In his six drafts as coach of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick has never taken a linebacker before the fifth round. That probably will change Saturday.

Several other teams, though, may pluck away the top linebackers before the Patriots get a chance with the 21st pick.

New England has other needs after losing key free agents. Placekicker Adam Vinatieri left for Indianapolis and wide receiver David Givens went to Tennessee. But placekickers usually aren't drafted high and wide receiver is not considered a strong position in this year's draft.

Belichick keeps sticking to the philosophy of taking the best player even if he doesn't play a position where the Patriots need help. But this year, those two factors seem to coincide.

"There's probably more (quality) linebackers than we've had the last couple of years," Belichick said. "Some of those guys have had a lot of production, have had a lot of playing time."

Some have started three or four years and were good pass rushers for strong teams. Willie McGinest was one of those guys in 1994 when the Patriots took him with the fourth overall pick out of Southern California. But after 12 years in New England, he signed as a free agent with Cleveland, where former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel is head coach.

Last season, the Patriots missed their goal of becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Then they lost linebacker Matt Chatham as a free agent to the New York Jets and released linebacker Chad Brown. That leaves Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Rosevelt Colvin and Monty Beisel as their top four linebackers, and Beisel was inconsistent last season.

With a 3-4 alignment, the Patriots also can draft defensive ends to rush the passer from the outside linebacker spot.

They did that in 2003 with Tully Banta-Cain, a seventh-round pick from California who plays linebacker for them. Last season, Belichick drafted Ryan Claridge of Nevada-Las Vegas in the fifth round, the only linebacker he's chosen earlier than the seventh round since taking over the Patriots in 2000.

"I don't think there's anything special about where we've taken them or haven't taken them. It just worked out that way," Belichick said. "It's not with any intent to take them or not take them. It's kind of how the draft falls, in that particular year, in that particular round."

Bobby Carpenter of Ohio State is one of the linebackers who could be available with the 21st choice.

Other top linebackers, many of whom figure to be taken before the Patriots choose, are A.J. Hawk of Ohio State, Ernie Sims of Florida State, Chad Greenway of Iowa and Manny Lawson of North Carolina State.

With strong safety Rodney Harrison returning from knee surgery and no star player at cornerback, the Patriots also could take a defensive back early. And with Corey Dillon coming off a subpar season at age 31, running backs like LenDale White of Southern California and Laurence Maroney of Minnesota could be attractive.

The departure of Givens leaves the Patriots thin at wide receiver.

"The last couple of years we've had a lot of guys go in the first round at receiver, mostly bigger receivers, and there has certainly been a trend and a little bit of a stampede to get those kind of guys," Belichick said. "It seems like there are fewer of them this year."

The Patriots do have some trading material with one pick in each of the first and second rounds and two in each of the third and fourth.

"Having those extra mid-round picks in a full draft does certainly give you flexibility to move up in rounds," Belichick said. "There's only so far you can move in that first round. From 21 you're not going to be able to get into the top 10, but you could move up a couple of spots."

The arenafootball2 league office announced today that WR Tyler Grogan has been assigned to the Manchester Wolves, New Hampshire's professional af2 team. Grogan, son of former New England Patriots Quarterback Steve Grogan, earned his spot on the training camp roster after performing well at the Wolves open tryout last Saturday.

Grogan (6-4, 205) was a standout punter for Northeastern University, but will have to make a transition to Wide Receiver in order to make the Wolves final roster. As a Wide Receiver for the Huskies, Grogan finished with 10 receptions for 139 yards and one touchdown. The Foxboro, Mass. native holds the NU Huskies individual season record for punting average, with a 40.4 average in 2003. He ranks fifth in both punting yards (2,671 in 2001) and punts (71 in 2001). He was named to the All-Conference Second Team as a punter in 2004, and participated in NFL Europe's Training Camp in 2005 as a Free Agent.

"Tyler has worked extremely hard over the past few years to improve himself, and he is now reaping the benefits of that work," said Wolves Head Coach Ben Bennett. "He wants a chance, and we're going to give it to him. What he does from there is up to him."

Grogan grew up watching his father play quarterback for the New England Patriots. The elder Grogan played 16 seasons from 1975 through 1990, and was named to the Patriots Hall of Fame in1995. He holds the Patriots all-time career passing record with 3,593 attempts, 1,879 completions, 26,886 yards and 182 touchdowns. Steve Grogan holds the Patriots' single-game quarterback rating record, achieving a 227.8 rating on September 9, 1979 versus the N.Y. Jets.

The Wolves 2006 season officially started yesterday for players, as they reported for training camp at Bedford's Rising Stars in preparation to defend their 2005 East Division Championship title. The Wolves open their regular season Friday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. on Brady Sullivan Field against the Green Bay Blizzard at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

By now you've read all kinds of doom and gloom about the lack of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL and its players. One of the ramifications is that the 2007 season will be played without a salary cap, and Union Chief Gene Upshaw has repeatedly declared that once the cap is gone, it isn't coming back. And while it will change the NFL to some extent, it's not something that most fans should worry about. In fact, it might just be a good thing for all involved.

The great fear is that no salary cap will create a system of haves and have nots amongst teams. And there's the potential for that to happen, especially in the short term. The 2007-2009 seasons are probably going to be vastly different than the current league, where pretty much any team can beat any other team and the difference between the 10-6 and 6-10 teams is only a player or two. The owners willing to pony up the mega dollars will have no limitations on their own extravagant spending. It will be the greatest time ever to be a free agent, especially at a position of need for the teams with the open checkbooks. Despite that short-term hiccup, I believe this orgy of free spending will end after a couple of seasons.

The reasons? There are three. First and foremost, overpaying for free agents has almost never worked in any sport. Because the time before a player hits free agency jumps from 4 years to 6 years, teams are going to be able to more easily replace from within and maneuver themselves to recover via the draft and preemptive trades. It's a similar concept to the "Moneyball" A's in baseball. The teams that can't afford the superstar free agents can load up on the cheaper, second tier guys and hungry young players on the way up, instead of paying top dollar for what the stars have already done. Everyone talks about baseball and its big divide between the big market teams and the lower-revenue clubs. But the team with the highest payroll hasn't won a World Series since the Blue Jays in 1993. The Yankees sneaked into the playoffs last season not because of their enormous contract stars, but because an unheralded rookie 2B and a career minor league pitcher both exploded onto the scene. The Yankees teams of the late 90s and 2000-02 were all great mainly because of homegrown talent like Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, and Jorge Posada were all in their primes. Ever since they started egregiously overspending for aged talent, they haven't been as successful. Other great examples of teams that tried to buy their way to greatness and failed, often spectacularly, include the late 90s Baltimore Orioles, the early 90s Mets, hockey's New York Rangers for the past decade, and the NBA's New York Knicks, the worst team in basketball depsite being almost 100% over the league's soft salary cap. It's the teams that spend wisely and find value for their dollars, plus scheming to make the most of the talent they've got, that are successful. The Steelers and Patriots use that model already, and they've captured 4 of the last 5 Super Bowls.

Another reason is simple economics. Many owners have bought in since the league received its multi-billion dollar cash infusion from the television networks. Several of them have also footed at least part of the bill for extravagant new stadiums with expensive luxuries and creature comforts. In short, they bought high. Because of different factors, not the least of which is the NFL moving several games to its own network which few people get on their cable packages, the next contract won't be so lucrative. The overall economy is no longer so robust, and ticket prices have hit (and some have blown beyond) the ceiling of what fans will pay to attend. Tax breaks for new stadiums range between improbable and "What are you smoking?". People like Dan Snyder (Redskins), Zygi Wilf (Vikings), and Steve Bisciotti (Ravens) all accumulated enough wealth to buy in at those prices for a reason--they're smart business people. Smart business people don't like to lose money, and a decline in TV contracts, higher employee costs, and relatively flat income from attendance and concessions means the only way to not lose money is to not spend so much. It seems simplistic and unrealistic, but these guys did not buy teams with the altruistic vision of losing money to put a winning product on the field. Good businessmen don't buy high and sell low, not when dealing with a $500 million+ investment.

The last reason deals with the competitiveness of football players themselves. Professional athletes have big egos, and the most successful have drives to be the best. That drive extends into the locker room. A team with several mega contracts will inevitably have a clash of egos. A divided locker room is not a winning locker room. There's also the pressure to perform, and the increased expectations with the increased salaries. Football players are excellent at policing their own, and a guy with a fat contract not pulling his weight is worth far less than an underpaid guy producing on every play. The players know that, coaches know that, and most front offices know that. It will only take a few prominent examples of outlandish contracts that flop before the teams begin to self-regulate. Because the NFL is much more league-oriented than baseball, and because NFL teams love to mimic the current success models (see the rise in 3-4 defenses and West Coast offenses), two or three seasons of experimenting and fiscal insanity will settle into more reasonable spending and more balanced locker rooms.

The NFL future is going to look a little different, and for a couple of years you'll probably see a complete loss of the current parity. But in the long term, losing the salary cap shouldn't drastically change the league. It might even raise the quality of play. You might wind up paying more to enjoy the NFL, but the league will remain a vibrant, entertaining, competitive, recognizable entity far beyond a couple of years of change.

While some teams (see: Washington Redskins) have attacked NFL free agency like garage sale fanatics, the Patriots were rather quiet during the first week teams were allowed to negotiate with unsigned players.

Well, the team's offices in Foxborough are indeed open for business. Yesterday, the Patriots made their first free agent signing of the offseason, coming to terms with receiver Reche Caldwell, formerly of the San Diego Chargers.

Interestingly, in the week of practice before the Chargers faced New England last Oct. 2, Caldwell played the role of Deion Branch in practice, even donning a No. 83 Patriots jersey. Now he gets to line up alongside the star wideout as the early favorite to be the Patriots' No. 2 receiver.

''Reche made the comment to me after he met with [Patriots coach Bill] Belichick that he was excited about the team's offense," said Tony Fleming, Caldwell's agent.

''He said there were some routes he had never seen before, but he really felt like it was a system designed for a quarterback and receiver to make some plays.

''He knows what the organization has done and he knows what type of quarterback is there. He sees it as an opportunity of a lifetime."

A Tampa native who played at the University of Florida, Caldwell met Belichick in Gainesville, Fla., recently when Belichick was on a scouting trip. He came to Foxborough this week to tour the team's facilities at Gillette Stadium.

Caldwell, the Chargers' second-round draft pick in 2002, started only 14 games with the Chargers in four seasons and is deemed a disappointment as the 48th overall pick (Antwaan Randle El was the 62d pick, Antonio Bryant was the 63d, and the Patriots picked up Branch at 65). Caldwell has 76 receptions for 950 yards and 7 TDs in his career; Branch had 78 catches for 998 yards and 5 TDs last season alone.

But the Patriots lost David Givens (Tennessee) and little-used Andre' Davis (Buffalo) to free agency, and have not signed Troy Brown or Tim Dwight. The only veteran receivers under contract are Branch and Bethel Johnson, who might not be with the squad next year if the team can work out a trade.

Enter Caldwell, who at 6 feet, 215 pounds is listed at exactly the same size as Givens.

Caldwell had problems with dropped balls early in his career and missed significant time in two seasons with injuries (2003: seven games because of wrist and hamstring; 2002: final nine games with torn anterior cruciate ligament), but the flashes of brilliance have convinced some that Caldwell has a huge upside.

''He has the ability to be a No. 1 someday," coach Marty Schottenheimer told the San Diego Union-Tribune last June.Like Givens, Caldwell doesn't have sprinter speed, and he is not a disciplined route runner. But Givens came to the Patriots with raw talent and left a fairly polished wideout who was one of the most coveted receivers on the free agent market this offseason.

Caldwell, who turns 27 in 10 days, feels he is capable of taking the step from being one of the guys to being an important cog in an offense.

''They're giving him a chance to compete and prove himself, and if he does what he's capable of, he'll get on the field," Fleming said.

Kicker Adam Vinatieri was home in Orlando last night after visiting with Green Bay Packers officials. An NFL source said he left town without a contract offer.

Vinatieri had dinner in Green Bay with coach Mike McCarthy Thursday, as the Packers gauged whether Vinatieri was serious about leaving New England or just trying to drive up the Patriots' initial offer.

Vinatieri told the Packers he will leave New England if the Packers offer the better deal.

The Packers lost kicker Ryan Longwell, who signed a five-year, $10 million deal with Minnesota that included a $3 million signing bonus. According to the source, team brass are debating whether to offer Vinatieri just as much, or more. It would likely take more to pry Vinatieri from the Patriots.

The Patriots are likely to match an offer, or at least come close, unless there are some unusual guarantees. New England elected not to put a franchise tag on Vinatieri because of the $3 million salary and hit to the salary cap, but a Longwell-like deal is probably not out of line with the team's budget.

The Packers, who are some $25 million under the salary cap, have room to make a higher offer, but general manager Ted Thompson is reluctant to make huge free agent deals.

Offensive tackle Tom Ashworth picked up new suitors recently in the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints.

When free agency began, Ashworth took three visits -- to the Jets, Buccaneers, and Dolphins. Late this week, the Texans and Saints increased their interest, although no visits are scheduled.

Meanwhile, the Patriots have kept open the possibility of bringing Ashworth back.

The Patriots are also hoping to re-sign guard Stephen Neal, but Neal was in Buffalo yesterday, though the Bills tendered an offer to the Cardinals' Reggie Walls, a restricted free agent.

The New England Patriots have won three Super Bowls in the last five years. They've made the playoffs four of the last five years. They've won three straight AFC East titles, and four in five seasons.

That record would seem to speak eloquently, and emphatically, for itself. Yet some people, upset by the departures of veteran free agents David Givens and Willie McGinest, and concerned that popular kicker Adam Vinatieri might follow those two out of town, are wondering if the Patriots know what they're doing.

San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, who grew up in Cranston, and began his career in pro football as a part-time film grader for the Pats more than 25 years ago, isn't one of those people.

"I study other organizations," he said last week, "to see how they do business. It's interesting to see the ones who'll stick to their guns. If you overpay players, of course they'll sign with you. But you have to draw a line in the sand. That's why I admire the Patriots."

Others are questioning the Patriots for allowing Givens and McGinest to sign with other clubs.

McGinest, who has been with New England since he was taken with the fourth pick overall in the 1994 draft, and who holds the NFL career record for postseason sacks, with 16, received close to a $6-million bonus to sign with Cleveland. The Browns are coached by Romeo Crennel, who was defensive coordinator in all three of the Pats' Super Bowl victories.

Givens, a seventh-round draft pick out of Notre Dame in 2002, was the Patriots' leading receiver in 2004, with a 56 catches for 874 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was second on the team last year with a career-high 59 receptions for 738 yards and 2 TDs, and his seven postseason TD catches are a club record. Considered the club's No. 2 receiver, behind Super Bowl XXXIX MVP Deion Branch, Givens signed with the Titans, where he received a signing bonus of $8 million and is expected to be the team's primary receiver.

The bonuses, which are guaranteed, and overall deals -- 5 years, $24 million for Givens; 3 years, $12 million for McGinest -- are too high in both cases. McGinest is 34 years old. Givens is being paid like a No. 1 receiver, which he wouldn't be in New England. The financially disciplined Patriots were wise not to match those contracts.

"If somebody was going to pay those players that kind of money," Smith said, "they were smart to grab it.

"It's a business. Teams and players have to make hard decisions all the time. We would love to keep all our guys. I wish we could fit them all in under the (salary) cap and have them retire here. But that's not possible. It's sad, but there's no way it can be done.

"It hurts sometimes when players who helped you win sign with other teams. But you must put a dollar-sign value next to each player and stick to it."

Scott Pioli, New England's VP of player personnel, and coach Bill Belichick have done a superb job in recent years of evaluating what each player is worth to the Patriots, and of determining how they can put together the best possible team under the salary cap.

"It's a painful situation to be in," said Smith, "but when Scott and Bill are telling you about players, you know they're right."

That said, it would seem to be wrong to let Vinatieri go elsewhere.

Jan Stenerud is the only kicker in the NFL Hall of Fame, but a case can be made that Vinatieri ought to join him someday.

He booted game-winning field goals in the final seconds of Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII, kicked a record-tying five field goals in the 2003 AFC Championship game against the Colts, and hit a 45-yard field goal through swirling snow with 32 seconds remaining to send the 2001 AFC semifinal game against Oakland into overtime.

Vinatieri was the highest-paid kicker in the league last season, at $2.5 million, after the Patriots made him their "franchise" player. He became a free agent this year after the Pats declined to again give him that designation, and the mandatory, 20-percent raise -- to $3 million -- that would have gone with it.

Vinatieri on Friday visited Green Bay, which lost kicker Ryan Longwell to the Vikings, who gave him a five-year, $10-million deal.

At 33, Vinatieri should have plenty of good years left, especially since he works hard at staying in shape. He's also one of the more personable Patriots and is frequently seen in television commercials and print advertisements.

A proven cold-weather kicker, he's understandably attractive to the Packers, although why Green Bay, which doesn't appear to be a serious championship contender, should pay top dollar for a kicker is debatable.

It would appear to be in the best interests of both Vinatieri and the Patriots to come to terms that would keep him in New England the remainder of his career.

"Sometimes," Smith said of Viniatieri's visit to Green Bay, "you have to make trips to make people move. It gets the community lathered up and can put pressure on a team.

"But I don't think that works with New England. It might, if the Patriots had a lousy team. But, when you've had the kind of success they've had, and Scott and Bill are telling you that the talent doesn't match the dollars, you have to believe them."