Last year the Patriots looked like they were taken by surprise. Deion Branch held out and ended up going to Seattle. They let team leaders Adam Vinatieri and Willie McGinest leave as free agents. David Givens, the #2 receiver, also left for greener pastures.

Well, the Pats’ have been like Patton’s Third Army the last two weeks. In a matter of days they not only brought in some new talent, but also brought in replacements for players who would later leave as free agents themselves, before those players could even get on a plane to talk to other teams. Clearly they came in with a plan and executed with the kind of precision we’ve come to expect from this organization.

So, lets start with who they lost this year.

Tully Banta-Cain (LB) signed with the 49′ers. That’s a good move for him as the 49′ers are a team on the rise and it’s a nice place to live. He had his best season for us last year, but even with that he was mainly an edge-rusher. He came up with some big plays, but just wasn’t a consistent force.

Daniel Graham (TE) signed with Denver – where he’s from…