vinatieri
Without Vinatieri, the Pats are left out in the cold.

Brady and RB Smith got the cash, if not the respect. This year the Pats play a Super Bowl schedule with a bull's-eye on their backs. They'll get 10 W's, but no more.

STRONG SIDE

ST: You know your special teams are truly special when the kicker gets as much off-season pub as the QB. But Adam Vinatieri earned his airtime and his new $5.37M deal. He scored 100 points for the sixth straight season and nailed game-winners against the Raiders in the snow and the Rams in the Super Bowl. Punter Ken Walter (40.1 average) got a five-year extension after leading the league in kicks inside the 20 (49%). The guy with the biggest no-respect gripe on this team -- Troy Brown -- led the league in both punt return average (14.2) and TDs (2) while ringing up some stunning stats at WR. He still didn't make the Pro Bowl.

WEAK SIDE

WR: We're nitpicking here but ... Brown's 101 catches last year mean he'll draw two defenders until the other receivers prove they can do some damage. Free agent Donald Hayes caught 52 balls with the Panthers, but to make opponents second-guess double-teaming Brown, he'll need to add 20 to that. Same goes for the TE-by-committee that includes Christian Fauria, Cam Cleeland and first-rounder Daniel Graham.

AFC East

1. Dolphins

2. Jets

3. Patriots

4. Bills

Scouting Report Index

OTHER UNITS

QB: Pro Bowler and cover boy Tom Brady, who signed a $28M extension in late August, spent the off-season tuning his deep ball. That's the pass those who watched his last seven games (3 TDs, 6 INTs) say he can't throw. One thing's certain, though: No. 2 Damon Huard is neither Brady nor Drew Bledsoe.

RB: Antowain Smith, a 1,157-yard rusher last year, re-signed for $21M, then flunked a conditioning test. If he isn't in shape, Bill Belichick will turn to Kevin Faulk over J.R. Redmond, whose hamstring slowed him during preseason. Faulk, a disappointment so far, had the best preseason of his career.

OL: The Pats didn't sign a single vet in the off-season, so the quintet of LT Matt Light, C Mike Compton, LG Damien Woody, RG Joe Andruzzi and RT Greg Robinson-Randall will start again. That's unless second-year RT Kenyatta Jones unseats Robinson-Randall, who showed up to camp overweight.

DL: Second-year RT Richard Seymour is the Pats' only lineman who can dominate against the run and pass. Former Jet Steve Martin joins him inside, and pass-rushers Anthony Pleasant and Bobby Hamilton (13 total sacks) cap the line. Super Bowl hero Willie McGinest will rush from the end too.

LB: Not a lot of sexy names, but the combo of OLBs Roman Phifer and Mike Vrabel and MLB Tedy Bruschi shut down Jerome Bettis and Marshall Faulk in the playoffs. Phifer (92 tackles) is the closest thing to a star of this silent-but-deadly group.

DB: Smart, punishing, resourceful -- and aging. Pro Bowler Lawyer Milloy has started 90 straight games at SS, while RCB Otis Smith (36) hopes to keep up the pace. FS Tebucky Jones had a breakout season.

This article appears in the September 16 issue of ESPN The Magazine.