2 -QB Brady, Hoyer
2 - RB BJGE, Woodhead
5 - WR Branch, Welker, Tate, Edelman, Price
3 - TE Gronkowski, Hernandez, Crumpler
8 - OL Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Vollmer, Kaczur, Connolly, LeVoir, Wendell, Ohrnberger
9 - DL Warren, Wilfork, Deaderick, Brace, Pryor, Wright, Weston, Love, Richard
8 - LB TBC, Mayo, Spikes, Cunningham, Ninkovich, Guyton, Fletcher, Woods
5 - CB Bodden, McCourty, Butler, Arrington, Wilhite
5 - S Meriweather, Chung, Sanders, Brown, Barrett
5 - ST Gostkowski, Mesko, Katula, Slater, Lockett
20 under Pats control on offense...2 meaningful UFA, 6 over 30 yo during 2011 draft
27 under Pats control on defense...0 meaningful UFA, 2 over 30 yo during 2011 draft
Outside of a couple RBs and freshening up the OL, the Pats will be able to pretty much return the same team next year. Obviously they won't. With history as a guide and given the high draft picks next year, expect 8-10 new players in 2011.
That is really the key. Those 3 to 4 elite drafted players next year won't be filling holes...they will be displacing talented and generally productive players. And the cap shouldn't be a concern.
This is certainly not the case for most teams, including the Jets. Outside of Harris, Cromartie, every S except Leonard and every WR except Cotchery heading to free agency, they are getting older at OL (right side), DL and LB. Their recent drafts have not given them a ready pipeline of replacements or quality depth. Only a fairly remarkable stretch of good health these last 2 years have kept them from being exposed (can't bring up Jenkins because he is 400 lbs. of human playing on knee ligaments made of chewing gum...signing him to big money until he is 34 was insane).
The other difference is that the Pats have enough "capital" in the bank to weather some sub-optimal years like the last 2. The Jets have none. Ryan's big talk will get old really quick if the Jets start descending instead of ascending. Given their altitude in January was the AFCC game and Ryan has explicitly said that they are the best team in the NFL...well you can see where I am going with this. It will take a deep run in the playoffs this year and a championship by next year to keep this from getting ugly.