Paying tribute

Page 6 of 12 -- Ty Law's contract is an issue looming on the horizon at the end of the year, and I know many fans (myself included) thought his cap-price too high for next year. But lately he has proved himself indispensible (TD on a bum ankle?) and the consummate team player. Until our young secondary proves it can play at a higher level, wouldn't it make sense to go with Ty as your premier corner for one more year? I think that him leaving would immediately downgrade the Pats secondary?
-- dave

ADVERTISEMENT

A: I can't disagree with you, but we all know in the end it comes down to money and his hit on the salary cap. If he doesn't reduce it, he's gone. I think we've learned that from the Lawyer Milloy fiasco.

Steve McNair completed nearly 375 yards passing against the Pats. Excluding Ty Law having trouble with his ankle, why did the Pat's have such difficulty defending the pass against McNair?
-- Chris Baker

A: He's an outstanding player. There are some guys in this league who are just going to have great performances week in and week out. I'm guessing the Patriots will run into the same problem this week with Ricky Williams.

What are the options for the Patriots in terms of both retaining Law and lightening the 2004 cap hit? Is it possible that they could guaranty some money this year with Milloy's savings? If not is there any way they can retain him next year without a new deal (which he has already said he will not do)?
-- Peter Dwyer

A: You can always guarantee a portion of his salary and push it back over the remainder of the contract. That option is always there, but like with Milloy, they'll be looking for a drastic cut. Law has the highest average salary per season among corners and the highest cap number.

Nick, It seems to me that the Pats play with a much deeper rotation of players than most teams. While most teams have one guy who plays 90% of the snaps at probably 14 of their 22 positions, the Pats seem to have rotations at pretty much every position except offensive line. I am sure that much of this is due to the unbelievable spate of injuries the they have suffered, but it's a pattern I've noticed of Belichick's teams in the past too. While teams like Tampa, Washington, and KC rely on two or three stars on each side of the ball to make most of the plays, the Pats seem to spread out the touches on offense and the snaps on defense. The defensive line seems to be the most heavily rotated with Seymour, Lyle, Hamilton, Warren, Klecko, Green, McGinest, Vrabel, and originally Colvin all getting snaps there a few times a game. After all this observation, my question is this: Is this a result of a roster that is very deep but lacking impact players or is it a result of the Belichick/Pioli/Crennel/Weis mentality of how to win football games? Thanks and I look forward to next week's column.
-- Mike Askenase   Continued...