By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
With the start of training camp comes the start of a new NFL season. It’s a bit cliché, but every team starts 0-0 and with optimism that they could pull everything together and win the Super Bowl.
Some teams can be more optimistic than others. The New England Patriots are one of them. The Patriots have the talent and organization to be set up to win now.
That said, they are far from a perfect squad. The team is undergoing a youth movement on the defensive side of the ball, have some early injury concerns, and still have some off-field business matters to take care of.
Here are some of the Patriots’ biggest questions that need to be answered for the team to have a successful season.
1. Who will start at cornerback opposite Leigh Bodden?
Leigh Bodden’s five interception season earned him a new contract with the Patriots, but who will the team partner with him?
The two leading candidates are second-year corner Darius Butler and first-round draft pick Devin McCourty.
Butler played in 14 games last season, registering 33 tackles and three interceptions, including returning one for a touchdown.
McCourty is extremely versatile and could play a big role on special [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The Patriots 2010 draft class is certainly an interesting mix. There are no sure-thing stand-out studs, but there are quite a few solid players that certainly merit their respective selections. Still there are questions with a number of prospects as well as if the Patriots did enough to address their needs.
The Patriots again traded down in the first round, twice. Then with the 27th pick they selected Rutgers cornerback Devin McCourty. The pick surprised a lot of people who were expecting a defensive end or outside linebacker. McCourty also wasn’t projected to be a first-rounder.
However, after the McCourty pick, of the next 23 picks four cornerbacks were taken as well as three safeties. With such a run on defensive backs, it’s likely the Patriots would have been unable to obtain any of them, let alone McCourty, the man they targeted and desired.
So they selected him, without much fanfare. But he’s a good overall corner, an incredibly smart player and person, a good locker room guy, and he can also contribute immediately on special teams. Not to mention the Patriots don’t have the greatest secondary to begin with. He will fit in right away with New [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Heart.
You can’t measure it in the combine. It doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. But it’s a big thing, maybe the biggest, that coaches look for in players.
Many criticized the New England Patriots for not having enough of it last season when they were trounced by the Baltimore Ravens in the first weekend of the playoffs, even though the Pats were AFC East champions and the home team.
One Patriot has it though. That guy is Tom Brady’s understudy, Brian Hoyer.
There has been a lot of talk recently about the possibility of the Patriots selecting quarterback Tim Tebow, one of the most decorated college players in the history of the game, in the upcoming draft.
With Brady firmly entrenched as the starter, a Tebow arrival could put the less-known Hoyer in a difficult predicament.
What does he have to say about the situation?
“Bring him, let’s go,” he told reporters after an off-season conditioning workout Thursday. “He’d be great to compete with.”
Tebow could take his job away, but Hoyer is welcoming the addition?
It seems strange but if you took notice of what Hoyer did last year, you’d know his fight was his greatest asset.
Hoyer, coming out of Michigan [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The NFL Draft is fast approaching. The New England Patriots have four picks in the first two rounds of what is considered a fairly deep pool.
Some positions the Patriots need help at include the secondary, pass rushing defensive linemen and/or linebackers, and tight end.
One player that Head Coach Bill Belichick likes, however, is quarterback Tim Tebow.
Tebow is arguably one of the best college football players of all time as well as being the most publicized prospect in the draft.
Would the Patriots and Tebow be a good fit though?
New England would be a great spot for Tebow to land.
The Patriots already have a starting quarterback, the one and only Tom Brady, so Tebow would have time to sit, learn, and develop.
The man he would be learning from would also be one of the top two quarterbacks in the league. Brady would take a ton of attention away from Tebow, especially since many have doubted his ability to be a starting NFL quarterback.
There are advantages for the Patriots to select him as well.
One of Tebow’s strengths is his ability to run the football. Currently, Brady isn’t much of a mobile player and sometimes neither are the Pats [...]

By Ian Tasso, and contributions made by Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writers
Endings are supposed to be climactic.
Raised with movies such as “Scarface” and books like the “Lord of the Rings,” we were taught that an ending is supposed to be glorious. Guns blazing, horns blaring — a finale is supposed to be this.
Same thing goes for the closing of a sports career. By right, it should be a culmination of a years of work, complete with standing ovations, confetti, horns — the works.
But the truth is, it rarely works out like that.
Just ask Allen Iverson, who on Tuesday was released by the 76ers, a move that figured by most to be a long time coming. Iverson was in the midst of attempting to revitalize his 13-year career, 10 seasons of which were spent annihilating defenses in Philadelphia. But after a failed stint in Denver, a mishap in Detroit and a misstep with the Grizzlies, Iverson appears to be done — finally.
Even Michael Jordan, Mr. Basketball himself, ended one of the greatest careers in NBA history with a finale that was far from epic. Jordan left Chicago with every intention of leaving the game, only to return with the Washington Wizards, a sequel that [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
They didn’t pay Asante Samuel. They didn’t pay Richard Seymour. It’s up in the air if they’ll give in and actually pay Vince Wilfork.
Now all this lack of commitment to such important players is having a rather large impact on a future free agent.
Wide receiver Randy Moss said on Saturday that he does not anticipate the New England Patriots to extend his contract after the 2010 season.
“You know the Patriots don’t really pay, so when I got my second contract from them that was a blessing in disguise. I understand the business. I don’t think they’re going to re-sign me back,” Moss told reporters at former Patriot Heath Evans’ charity softball event. “I’m not mad. I’m not bitter. It’s just the way things are in this NFL, so like I said after this year I’ll be looking for a new team. I think so.”
Moss is entering the final season of a three year deal and will make a base salary of $6.4 million. Combine the Patriots infamous frugality and the money that will be allotted to two other crucial players more valuable than Moss, and the outcome doesn’t look too rosy.
Vince Wilfork is the first [...]

Meet Benjamin Brady. The biggest question is: does he look like a model or a football player? That Zoolander face he’s making worries me.