Rating the Patriots so far

By SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Journal Sports Writer

So, technically, we've passed the halfway point of the season, but there's nothing that says we can't take stock of the New England Patriots' performance and fortunes after 10 games.

Call it the five-eighths season report.

Since we're generally loathe to administer grades _ for one thing, we won't pretend to know that much about the intricacies of the game, and for another, we left A through F behind at Syracuse _ let's use pluses/minuses/incompletes instead. It offers more wiggle room, anyway.

PLUSES:

_ Laurence Maroney. This rookie has been a pleasant surprise. Even he said he was surprised by how many touches he's gotten this season _ 138 and counting out of the backfield. He's also proven to be a dangerous kick returner, and has made major strides as a receiver, which is something head coach Bill Belichick said the first-round pick needed to work on earlier this season.

Maroney to the Pats at the 21st pick was considered a steal by some, as more than a few NFL observers think he will end up being the best back from the Class of 2006 _ even better than that Bush kid in New Orleans.

_ The defensive line (when healthy). This is no surprise _ starters Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren are arguably the best unit in football when healthy, and backups Jarvis Green and Mike Wright have proven themselves capable.

Seymour injured his left elbow in the week six game with the Bills, but it didn't keep him off the field for long. Warren was playing with an injured shoulder before missing his first career game two weeks ago against the New York Jets.

The line serves as the anchor of the best run defense in the AFC and second-best in the NFL.

MINUSES:

_ Injuries hit the secondary _ again. To paraphrase Rick Pitino, Ty Law isn't walking through that door anytime soon (not for lack of trying, either). Neither is Duane Starks, though we can all be thankful for that.

Coming into this season, New England looked to have all the depth it would need in the defensive backfield. Rodney Harrison would be back to anchor the unit, Eugene Wilson and Asante Samuel would continue their growth, as would Ellis Hobbs in just his second pro season. Veterans such as Artrell Hawkins and Chad Scott, along with Randall Gay, would provide backup, and there were even backups for the backups: safeties Tebucky Jones and Mel Mitchell, brought here primarily as special-teamers, second-year James Sanders and rookie Willie Andrews.

But once again, one by one, they went down. Mitchell was lost for the season early in training camp; Jones toward the end. Gay apparently wasn't healing fast enough from a hamstring injury and was placed on injured reserve in late September.

And in recent weeks, the real whammy hit: Harrison broke his scapula (shoulder blade) against the Colts, Wilson has been out for the last four weeks with an ailing hamstring, and Samuel missed the game with Green Bay because of a knee injury.

_ INCOMPLETES:

_ Tom Brady and the receiving corps. Those go hand-in-hand, and it's become a chicken-and-egg debate some weeks: has Brady not looked sharp because of the lack of chemistry with the wideouts, or are the new players impacting Brady's play?

It looked like Doug Gabriel would be the first newcomer to click with Brady a few weeks ago, but then he had his fumble, and what's assumed to be a benching against the Jets.

Now it's Reche Caldwell who is looking like the All-Pro. He had a career-high 9 catches for 90 yards versus the Jets, and pulled in three for 70 yards Sunday, including his third touchdown of the season.

The old faithfuls have been Troy Brown and tight ends Daniel Graham and Benjamin Watson.

_ Chad Jackson. The rookie is technically part of the receiving crew, but warrants his own mention. Based purely on his physical attributes _ 4.32 time in the 40 and decent size at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds _ plus his 88 receptions in his last season at the University of Florida and the fact that the Pats did not disguise their desire to grab him, Jackson had some big expectations coming into this season.

But a nagging hamstring injury limited him severely in training camp, both slowing the development of chemistry with Brady and his pickup of the offense. Though he was in on all meetings, there is no substitute for being out on the field.