The Patriots have what can at least be considered a perceived weakness at outside linebacker for the upcoming season. Might they, then, consider bringing back former Patriot Willie McGinest?

A source close to McGinest told the Globe's Chris Gasper that the veteran linebacker would like to return for a 16th season and maintains a relationship with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, but there have been no formal talks aimed at bringing McGinest back to New England and no offer from the Patriots.

So could McGinest help the Patriots in a one-year situation? The Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont and Tony Massarotti debate this point in today's version of Globe 10.0 (now on Facebook!).

"My guess is no," says Dupont, noting that McGinest recorded just eight sacks in three seasons with the Browns. "Unless he's coming back here to be an assistant coach."

In the NFL, however, there's very little financial risk in bringing a player into camp at least for a tryout.

"Clearly he hasn't played well in Cleveland or he'd still be there," said Massarotti. "But what's the harm to try it out?"

What do you think? Should the Patriots bring McGinest in and give him a shot to compete for a spot on the roster? Leave a comment or vote in our survey below.

If you're looking to relive the Patriots' three Super Bowl championships this decade, the NFL Network is giving you the chance this Fourth of July weekend. NFLN is airing a marathon of its Emmy Award-winning "America's Game" series.

The hour-long documentaries on the 2001, 2003 and 2004 Patriots teams will air on Sunday, at 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively.

Fans can also go to NFL.com to vote for the 2001 Patriots in a contest that will decide a viewer's choice episode that will air on Monday at 8 p.m. and again at midnight.

The "America's Game" marathon, covering the first 42 Super Bowl title teams, starts tomorrow at 6 a.m. with the 1966 Green Bay Packers, winners of Super Bowl I, and extends to the wee hours of Monday morning, when six memorable teams that didn't win rings are chronicled.

Then, as previously mentioned, a viewer's choice episode will air on Monday night.

The NFL announced today it has suspended New York Jets outside linebacker Calvin Pace for the first four games of the season -- including New York's Week 2 home game against the Patriots -- for violating the league's performance-enhancing substance policy.

In a statement released by the team, Pace blamed his suspension on an over-the-counter dietary supplement.

Pace can participate in all preseason games and practices. The 28-year-old Pace was one of the Jets big free-agent acquisitions last season. In his first season with the Jets he finished second on the team with seven sacks and also had 80 tackles. He forced five fumbles and scored his first career touchdown on a 50-yard fumble return in the Jets' 47-3 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

The Patriots today announced the practice schedule for the first week of training camp and the first seven days (Thursday, July 30 through Wednesday, August 5) will feature double sessions with practices scheduled at 9:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.

Practices are open to fans, but the schedule can change, particularly due to weather. The Patriots encourage fans to call (508) 549-0001 for the latest updates.

The morning sessions typically run 9:30-11:15 a.m., the evening from 3:45-5:30 p.m.

Be on the lookout for our training camp interactive, which will debut later this month and feature everything you need to know for attending camp. You can check out last year's version to hold you over.

The Globe's Christopher L. Gasper took a handoff from the vacationing Mike Reiss for this week's chat. Check out the replay below as Gasper tackled all of your Patriots questions.

While former Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest has made it clear that he would be open to a return to the Patriots and told Albert Breer of Sporting News that he's talked to Tom Brady and Richard Seymour, nothing has changed since April, when McGinest expressed similar sentiments in an NFL.com chat.

A source close to McGinest said today that the veteran linebacker would like to return for a 16th season and maintains a relationship with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, but there have been no formal talks aimed at bringing McGinest back to New England and no offer from the Patriots.

Of course that could change, especially with the Patriots' perceived weakness at outside linebacker. McGinest would like to play next season and with more teams switching to the 3-4 he's likely to draw some interest, at which point he'll have to decide if the system and situation suit him well enough to postpone his burgeoning broadcast career.

It's well known how much of an emphasis the Patriots put on intelligence when it comes to selecting players, so it should come as no surprise that for the second year in a row the Patriots rookie class won the Ultimate Rookie Challenge at the NFL's Rookie Symposium.

The symposium, run by the NFL and NFL Players Association, is mandatory for all NFL draft picks and features information sessions and panels designed to help prepare rookies for the challenges of transitioning to the NFL -- on and off the field.

Throughout the three-and-a-half day symposium, which started Sunday evening and ended today, rookies were asked a series of questions based on symposium presentations and basic NFL trivia.

The combined individual scores of the Patriots rookies were the best of any NFL team at the symposium, which was held in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

The New England rookies -- safety Patrick Chung, nose tackle Ron Brace, cornerback Darius Butler, offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer, wide receiver Brandon Tate, linebacker Tyrone McKenzie, guard/center Rich Ohrnberger, offensive lineman George Bussey, long-snapper Jake Ingram, defensive lineman Myron Pryor, wide receiver Julian Edelman and defensive lineman Darryl Richard -- each won a 32-inch flat screen television.

No. 55 back in Foxborough? Willie McGinest sounds interested. (AP)

Outside linebacker remains a big question mark for the Patriots heading into the 2009 season and it's possible the team could add another player at the position. Former Patriots outside linebacker Willie McGinest would like to be that player.

In an interview with Albert Breer of Sporting News, the 37-year-old McGinest said he still has the itch to play and is training as if he will play a 16th NFL season.

When asked if returning to New England would be best, McGinest said:

"Yeah, I've talked to Tom (Brady), (Richard) Seymour and some other guys there. Those guys are lifelong friends, and I've heard some people say that it'd be a good fit. Why wouldn't you want to go to a really good team, which is always close to the Super Bowl, which was in one a couple years ago, was a game away from another one, which has great coaching and is a great organization with a well put-together roster? Why wouldn't you want to be a part of that? And with all the history I have, what we accomplished in the playoffs, that wouldn't be a bad way to finish up."

McGinest spent 12 seasons with the Patriots and was a member of three Super Bowl title teams, before he departed for Cleveland following the 2005 season. He is the NFL's all-time leader in post-season sacks with 16 and ranks third on the Patriots' all-time sack list with 78.

However, at this stage of his career it's questionable just how much of an upgrade McGinest could provide to the Patriots' pass rush. In 14 games last season with Cleveland, McGinest had just one sack and in his three seasons as a Brown he had a total of eight sacks.

This isn't the first time this off-season that McGinest has floated the idea of a return to the Patriots. Back in April, during an NFL.com chat, McGinest said the Patriots were on a short list of teams he'd consider playing for.

A source close to McGinest told the Globe at the time that there had been no formal discussions with the Patriots, but that McGinest keeps in touch with Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Oft-criticized and always honest former Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs doesn't harbor any ill will towards his former team. Hobbs, who was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for a pair of fifth-round picks during the second day of April's NFL Draft, made the rounds of ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Conn., today and defended his former team.

According to a transcript provided by ESPN, Hobbs was asked by ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd what the biggest misconception about the Patriots is.

“That we’re all a bunch of jerks, starting with the head man, Bill," said Hobbs. "Bill will be the first to tell you he comes off as a jerk, intentionally. Because, I think, what he tries to manifest throughout the players is that we’re here for football.
“There’s so much going on – the circus in the media and all that stuff, and the hoopla in the NFL these days – it’s hard to keep the focus on the game. I think that’s why they have everything so distinguished, set apart from everything, as far as the organization away from the players. Where there’s only access for the players on the lower level -- the players and the coaches. And I think by him doing that, it kind of sets the tone, and let’s you know that we’re here to play football and win games.”

FOXBOROUGH -- Patriots training camp is a month away (July 30), but veteran linebacker Tedy Bruschi put on his coach's hat and held his own football camp today at Gillette Stadium.

Fifty-four lucky children all dressed in No. 54 jerseys were participating in the second annual Kids Football Clinic with Tedy Bruschi, sponsored by insurance company SBLI (Savings Bank Life Insurance Co. of Massachusetts). The campers were chosen based on essays they had to write about their "game-plan" for being healthy and doing well in school.

Bruschi, who addressed the campers in the Gillette visitors' locker room prior to them taking the field, obviously took the camp very seriously, taking a page out of Patriots coach Bill Belichick's playbook when it came to preparation and planning.

Did Bruschi consult with his coach?

"No, but I've had this going on in my head for a while," said Bruschi. "I've mapped out the field, where the stations will be, how the guys will teach their fundamentals. It's a little Belichickian because I've been trying to keep it organized. You heard me talking to the kids about getting better and doing their job. So, hopefully they can learn something today."

Bruschi, who is entering his 14th NFL season and is in the last year of his contract, opened the door to the possibility of going into coaching after his playing days are done.

"I know I can coach. I know I can coach," he said. "I know the game. I've been in it so long. It's just going to be a matter of what I do when I'm done. I don't know. It's a passion of mine. I know I love football. I know I want to be in it. Let's just see what I'll be doing."

As far as when Bruschi will call it quits, that remains up in the air. He repeated his stance that he is not looking beyond this season.

"After you get past 10 [years], I think that's the way you have to do it because you never know what's going to happen within a year," Bruschi said. "You just don't. So, when the season is over you kind of reassess things and that's how it's going to go again."

Joining Bruschi in instructing the campers were teammates linebacker Jerod Mayo, tight end David Thomas, safety Ray Ventrone and kicker Stephen Gostkowski. Former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak was also on board as an instructor.

"This is awesome. I'm very excited to do this," said Bruschi. "I get to work with kids on Gillette Stadium's home turf, so it's exciting for them too."

Questions from Patriots fans are answered on Boston.com as part of a weekly Tuesday mailbag. This week's mailbag, which will last two weeks to cover vacation time, has been posted and includes some of the following topics:

Jason La Canfora of NFL.com and NFL Network looks at the "Moneyball" of the NFL, shining the spotlight on the economics of wins and losses.

Using figures of actual dollars spent by each team from 2004-2008 -- as tabulated by the NFL Management Council -- La Canfora breaks down the cost per win for each franchise.

The Patriots rank first, with $8.14 million per win. Their total committed cash was $512.31 million, the 11th highest total in the NFL.

On the flip side, the Raiders are last, with $25.66 million per win.

Going back into Thursday's chat and looking at some unanswered questions:

A look at some Patriots-related links from around the Web:

Finishing up some work on Friday, I had ESPN's "NFL Live" program on and was interested to hear the discussion when the topic turned to the Patriots.

Entertaining host Wendi Nix tossed it over to analysts Trent Dilfer and Darren Woodson, and Dilfer projected some of the early challenges for quarterback Tom Brady in returning from injury, and how the team's offense might look different early in the year.

I turned my recorder on, because when the informative Dilfer talks, there is usually something to be learned. Here is the first part of Dilfer's analysis:

"Any great competitor -- and you have to put Tom Brady at the top of that list -- is going to convince himself that he is fine. He has had almost an entire year before he goes into this [training] camp to rehab this knee, and I know he's invested a ton of emotional and physical energy into his rehabbing his knee so he can be better than ever. So in his mind, he's going to be perfect. But any time you suffer a catastrophic injury, your body does not respond as fast as your mind. So it's the burden of the organization and the coaching staff to manage him and to make sure -- early in the year especially -- that they limit his opportunities. They can take care of him so he doesn't get carried away."

After Woodson talked about Brady adjusting to live action and stepping up into the pocket when defenders could come into contact with his knee, Dilfer then talked Xs and Os as video rolled of the Patriots' offense.

"I'm excited to see it. What we're used to seeing is the precision New England Patriots, the precision passing game, Tom Brady in the middle of the football field, but I think that may change this year. In years past, they put a huge horizontal stretch on the football field, they make the defenders cover the entire width of the football field. This creates a lot of air in the defense. When there is air in the defense, the intermediate completions are almost freebies. Also, when you're in the single-back set, you get great run matchups because the defense can't fit properly. They mess up their run fits and you get big gashes in the run game. More importantly, the ultimate offense is based on the vertical passing game and this is what you're going to see this year with the Patriots. Them going deep. It will no longer be precision Tom Brady, but it's going to be vertical Tom Brady, because this is how you manage his opportunities early in the year. You limit some of his first- and second-down throws by running the football, getting that defense to start playing downhill on you a little bit -- creating those matchups on the outside. And when you get those matchups on the outside, you're in big trouble [as a defense] when you have Joey Galloway and Randy Moss. I think huge yards per attempt numbers from Tom Brady this year because of the matchups he'll have."

This theory has been mentioned in the past by e-mailers to the Patriots mailbag on Boston.com -- that the Patriots might be more of a running team early in the year to protect Brady.

My personal feeling has been that there won't be major changes in the team's approach, but Dilfer's convincing, informative opinion has me reconsidering that thought.

If defensive linemen were measured solely by their smarts, the Patriots would have a steal in Georgia Tech's Darryl Richard, one of their seventh-round draft choices.

Richard scored a 37 on the Wonderlic intelligence test given to prospects. The score was the highest of any Patriots draft pick, and the top mark among all defensive linemen in the draft.

As noted on Georgia Tech's Web site, Richard's intelligence was highlighted in him earning his bachelor's degree in three years. He then completed his master's in a year and a half, one semester early.

Richard, who was the 234th overall selection in the draft, is one of 11 defensive linemen on the Patriots roster and hopes to break through to earn a roster spot.

Now there's a headline you probably don't expect in the wake of the King of Pop's death yesterday at age 50. But it's true. Michael Jackson played a significant role in Robert Kraft becoming the owner of the Patriots.

Puzzled? A Forbes magazine feature story on Kraft from September 2005 spells it all out, detailing how the a disastrous business venture by the Sullivan family -- the founding owners of the franchise -- indirectly helped Kraft fulfill his dream of owning the Patriots.

According to the article, Kraft's first step toward purchasing the team was a subtle and savvy one -- he began purchasing land around the stadium.

He wanted to own not only the team but also its stadium and all the surrounding land. He started by locking up purchase rights to 300 acres around the stadium in Foxboro, Mass. The Sullivan family, founding owners of the Patriots, owned the team and the stadium but not the surrounding land. In 1985 Kraft bought a ten-year option on the property, paying a group of Boston businessmen $1 million a year for first dibs to buy the land someday for $18 million. It was risky, but "the option gave me ten years to try to figure out how to get the team," he says.

In the 1986, the Sullivans put the team up for sale, but not the stadium. Kraft decided to hold off on bidding on the team. Victor Kiam -- the founder of Remington shavers who would prove to be an embarrassment to the franchise -- bought the team for $87 million.

Kraft's opportunity may have been lost -- until a failed venture with Jackson and his musical family forced the Sullivans' hand in 1988.

". . . Two years later he snagged the second piece of the puzzle--thanks to singer Michael Jackson. In 1988 Kraft and a partner put up $25 million to buy the Foxboro stadium from the Sullivan family, besting a $16 million offer from Kiam. (Kraft would buy out his 50-50 partner for a small premium five years later.) Charles Sullivan had used the stadium as collateral to fund the Jackson brothers' Victory Tour back in 1984. Over-leveraged, Sullivan went bankrupt and was forced to sell the arena.

By the end of 1988 Kraft had rights to the land, but when the team was put up for sale in '92, he again held off. Kiam sold to James Busch Orthwein, who a year later decided he wanted to either move the team to his hometown of St. Louis or sell it. But Kraft owned the stadium's operating covenant, meaning anyone who wanted to buy the team had to negotiate with him.

Instead and at last, in 1994, he bought the team for $172 million, then the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise. And the rest is history, with the three-time Super Bowl champion Patriots being on a victory tour of their own this decade.

Oh, and here's the kicker: To this day, Kraft keeps a poster from the Victory Tour among his mementos.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft, appearing in London to promote the team's October game against the Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium, talked with reporters about a variety of topics, including his past interest in buying Liverpool of the English Premier League.

Of the comments reported by The Times of Britain, Kraft's feelings on the NFL's salary cap were especially notable.

Kraft pointed to the lack of a salary cap in the English Premier League as the primary reason he didn't follow through on purchasing Liverpool in 2005. He also detailed his thoughts on how the salary cap -- a significant issue tied to current labor negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement -- has helped the NFL thrive.

"If we’re playing by the same rules, then it’s not just about who has the most money. Green Bay, Kansas City or Arizona – who went to the Super Bowl last year – have to believe that they can win. In the Premier League you can see that there will always be a few teams that are dominant, and I don’t know that it’s fair to the passionate fans in the other cities.

“I would be interested in other teams in the Premier League, but Liverpool was a unique franchise, with a great following. The coach of my Major League Soccer team is Stevie Nichol [sic], who played up there. We sort of have stuff sent to us all the time, but I think, deep down, until there’s some sort of salary cap structure, I’m not sure it’s a great business deal.”

As quoted in The Times, Kraft also said that he believes an NFL team could one day be based in London, and he'd be interested in some type of ownership involvement, if possible.

"For the time zone and the language, a lot of things, [the NFL] could expand and eventually have a franchise here. I’m not making policy, I’m just telling you what my sense is as a businessman, and a few key people in the league agree with me. I realistically can see one that would be wildly successful. If there was a way I could own it through one of my kids, I’d like to do it."

The Globe's Mike Reiss checked in for his weekly Patriots chat today at noon.

ESPN.com continues its All-Decade Week today, and the Patriots have swept the honors for team, coach and MVP.

This comes one day after ESPN.com listed the top moments of the decade, and the Patriots were a prominent part of that entry -- both good and bad.