Brady'sButtBoy

Only four, that's right, Four of our LB's have proven themselves in the fires of the real NFL and one of them, Seau, unretired to join us and has been hurt and missed several games each of the last two years. You can argue that TBC is ready, obviously BB thinks so (at least for right now), but he hasn't been a regular starter and won't be when Bruschi comes back. Some will note Woods' decent play so far but he's very raw and shouldn't be counted on for anything but ST's. So maybe we can withstand one LB injury since Vrabel can swing in or out but after that we have no one who has distinguished themselves even in the preseason!

Hey, if TBC becomes a solid player we're not a disaster waiting to happen but if he falters we're in deep, deep doo-doo because the rest of the squad has no real up and comers nor does it have a reliable veteran who's been pushed to a reserve role by a young star. I don't know if Donnie Edwards can play in our system or even if he's still as good as he has been recently, but he'd make me feel a whole lot better about our defense if his name was among the nine we kept.

OLB - Colvin
OLB - Banta-Cain
OLB - Woods

ILB - Bruschi
ILB - Vrabel
ILB - Seau
ILB - Izzo
ILB - Davis
ILB - Alexander

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King of my matchbox sized world

PATRIOTS-80

I think there's all the difference between Beisel (last year) and TBC (this year). Besides from the way Beisel tackled, just from a sheer position standpoint, TBC just has to set the edge, the ILB position has to do a lot more.

patsox23

LB is a trouble spot, for sure. Crossing our fingers for no more injuries.

patsfan13

I think Alexander is only a year away and better now than Deisel ever was. I think TBC is ready for a breakout year. I like where we are this year better than last year.

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"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

RayClay

We need a vet for this year. Worry about the future next year.

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pats1

What's the difference from the 2004 season-ending roster?

OLB - McGinest
OLB - Vrabel
OLB - Colvin
OLB - Banta-Cain

ILB - Bruschi
ILB - Phifer
ILB - Johnson
ILB - Izzo
ILB - Davis
ILB - Chatham
ILB - Alexander

First off, the secondary is much more of a strength in 2006, so there are more DBs on the roster, so less LBs.

Secondly, the Colvin and Banta-Cain of 2004 don't even compare to their 2006 counterparts.

Izzo and Davis replace themselves, Alexander is much improved since 2004, and Seau takes the place of Phifer or Johnson.

On a 53-man roster like this, I don't know what you're expecting.

Do you want every player on the LB roster to be a solid, proven NFL starter?

That's simply not the way it is. Never has been, especially for the Patriots.

There's the starters, a key reserve player, and then the special teamers. It's all about ROLE PLAYERS.

PATRIOTS-80

I agree. We have our solid back-up in Seau and Woods. We might pick-up a FA LB, maybe (if we send Le Kevin Smith down to the PS).

HomelandDef

I'd like to see Chad Brown re-sign if/when he is healed. There is a situational role for him on this team.

PATRIOTS-80

that's a possibility (shadow roster).

Seriously guys though, Woods could see some significant playing time ala Randall Gay ala Mike Wright.

PlattsFan

Other teams' fans worry about their QB, or their running backs. Or their left tackle.

We worry about backup LBs.

It's a good time to be a Patriots fan.