PATRIOTS OFF-SEASON BEGINS

What really stings about Sunday's big loss is the fact that for many Patriots, that was their last game wearing red, white, and blue.

Linebackers Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi will probably retire, although there's a slim chance Bruschi may stick around. Even if Tedy stays, it's clear that two new starting ILBs are needed. He simply isn't the playmaker we need in the middle of the field anymore.

Donte Stallworth is gone, most likely. Randy Moss is a free agent and could command a massive salary for 2008, perhaps too massive for the Pats' salary cap to handle. Jabar Gaffney is an unrestricted free agent, but I imagine the Pats will keep him around.

Asante Samuel will also be a free agent. After another great season, he's probably gone to another team for big bucks. Randall Gay and Eugene Wilson are free agents and will probably be allowed to leave. Gay because he sucks, and Wilson because he wants to start.

The most pressing need will be at linebacker. Colvin will be back, as will Vrabel and Adalius. One of them could play inside (most likely Adalius, but I'd much rather have him outside). The Pats could adjust defensive philosophies and become more of a 4-3 team, with Adalius on the end.

Re-signing Moss is the #1 priority for this team, so long as the money is right. He adds another dimension to our offense, especially in conjuncture with Wes Welker. I'd love to keep Gaffney, and move Kelley Washington into the top 5 on the WR depth chart.

Right now, here's my incomplete guess of the Patriots roster for the 2008 season.

Offense
QB1: Tom Brady
QB2: Matt Gutierrez
QB3:

RB1: Laurence Maroney
RB2: Sammy Morris
RB3: Kevin Faulk
FB: Heath Evans

C: Dan Koppen
LG: Logan Mankins
RG: Stephen Neal
LT: Matt Light
RT: Nick Kaczur
OL6: Russ Hochstein
OL7:
OL8:

WR1: Randy Moss
WR2: Wes Welker
WR3: Jabar Gaffney
WR4: Kelley Washington
WR5: Chad Jackson
WR6:

TE1: Ben Watson
TE2: Kyle Brady
TE3: David Thomas

Defense
DT1: Vince Wilfork
DT2:
DE1: Richard Seymour
DE2: Ty Warren
DE3: Jarvis Green

OLB1: MIke Vrabel
OLB2: Roosevelt Colvin
OLB3: Adalius Thomas
OLB4:
ILB1:
ILB2:
ILB3:
ILB4:

CB1:
CB2: Ellis Hobbs
CB3:
CB4:
S1: Rodney Harrison
S2: James Sanders
S3: Brandon Meriweather
S4:

Special Teams
K: Stephen Gostkowski
P: Chris Hanson
LS: Lonnie Paxton