01:00 AM EST on Thursday, February 24, 2005

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

The Patriots yesterday released an Earthwind, a Buck, a Zeron and a Wilbert. And the chances are remote that those names will ever appear in the same sentence again.

Assorted shrapnel from the 2004 squad, Earthwind Moreland, Buck Rasmussen, Zeron Flemister and Wilbert Brown all were given the gate by the Super Bowl champs yesterday.

Moreland, a cornerback, was the only player to actually hit the field for the Pats last season, starting two games. He performed modestly well in St. Louis the week after Ty Law was lost for the season, but was attacked mercilessly in a Monday night win at Kansas City that made it clear he wasn't ready for either prime time or the middle of the afternoon, for that matter. Rasmussen, a defensive lineman, was on the practice squad all season. Flemister (tight end) got hurt in camp and never played, and Brown never showed up for camp.

The team also signed two coaches yesterday. They replaced departing assistant strength coach Markus Paul (headed to the Jets) with Harold Nash, and also hired Joel Collier to be the team's assistant secondary coach.

Collier spent the last 11 seasons with the Dolphins after spending three in New England as an assistant. With secondary coach Eric Mangini having been elevated to defensive coordinator, it's not yet clear who Collier will be immediately assisting. The chance does exist that Mangini will continue to be in charge of the defensive backs, where he did such a terrific job last season. Or head coach Bill Belichick could be planning to spend more of his time with the DBs.

The team still hasn't named an offensive coordinator, and there doesn't seem to be great urgency on the team to go outside the organization to get one. That may be an indication that Belichick, who coached the team's quarterbacks in 2001, will be more heavily involved in the offense and play-calling than he was when Charlie Weis was the offensive coordinator.