One solution could involve TEs

FOXBOROUGH -- The Patriots ran 41 plays from the line of scrimmage in the first half of Saturday night's exhibition game against the Cardinals. Of those plays, 28 involved two or more tight ends on the field.

The distribution reflects how tight ends are a focal point of the team's offense, and also how the Patriots potentially could counter their lack of depth at receiver.

It started on the game's first play, with Daniel Graham and Benjamin Watson lined up side by side on the left side of the line. The team's last offensive play of the half included four tight ends on the field -- Graham, Watson, David Thomas and Garrett Mills -- as Corey Dillon pounded in for a 4-yard touchdown run.

``We ran several [plays] that involved tight ends," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. ``In the running game, we got a good look at that."

That good look included 21 first-half running plays with multiple tight ends on the field, which went for 103 yards (4.9 average).

While Graham is known for his solid blocking, Watson seemed to make positive strides in that area. Against Atlanta in the exhibition opener, Watson didn't hold a block against John Abraham, which contributed to the team's opening drive stalling when Laurence Maroney was stopped for no gain on a second-down run.

But Saturday night Watson delivered a few key blocks -- one that cleared space for a 12-yard run by Maroney in the first quarter and another on a Maroney 7-yard gain in the second quarter. Watson also had a downfield block that helped Bam Childress gain a few extra yards on a 20-yard catch in the second quarter.

Watson hardly left the field in the Patriots' first 41 offensive plays.

``We played a lot of plays in that first half," Watson said, ``so we have a lot of stuff to teach off of."

Belichick, who devotes a lot of time to situational football on the practice field, is expanding that theme to the meeting rooms this week. He'll run the team through the week-long schedule it would have during the regular season.

``We're trying to make this somewhat like a regular seven-day routine to get ready for the Redskins, so some players can start to get a feel for what a week of preparation would be like," he said.

As for how the Patriots will split the kicking duties in that game, Belichick said he's yet to decide. Rookie Stephen Gostkowski handled all kicking against the Cardinals, going 3 for 3 on field goals -- hitting two from 37 yards and one from 33 -- while adding three extra points. Gostkowski also made all the kickoffs.

The Patriots converted third downs into first downs 42.1 percent of the time during the 2005 season. Saturday night, that number spiked to 65 percent (13 of 20; 8 of 11 in the first half).

Belichick cited a few areas for the team's success. First, New England was in manageable third-down situations ``where we didn't need a lot of yardage and therefore pretty much every skill player on the field was a possible option to get that yardage."

He also credited offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, and the players up front for grinding out tough yards.

That was in evidence on back-to-back Kevin Faulk runs in the second quarter -- for 7 and 14 yards -- that turned third downs into first downs.

``Those guys have worked really hard on that," said Belichick, whose team was 4 of 13 on third downs in the exhibition opener. ``There were some positives there."

Cornerback Asante Samuel, who left Saturday night's game late in the second quarter after landing awkwardly on his head/neck, isn't seriously injured. Samuel didn't return to the game . . . Defensive tackle Johnathan Sullivan, playing as part of a four-man line at the start of the third quarter, appears to be improving after getting off to a slow start in training camp by not passing the conditioning test. On the first play of the third quarter, he shed a block by offensive lineman Fred Wakefield and ran toward the opposite hash mark to bring down J.J. Arrington on a 2-yard gain . . . Nose tackle Vince Wilfork and defensive end Ty Warren both had strong games up front, with Wilfork consistently pushing center Alex Stepanovich into the offensive backfield and Warren drawing a holding penalty on right guard Milford Brown . . . When quarterback Tom Brady left the game briefly in the second quarter, it was by design. The coaching staff wanted to put backup Matt Cassel in the type of sudden situation he might encounter should Brady be hurt. Cassel was in for three plays before departing . . . Belichick said linebacker Junior Seau dressed for the game because he was healthy enough to do so, and ``went through the process on the sidelines of going through adjustments, and that's all part of the process." . . . Rookie defensive back Gemara Williams, who didn't play Saturday night, has been waived . . . The players are off today before returning tomorrow to begin preparations for Saturday night's game against the Washington Redskins.