Stand pat? Not quite, but it's close

FOXBOROUGH - Impulse is human nature. Action fosters reaction. So, it would have been natural for the Patriots, following their stunning 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, to react by looking at what went wrong and reshape the team based on one unsightly blemish on an otherwise flawless season.

But what the loss begat for the Patriots was not action, but rather inaction. The team that was one defensive stand away from 19-0 remains largely intact as the Patriots prepare to open the 2008 season Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, searching for a fourth Super Bowl title in eight seasons.

Unlike last season, when the Patriots rolled out "Extreme Makeover: Wide Receiver Edition" and opened the vault to sign free agent linebacker Adalius Thomas after coming up short of the Super Bowl, the team stuck with the status quo, coach Bill Belichick and vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli believing that one game, one loss was not sufficient cause to reformat the roster.

If right guard Stephen Neal, who suffered a knee injury in Super Bowl XLII and will begin the season on the physically unable to perform list, were healthy, the Patriots would trot out the same offensive line that was abused by the Giants to the tune of five sacks and nine quarterback hits on Tom Brady - Pro Bowlers Matt Light (left tackle), Logan Mankins (left guard), and Dan Koppen (center), with Neal and right tackle Nick Kaczur.

The biggest addition this offseason on the line was signing veteran tackle Oliver Ross, who will begin the season on the non-football injury list.

"When you formulate team needs and what you need as a football team you can't base it on one game," said Mike Lombardi, a longtime NFL personnel man who worked for the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, and Denver Broncos and cofounded www.nationalfootballpost.com, a website that features analysis from current and former industry insiders.

The line was the primary reason the team's perfect season went kaput, but it also allowed just 21 sacks during the regular season, the lowest total in team history in a 16-game season, and powered the running game to an average of 4.1 yards per carry, the team's highest since 1985.

One NFL personnel executive said it would be foolish for the Patriots to blow up the line based on one loss. He compared the Patriots' line to that of the Indianapolis Colts, saying that while it only has average individual players - he made exceptions for Mankins and Koppen - it plays great together.

"I don't think they shudder at that line. Seventy-five or 80 percent of the league would like to have that line," said former Tennessee Titans general manager Floyd Reese, now an ESPN analyst.

"We do what's in the best interest of the team," sounds like an empty bromide, but it's actually a free-form philosophy that allows Belichick and Pioli to tweak their approach when needed, but stick to their core tenets of team-building.

It's why they spent big bucks prior to the 2007 season, but returned to their bargain-hunting ways this offseason, signing cornerbacks Fernando Bryant, Jason Webster, and Lewis Sanders and linebacker Victor Hobson to veteran minimum deals.

When they decided to upgrade at wide receiver following the 2006 season, going on an acquisition binge to bring in Wes Welker via a restricted free agent offer sheet/trade, Randy Moss via trade, and Donte' Stallworth and Kelley Washington via free agency, the Patriots looked at the totality of their season - and struggles at the position with players such as Doug Gabriel.

The addition of Thomas, who was given a five-year, $35 million deal with $20 million in bonuses and guarantees to play inside linebacker last season, wasn't based solely on the Patriots' inability to slow the Colts on the final drive of the 2006 AFC Championship Game, but on the idea that Thomas would free up Mike Vrabel to focus on outside linebacker.

"The key to anything with personnel is never beginning with the end in mind," said Lombardi, who worked with Belichick in Cleveland from 1991-96 as director of pro personnel and director of player personnel. "When you form a conclusion and collect the data to support that conclusion it never works out. Belichick is the best at not doing that. He makes a decision based on when he's done collecting the data."

The biggest free agent splash the Patriots made this offseason was re-signing Moss to a three-year, $27 million deal with $14.1 million in bonuses and guarantees. They let cornerbacks Asante Samuel and Randall Gay leave and replaced them through the draft with Terrence Wheatley (second round) and Jonathan Wilhite (fourth round).

If there is anywhere the Belichick-Pioli doctrine is dicey this season it's at cornerback. Yes, the team won a Super Bowl with Troy Brown in the defensive backfield, but that was four years ago. Bryant and Webster didn't make the regular-season roster, and Sanders might not be long for the Patriots locker room either. It says something that six days before the opener New England signed Deltha O'Neal two days after he was cut by the Bengals.

The Patriots may eventually regret not making a trade for disgruntled Philadelphia cornerback Lito Sheppard instead of going the low-cost route with rookies and retreads.

"Looking at the track record, they've been able to do that better than anybody in the NFL," said Reese. "In Tennessee, if I lost Samuel, I would have gone out after Sheppard. But they've proven they've been able to take guys that are not high-priced and fit their system and get what they can provide out of them. They ask them to do the things they can do. I'm sure in their mind they feel like they have guys they can win with. I wouldn't be surprised if they're exactly right."

But Reese acknowledged there is a risk to that approach.

"It's a gamble every time you do it, even if you're the best at it," said Reese. "You're bringing in a 30-year-old corner, the chances that he'll play at the caliber you want as long as you want is a risk. They know it's a risk. They've made it work better than most, better than all."

While cornerback is a question mark, there is no question the Patriots made a concerted effort to get younger and faster on defense. The team drafted linebacker Jerod Mayo with the 10th overall pick and plugged him in next to 35-year-old veteran Tedy Bruschi. It also spent a third-round pick on outside linebacker Shawn Crable.

Still, one NFL scout who attended a recent Patriots exhibition game said the defense was one of the slowest he had seen so far.

"There is a point in time when experience catches up to you, and they felt they were nearing that point," said Reese. "I think I saw it flashed last year against Indianapolis on that screen pass before the half to Joseph Addai. You could see a couple of those linebackers struggling in space. Now, the key for the young guys is to get them up to speed, which is difficult."

Only time will tell if Belichick and Pioli overreacted or underreacted to the Giants loss, but history is on their side.

"If you look at their track record, it's awfully tough to doubt them," said Reese.