Change for a Buc is minimal

"More than once. Thank goodness for GPS," said Smith, whom the Patriots picked up in exchange for a fifth-round pick. "I use Patriot Place as a starting point."

Luckily for Smith, he doesn't feel lost learning the Patriots offense. The 27-year-old said there are similarities between the offense he was a part of in Tampa the last four seasons with former Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden and what the Patriots do.

"It's different, but at the same time there are a lot of similarities," said Smith, who had 21 catches for 250 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games last season. "Gruden had that very complex offense as well with lots of formations and lots of personnel groupings. You see a lot of similarities here. There is a lot of volume here. I thought Gruden had a lot, but there are definitely a lot of plays, a lot of switching in and out."

Smith is part of the Patriots' flock of talented tight ends, joining Benjamin Watson, David Thomas, Chris Baker, and Tyson DeVree. Smith is no stranger to competition, as Tampa Bay had a bevy of tight ends, which made Smith expendable. Smith said this group of tight ends is the most talented he's been a part of.

"We have competition at every spot, and I think it just brings the best out of everybody," said Smith. "You never want to get scared of competition, but hope that it steps your game up and makes everybody else better as well."

The biggest difference for Smith between the Patriots and the Buccaneers is the stability New England offers at quarterback with Tom Brady. Smith, whose reception numbers declined each season in Tampa after he led all rookie tight ends with 41 receptions in 2005, played with six starting quarterbacks in his four seasons with the Bucs.

"It's a very different feeling," he said. "I'm still just trying to learn these plays, and hopefully get some timing down with Tom, but just to know who that guy is going to be makes you want to build that chemistry with him."

Smith is a Stanford graduate, but it doesn't take an erudite sort to realize that the Patriots have a lot of depth.

"I think our biggest problem is going to be getting everybody on the field," said Smith. "We have so many weapons from top to bottom if you look at the receiving corps, the running backs, the tight ends, we kind of need to play with 18 people on the field. I'm definitely excited about it, and I think it will be good for us this year."

The 31-year-old Pass played for the Patriots from 2000-06 and was a member of three Super Bowl title teams. He hooked on with Houston in 2007 and was cut coming out of training camp, then played in one game that season for the Giants.

Pass's departure coincided with the return of Sammy Morris, who had sat out Wednesday, the first day of the team's mandatory minicamp, and also was not present for any of the organized team activities that were open to the media.

Watching them work this offseason, it's obvious their bond goes beyond talent and is the result of time spent on the practice field as well.

"I swear they make up routes on the fly some of the time," said second-year cornerback Terrence Wheatley, when asked if he noticed special chemistry between the two. "They definitely got their chemistry going. They know how to work off of each other. They see things that I wish I could see; it would make my job a lot easier for sure."

The condensed version is that Crowder said June 5 that Ryan, who made news when he said he didn't come to the Jets to "kiss Bill Belichick's rings," was going crazy and derisively congratulated him on being the "OTA Super Bowl winner." Ryan responded by saying he didn't know "this Channing Crowder" and that if he were younger, he'd "handle him myself." Crowder fired back by telling Ryan to learn his rival, and Ryan responded again.

"It was funny," Thomas said. "It's Rex."

Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.