…run offense is not too bad this year. Necessity is the mother of invention and our WR corps appear vulnerable/thin at the moment, so we’ve been turning to the ground more often. If teams shut down Randy Moss and Wes Welker, there’s only special teamer Sam Aiken and rookie Julian Edelman to step up. Luckily, Laurence Maroney has had a decent year. Would I put him in a list with some of the elite RB’s? No, not really. But he’s perfectly viable as the lead guy in New England’s “Backfield by Committee” approach.

The young guys get burned a bit against experienced WR’s. For example, put T.O. opposite rookie Darius Butler and Darius will have a long day. But the real issue for us has been the inability to generate pressure. If we can get to Edwards and rattle him a bit, we’ll have a better chance in the DB/WR matchups.

As long as Bellichick has a pulse, I see no way he’s on the hotseat in NE. He helped bring relevancy to the organization.

Why did Buffalo let him go?

So far, he hasn’t shown up with any practice participation issues. Of course, that doesn’t mean much with Belichick.

I think it’s coincidence. Seymour was certainly a great player, but the general consensus was that he’d begun to lose a few steps and trading him away while he still had value was the right move. There are fewer issues on the DL than at OLB and DB, IMO. We struggling with an inexperienced defensive backfield.

If the Bills have someone who can take Moss out of the game, then I think the pass defense will have a shot. Welker has been having a monster season, so that’s where the true threat comes from.

I love that Adalius Thomas question. I’m now very curious about that myself.

I don’t think teams are throwing anything different at Brady than before. I feel the lack of real targets has done some damage. In 2007, Brady had Donte Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney as #3 and #4; we don’t really have a viable #3 and #4 right now.

Regarding the 4-3, it was mostly used when ILB Jerod Mayo was out (injured during our first matchup); it now serves equal time with some of our other defensive packages (3-4, nickel, dime).

Adalius Thomas has simply not performed to the expectations Belichick has had. With a decent salary you’d expect him to be that veteran presence our D really needs, but he hasn’t become the leader we’d hoped for.. He’s also been a healthy scratch for a few games. I think he’s gone at the end of this season, but his contract is up in 2011; that’ll be a wrinkle to deal with.

Correct, I’m not sorry. ;-) I was at the MNF and was watching a couple of Bills fans in front of us. Up until the last few minutes, they were cheering away. When Brady hit Watson for the first TD, it was, “Uh oh…”. When McKelvin fumbled, they were holding their heads in their hands.

I don’t think losing that game would’ve changed much. Brady was pretty rusty at the beginning of the season, so I don’t think a “rallying cry” after a loss would’ve made a heck of a lot of difference.

Regarding the defensive backfield, I think Springs is gone even if his contract is until 2011. Bodden, done in 2009, will be re-signed, IMO. The starting safeties will be Meriweather and Sanders; Meriweather has done well, but needs more reps while Sanders is an animal. McGowan and Chung have good futures, but a starting position will be tough with the depth we have at Safety.

I would love to see Matt Light moved to RT and Sebastian Vollmer take the LT spot. Vollmer has done pretty well and seems to have the right mix of body type and skills to succeed at that position.

Pass rushing is definitely our biggest issue. If we don’t go after a free agent, we better pick up a star in the draft.

Part of the “discount” is to find players that are in the decline of their years, but still have productivity. The other part is finding players that are rated poorly elsewhere, but have talent within the system. Your question was pointed to the first part, but let me address the second part first.

With Pioli gone, does Belichick still have as much an eye for an undervalued player? The Galloway, Lewis, Burgess, (and the Raider’s backup QB – forget the name) would indicate that there are more swings and misses than in times past. With some of those guys burning draft picks (yeah, they grow on trees here), it isn’t good business. This is something that we will need to keep an eye on.

The other part is guys looking for a ring and a role. I think there is still a shot they will come to Foxboro. There are other teams in the league with as good or better shot at a ring, but do they put as much value in “used up” veterans as Hoodie does? That’s the big question. It depends on how many people are calling and what they’re asking you to do. Carry the load, or share it.