ShareThisThe way Shawn Springs looks at it, he, Randy Moss and Joey Galloway are among the Patriots' graybeards.
For Springs and Moss, "graybeard" is more of an honorific, but for Galloway, that's actually true.
At any rate, the 13-year veteran is enjoying a sort of rebirth with New England, which signed him to a three-year contract in March after the former first-round draft pick had been released by the Redskins.
"I feel blessed," the 34-year-old Springs said about having to start over so late in his career. "I never thought I'd have this opportunity; I always thought I'd be in Washington, (that) I probably would have retired there. I'm blessed."
Springs has more than 150 career games under his belt, which means he brings a wealth of experience as well as his famous notebooks charting the tendencies of every receiver he's faced to his new team. But in a sense, he has as much to learn as rookie Darius Butler when it comes to the subtleties of the Pats' defensive playbook.
"Some of the concepts I'm familiar with, just different terminology, and some things they just do totally different that what I've ever done. You've got to adjust and keep learning," he said.
"I'm still new. I feel like a rookie. I usually pick up things fast, but I still have to get the defense, and the techniques are different. I've got to constantly study and work like everybody else."
Despite the extra study time, Springs and fellow Patriots newcomer Leigh Bodden are currently penciled in as starters at cornerback, with second-year players Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite as well as Butler all vying for playing time.
But with so many new faces on a retooled unit, Springs believes there hasn't been much of a battle for positions to this point. Everyone is just trying to soak everything in and be ready for game action.
"I think because we have so many young guys and new guys that it's competition, but everybody is just trying to learn and not necessarily worrying about (the competition)," he said. "What I do is just try to learn as much as I possibly can and play the best that I can and let the chips fall. It's really a learning process when you're new in the league or new to a team."
Springs and Butler may be on an equal plain when it comes to the playbook, but there's no question that Springs' career gives him an advantage. But like so many other veteran Patriots, he has no qualms about sharing his knowledge.
He gets a little something out of it, too.
"It helps to keep me young," he said of mentoring Butler, Wheatley and Wilhite. "It helps to keep me working on little extra stuff, as well. If you want to play like the young guys, you have to see and be around them."
As he and Buffalo's Terrell Owens have followed each other throughout the NFL -- both began on the West Coast, with Springs in Seattle and Owens in San Francisco, then went to NFC East teams and now find themselves in the AFC East -- they've had some great battles.
Now, not only will Springs face Owens twice this season, he lines up against another receiving great in Moss every day at practice.
He loves the competition between two older players who can still get it done.
"It's cool. I like it," he said. "We're both about two years from getting our AARP card; Joey officially got his this year. Me and Randy, I'm about a year and Randy is two years off. We'll be talking about Social Security and stuff."
(Contact Shalise Manza Young at smanza@projo.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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