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.