New England Patriots

In this week's edition of "Reiss' P.A.T.", Mike Reiss checks in from OTAs at Gillette Stadium, visits with Bryan Morry, the executive director of the Patriots' Hall of Fame, and answers your Twitter questions.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions, and Geno Smith talked about all the improvements he needs to make.Yeah, this New York Jets' quarterback competition sure has a long way to go.It's early, but the two quarterbacks considered the front-runners for the starting job didn't exactly impress Wednesday during the Jets' first practice of organized team activities open to the media. And, count coach Rex Ryan among those who wasn't particularly thrilled with what he saw.

Dec 2, 2012; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talks with defensive tackle Vince Wilfork (75). Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports Welcome to the fifth installment of a multi-part review and grading of the previous drafts of the New England Patriots under coach and executive Bill Belichick.  As the Patriots are beginning their “voluntary” organized team activities along with their other NFL counterparts, this period of preparing for the 2013 season until the kickoff of the official training camp in July is often the only down time in the NFL calendar. Now is an ideal time to look back and re-grade the previous drafts of the New England Patriots while under the leadership of Bill Belichick. As a note, these draft grades take into account the player’s impact while in New England weighed against the other players who were available in the draft at that time, as well as the the strength of the draft as a whole that season.  Below is the revisit and re-grading of the Bill Belichick draft that played a key role in adding two consecutive Super Bowl championships in New England: the 2004 NFL Draft. The Patriots ended the 2003 season on a high note, as the team shook off a mind-numbing 31-0 loss to the recently released from New England Lawyer Milloy-led Buffalo Bills in week one to roar through the schedule and finish with 12 consecutive victories and a 14-2 regular season  record one year after missing the playoffs. The season included a memorable victory over Denver on a Monday night game at Mile Hile featuring an intentional safety by the Patriots. The Patriots were pinned down at the one yard line and went three-and-out and intentionally to the safety to pin Denver back. The strategy paid-off as young quarterback Danny Kanell went three-and-out and gave the ball back to the Patriots with 2:15 on the clock.  Tom Brady led the Patriots down the field and completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to young wide receiver David Givens with only 36 seconds remaining in the game. There was also an epic defensive battle against the resurgent Dallas Cowboys under Bill Parcells on a cold Sunday night in November at Gillette Stadium.  The Cowboy’s defense showed up, limiting the Patriots to 12 points and quarterback Tom Brady to a rare, sub-50% completion rate that night.; however, he did–as was customary in that offense–complete passes to 8 different receivers.  New England’s defense showed up strong and shut out the Cowboy’s offense (one of the defense’s 3 shutouts that season and 2 additional games without allowing a touchdown), as cornerback Ty Law picked off two Quincy Carter passes and fellow cornerback Tyrone Poole added another pick. Dallas’s leading rusher, Troy Hambrick, was held to 41 yards on 16 attempts on the ground.  The Patriots only scored once, a 2 yard plunge by running back Antowain Smith set-up by a 57 yard completion to David Givens on the previous play. The Patriots headed into the 2004 draft with an additional 1st round pick and 2nd round pick courtesy of their previous trades into this draft year during the 2003 draft.  New England had packaged their second 1st round pick (#19) in 2003 to Baltimore for their 2nd round pick in 2003 and Baltimore’s 1st round pick in 2004. The Patriots also had traded one of their 3rd round picks (#78) to Miami for their 2004 2nd round pick.  That 2nd round pick was traded to Cincinnati for their disgruntled running back Corey Dillon, who allowed New England to replace aging and ineffective running back Antowain Smith with an all-pro talent on the cheap. Cincinnati drafted safety Madieu Williams with the 2nd round pick. Williams was a solid pick-up, but definitely it was a trade that New England would make every time, considering the next running back drafted after that spot was Mewelde Moore (Chris Perry, Kevin Jones, Greg Jones, Julius Jones, and Tatum Bell were drafted ahead of the pick that was traded for Dillon, along wi

The Patriots have continued their pursuit of former Rutgers players, as they have claimed offensive lineman Kevin Haslam off waivers from the Chargers. Haslam, who last played for the Scarlet Knights in 2010, was waived by San Diego on Tuesday. Haslam brings NFL experience to New England, as he has appeared in 10 career games over his two year career. He got his most valuable experience with the Chargers last season, where he started three games at left tackle. Many believe that Haslam was a likely candidate to take over at the position full time in 2013. With Haslam coming aboard, the Patriots now have seven players from Rutgers on their roster. It's evident, if it wasn't already, that Belichick really likes what he sees from players who were primarily coached by Greg Schiano at Rutgers. Certainly don't rule out another Rutgers signing before training camp begins. As a corresponding move, the team has released offensive lineman R.J. Mattes. Mattes was signed by the team last week as an undrafted rookie free agent out of North Carolina State. As a student at State, can't say I'm happy to see Mattes go, but it doesn't seem to sting as much since it's a Rutgers player taking his spot. Those guys are what Bill Belichick really needs more of.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers leading wide receiver Michael Crabtree has had surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon.Crabtree was operated on Wednesday, one day after suffering the injury during an organized team activity."Michael Crabtree underwent surgery to repair his Achilles tendon that he tore yesterday," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Surgery was successful and we do not anticipate it will be season-ending for Michael."Harbaugh would not speculate when Crabtree might return to play.

The New England Patriots claimed offensive tackle Kevin Haslam off waivers Wednesday, and waived offensive lineman R.J. Mattes in a corresponding move. Haslam, who enters his fourth season, was waived by the San Diego Chargers on Tuesday. He went undrafted in 2010 out of Rutgers, and becomes the eighth Rutgers product on the Patriots' 90-man roster. At 6-foot-5 and 304 pounds, Haslam has experience at both guard and tackle, and started three games for the Chargers last season.

The Patriots made some changes at tackle today.They claimed Kevin Haslam off waivers from the Chargers and released R.J. Mattes to make room. Mattes will be on waivers until tomorrow. The Chargers released Haslam yesterday after signing tackle Max Starks.

One of the tenants behind the Patriots' sustained success under Bill Belichick has been a mix of young talent and veteran experience throughout the roster. When Tom Brady was a young, developing quarterback in the league, veterans such as Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Ty Law and others were around to serve in leadership roles. Brady now lays claim to the elder statesman title on the Patriots roster, and it is he who serves as the team's leader while youngsters such as Rob Gronkowski, Dont'a Hightower, Stevan Ridley and Chandler Jones develop in the early stages of their own careers.

CINCINNATI — Andy Dalton saw A.J. Green lined up on the outside and let it fly, lofting the ball deep down the sideline.Nobody had to guess what the Bengals are focused on during their offseason team practices.Throw deep. As much as possible.Dalton is trying to refine the long-distance connection that was missing in their biggest games late last season. He tried repeatedly to get the ball to Green way down the field, but missed most of the time.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jaguars have signed first-year receiver Jeremy Ebert and waived defensive tackle Jeris Pendleton.Ebert was a seventh-round draft pick by New England Patriots in 2012. He also spent time on Philadelphia's practice squad last season. He re-signed with the Patriots on Jan. 21 and was waived April 29.Ebert had 173 receptions for 2,400 yards and 21 touchdowns at Northwestern. He led the team in receiving his final two seasons, including 75 catches for 1,060 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.