Preseason Game 3: Redskins (0-2) at Patriots (1-1)

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Tonight at 8pm (CBS channel 9 in the DC area), the Redskins play the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. Both teams are anxious, looking for a spark as we march toward the regular season. But it looks like only one team is starting to panic.

In two games this preseason, the Patriots have not been terrible, with Belichick keeping a lid on the team. I'd go plain vanilla too if I was looking to field a team that looks so different from last season. Of note was last week's game against the Cardinals, which featured Matt Leinart playing against his former USC backup, Matt Cassel. Tom Brady can relate to Cassel, his current backup. He was on the bench in 1998 when Brian Griese led Michigan to the National Championship. In 2004, sat on the bench while Leinart and USC won it all.

The Patriots won the AFC Least last season with 10 wins in a weak division. They destroyed Jacsonville in the playoff Wild Card round, but lost to the Broncos 27-13 in the Divisional round. In that game, Tom Brady threw for 341 yards as the Pats played from behind most of the game.

For the Patriots, the 2006 season approaches with more questions than answers. Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennell, Coach Bill Belichick's top lieutenants, are long gone, and now the team they built is coming apart. Gone are many of the major contributors to New England's Super Bowl seasons: WRs David Givens, Tim Dwight, Bethel Johnson, and Andre Davis, TE Christian Fauria (to the Redskins thank you very much), LB Willie McGinest, CBs Tyrone Poole and Duane Starks, and K Adam Vinatieri. Retained is most of the offensive line, no doubt a relief to Brady and Corey Dillon.

To replace these veterans, they'll be relying on at least four rookies to crack the starting lineup, and even signed creaking Junior Seau. This morning, I took a shower longer than his 'retirement.'

(Moment of schadenfeude: Adam Vinatieri signed with Indianpolis in the offseason, and the Patriots brought in Martin Gramatica to try out against rookie Stephen Gotmilksi. Poor Martin was so bad he couldn't beat a rookie. Pretty sad state of kicking affairs for a team that until last season had kicker so good and so clutch he had a whole TV advertising campaign.)

Injuries are a problem for New England as well. Defensively, LB Tedy Bruschi is going to miss the entire preseason, and maybe more, recovering from wrist surgery. DL Richard Seymour and S Rodney Harrison are gimpy and just on the mend. Two offensive linemen had shoulder surgery in the offseason, but look ok. See? It's not just the Redskins.

Deion Branch. Last season, he led the Pats with 79 catches and 998 yards, 200 more than David Givens. He's holding out, and the Pats are calling his bluff, giving him permission to seek a trade. Branch, Givens and Dwight accounted for more than 150 catches last season. That hurts. Tom Brady has to get comfy quickly with all-new receivers. As any armchair coach will tell you, rhythms and trust between QBs and WRs take time to develop. Throw in a rookie RB expected to get a lot of carries and expect to see some of the luster come off the Patriots shine this season. Having said this, they are still the class of the division.

As for the Redskins, the Washington Post reports that the Redskins and Al Saunders have revealed maybe 2% of their 700-page offensive playbook. I'd be in favor of another percent or two.