Position by Position

I watched every game, analyzed the statistics a few times, and tracked the free agent signings. I believe in my conclusions about the Patriots’ needs.

So what did my evaluations tell me? I’ll break it down position by position with a scale measuring the need, with 1 being not a need and 5 being ugent:

Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer

As expected, Brady’s play improved halfway through the season as he recovered from knee reconstruction. He should be better in ’10, hopefully back to his old self. That doesn’t mean his 2007 self, as that season was an anomaly. Anywhere north of 25 touchdowns and 10 or less interceptions will be a great year if he isn’t battered throughout the year.

Hoyer beat out Matt Gutierrez for the sole back-up role fresh out of Michigan State. In limited mop-up duty, Hoyer completed 70.4 percent of his passes, though he averaged just 5.3 yards per attempt. If Hoyer takes the next step, he will lock up the reserve role, though I expect Bill Belichick to bring in someone to challenge Hoyer.

Matt Light, Logan Mankins (RFA), Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Nick Kaczur, Mark LeVoir, Rich Ohrnberger, Sebastian Vollmer, Ryan Wendell, George Bussey, Dan Connolly

The stats say New England quarterbacks were sacked just 18 times, a fantastic number that is slightly over one sack per game. But memory paints a different picture. Brady took a pounding last year as defenses came after him, believing Brady’s recovery, both physically and mentally, coupled with unfriendly reminders of a relentless pass rush, would throw Brady off. And at times, it worked.

Vollmer looks ready to start. The question is where. He could either displace Light at left tackle, forcing Light to right tackle. Or Kaczur could be benched, opening the opportunity for Vollmer. I expect Mankins will be re-signed at some point. Neal re-signed, but his days might be numbered. Neal said he’d considered retirement after the playoff loss to Baltimore. More importantly, Neal will turn 34 in October.

Even after drafting three O-linemen in last year’s draft, with a dozen selections, two more OLs could be brought on-board for competitive reasons.