The Patriots have placed cornerback Chad Scott on the Injured Reserve List ending his 2007 season.  This could hurt the Patriots a little bit as Scott did a decent job as their nickel back.  He played in 14 games last year and he made 46 tackles, had 2 interceptions and defended 2 passes.

I just checked out NBC’s SNF site, www.sundaynightisfootballnight.com, and they have a ton of cool stuff. Wallpaper, widgets, multimedia. You can look at NE food, and facts about Brady. They also have Madden, Michaels and Collinsworth talking about the Pats match ups. You should go see it, because the site is great!

Dear Pats Fans,

I run an online sports community called Bleacher Report. One of our best writers (Kevan Lee) has been doing season previews for each and every NFL team. His Patriots preview is particularly good (no surprise as he is a die-hard fan).

http://www.bleacherreport.com/nfl/nfl/for-real%3a-patriots%2c-tom-brady-better-than-ever-in-new-england-200707301794/

Make sure to show Kevan and the Pats your support in the comment threads!

Thanks guys,

Alexander Freund
Community Director
Bleacher Report Team

The Patriots have released Justise Hairston.  The Patriots drafted Hairston who has been complaining about an injury so the Patriots decided to cut him after questioning his toughness.  It will be interesting to see if anyone is willing to give Hairston a chance or if his NFL career is over before it has even started.

Sure, Corey Dillon has decided to walk away from the Patriots but that’s not too big of a deal because Laurence Maroney is ready to take over as the main man.  Maroney was outstanding as a rookie last season as he showed a great combination of speed and power running the football.  Maroney played in 14 games (0 starts) and he carried the ball 175 times for 745 yards (4.3 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also caught 22 passes for 194 yards (8.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Maroney likely will not be returning any kickoffs because of his added responsibilty on offense this season.  He returned 28 kickoffs as a rookie for 783 yards (28.0 avg) but he will be needed elsewhere.

The Patriots have signed Sammy Morris away from the Miami Dolphins to back up Maroney.  Morris runs hard and low to the ground so he should fit well into the Patriots offense.  Morris played in 12 games (4 starts) for the Dolphins last season and he carried the ball 92 times for 400 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also carried the ball 21 times for 162 yards (7.7 avg) with 0 TD catches.  Morris has a lot of tread left on the tires as he hasn’t been overworked in his career so he should help the Patriots big-time.  He has played in 94 games (23 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 374 times for 1,469 yards (3.9 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  He also has caught 112 passes for 792 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Dependable third down back Kevin Faulk returns for another season of work for the Patriots.  He played in 15 games (1 start) last season and he carried the ball 25 times for 123 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD runs.  He also caught 43 passes for 356 yards (8.3 avg) with 2 TD runs.  Faulk was also busy returning kicks and he returned 17 kickoffs for 364 yards (21.4 avg) and 31 punts for 330 yards (10.6 avg).  Look for Faulk to be a busy body again this year for the Patriots.  He has now played in 106 games (24 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 632 times for 2,398 yards (3.8 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He also has caught 276 passes for 2,435 yards (8.8 avg) with 10 TD grabs in his NFL career.  Faulk also has been a decent special teams player his whole career.  He has returned 171 kickoffs for 3,871 yards (22.6 avg) with 2 TD returns and he has returned 84 punts for 769 yards (9.2 avg) with 0 TDs.

The Patriots will bring rookie Justise Hairston along slowly as they will likely try to stash him on the Practice Squad.  He’s a big guy at 6’1″, 220 pounds but he’s making a big jump in competition from tiny Central Connecticut State.

The Patriots have signed Chad Brown to a 1-year contract.  He played in 8 games last season for the Steelers and he made 7 tackles and had 1 sack.  He recently played for the Patriots in 2005 but it will be hard for him to make the Patriots roster as they are stocked with linebackers.  Brown has played in 186 games in his NFL career and he has made 1,075 tackles, has 79 sacks, 6 interceptions, defensed 41 passes, forced 19 fumbles and he has recovered 15 fumbles (3 returned for TDs).

Vinny Testaverde is planning to return to the Patriots this season after he practiced with the team at mini-camp.  Testaverde played in 3 games (0 starts) last season with the Patriots and he completed 2 of 3 (66.7%) passes for 29 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions (137.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 8 times for -8 yards (-1.0 ypc).

Testaverde has had a good NFL career after a rough start with the Tampa Bay Bucs.  He has played in 226 games (208 starts) in his career and he has completed 3,693 of 6,529 (56.6%) passes for 45,281 yards (#6 in NFL History) with 270 touchdown passes (#9 in NFL History) with 261 interceptions (75.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 421 times for 1,639 yards (3.9 ypc) with 15 TD runs.

The Patriots have re-signed WR Troy Brown for the 2007 season.  Brown played in 16 games (9 starts) last season for the Patriots and he caught 43 passes for 384 yards (8.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also carried the football 2 times for 18 yards (9.0 ypc).  Brown has been one of the best football players in Patriots history.  He has played in 191 games (70 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 557 passes for 6,366 yards (11.4 avg) with 31 TD grabs.  He also has carried the football 29 times for 178 yards (6.1 ypc).