The Patriots had an amazing 2008 season when you consider the fact that they started Matt Cassel most of the season.  But with Cassel off to Kansas City the Patriots will need Tom Brady to remain healthy all season long if they want to make the playoffs.  Brady is quite simply the best QB in all of football.  He can make all of the throws and he even did that when he didn’t have good receivers.  The Patriots have a deep stable of running backs to keep teams from dropping too many DBs in coverage which means that Brady and the passing game will be lethal again in 2009.  2nd year QB Kevin O’Connell will likely be Brady’s backup as he made the Patriots feel confident enough to deal Cassel.  Still, he doesn’t have much experience when the bullets are flying live on Sundays in the NFL.  Untested veteran Matt Gutierrez will try to hold off undrafted rookie QB Brian Hoyer for the #3 job in training camp.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  With a healthy Tom Brady:  A+   If he goes down to injury:  D

The Patriots have signed 31-year old linebacker Paris Lenon to a 1-year deal.  The 6′2″, 235 pound Lenon was a tackling machine for the Lions last season as he played in all 16 games for them and he made 121 tackles, defensed 3 passes, had 1.5 sacks and he forced 2 fumbles.  Lenon has now played in 112 games in his NFL career and he has made 446 tackles, defensed 17 passes, has 5 sacks, forced 5 fumbles and he has intercepted 2 passes (one he returned for a TD).  This was a outstanding pickup for the Patriots.

Rookie linebacker Tyrone McKenzie has torn his ACL at the Patriots’ first minicamp of the off-season.  He will be placed on the Injured Reserve List which will cause him to miss his rookie season.  The Patriots were hoping that McKenzie would push veteran Tedy Bruschi for his starting job in training camp but that won’t happen now.

The New England Patriots have signed 25-year old safety Brandon McGowan to a 2-year deal.  He played in only 2 games for the Bears last season making 4 tackles and defending a pass.  In his 4-year career, McGowan has made 105 tackles, defensed 5 passes, forced 1 fumble and he has 2 interceptions.  If McGowan can stay healthy he could make a impact on the defense….but that’s a very big if.

The Patriots have signed 29-year old linebacker Vinny Ciurciu to a 1-year contract.  He played in 14 games for the Vikings last season making 11 tackles and defended 1 pass.  He has now played in 82 games in his 6-year NFL career and he has made 100 tackles and defensed 2 passes.  Look for Ciurciu to be nothing more than a special teams ace for the Patriots….but he’s a good one.