Sports: Tom Curran

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, July 23, 2006

Uncertainty has gotten a pretty good toehold in New England. After several seasons of superiority, the Patriots have a boatload of questions to answer as they head into 2006.

There have been questions before -- last year, the team was unexpectedly without its two inside linebackers and Richard Seymour was in a holdout when camp began -- but there are more this year. Here are 10 things the team will want to clear up between the opening of training camp Thursday and the season-opener on Sept. 10 against the Bills.

1. Can Troy Brown keep on keeping on?

With Deion Branch in a contract standoff, David Givens in Tennessee and Reche Caldwell and Chad Jackson still getting used to the system, Brown looks like he's going to be a key cog in the Patriots' offense. On top of that, with Tim Dwight gone to the Jets, Brown is the team's most experienced punt returner. Even though he just turned 35, Brown's above-average quickness, intelligence and anticipation mean he'll still be able to get the job done. But over the course of an entire season? The Pats are probably going to need some step-up from the other guys.

2. Can Chad Jackson get NFL-ready in a hurry?

Receiver is one of the hardest positions to assimilate for an incoming rookie. For evidence, consider these names: Peter Warrick, David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Charles Rogers, Reggie Williams, Braylon Edwards and Mike Williams. All were top-10 picks since 2000. None has yet lived up to his billing at this level. Jackson absolutely has the physical talent to play well in the NFL for a long time. He's also raw. He's going to have to master the Patriots playbook before A) he gets on the field at critical times and B) Tom Brady trusts him.

3. Will Laurence Maroney elbow his way into the picture?

Running back is one of the easiest positions for an incoming rookie to assimilate. It's take ball, find hole, run hard, try not to get knocked down. Maroney has already impressed with his speed to the hole. Even though he's not polished in the passing game as either a receiver or blocker, his explosiveness will get him reps. And unless a lot of people missed on their evaluations of him, once he gets a few reps, the Pats will want to give him more.

4. Will Corey Dillon pout?

Probably. Dillon -- understandably -- doesn't warm to suggestions he's in decline. He also sees slights where none are intended and will inevitably see the attention given to a promising first-round pick such as Maroney as an affront. He won't take it out on Maroney. He'll instead get grumpy and vow to show everyone that number 28 is still the best back in this six-state region. The benefit for the Patriots and their fans is that Dillon's still got plenty left. The benefit for those who cover the team is that even a grumpy Dillon is more engaging and interesting than 95 percent of the NFL. So grumpy is good.

5. Is Monty Beisel ready for an inside job?

Thrust into a starting inside linebacker spot last season, Beisel had his difficulties. Then he got dinged up. And he got frustrated. But he showed flashes of solid play toward the end of the year which inspires hope he might yet nail down an inside spot next to Tedy Bruschi.

6. Can Tedy Bruschi get back to his '04 form?

By the end of the 2004 playoffs, Bruschi had become David Ortiz in shoulder pads. When a big play was needed, he provided it (witness his tackle/strip/fumble recovery on Edgerrin James in the playoff game with Indianapolis). His well-documented health issues last year prevented him from ever getting into the form he was accustomed to but he's poured his soul into his comeback. The Patriots need his presence and his playmaking.

7. Who replaces Willie?

On the field and off, Willie McGinest brought the Patriots a presence. His professionalism and leadership were a touchstone for younger Patriots to emulate. And even though the Pats wanted to reduce his playing time last year and preserve him, injuries forced him to be on the field almost all the time and he responded with a terrific season. Now he's with Cleveland. Rosevelt Colvin and Mike Vrabel are the lead dogs at outside linebacker but there's not much proven depth behind them with McGinest gone. As for leadership, the Pats have defensive leaders -- Bruschi, Rodney Harrison and Richard Seymour come to mind -- but they lost a good one when McGinest left.

8. Will the ghost of Adam linger?

The whys and wherefores of Adam Vinatieri's departure have been explored. Fact is, he's gone. If either rookie Steve Gotkowski or veteran Martin Gramatica can turn into reliable, efficient kickers, Vinatieri will be remembered fondly for his time here. If they don't, the absence of Vinatieri will cause much gnashing of teeth.

9. Is Matt Cassel ready for his close-up?

The second-year quarterback is being given every chance to win the backup spot behind Tom Brady. The Pats opted not to send him to Europe as they did with Rohan Davey, hoping time spent with his receivers and coaches would serve him better than throwing passes across the pond against sketchy competition. The result is that Cassel still has minimal game experience to draw from if he has to take over for Brady at any point. His preseason performances will be closely monitored.

10. What's the deal with Deion?

Neither Branch nor his agent, Jason Chayut, have had anything to say about the wide receiver's demands. Suffice to say he wants more than he's on the books to make in 2006. How much more? Hard to say. Former teammate David Givens got a 5-year, $24-million deal from Tennessee that included an $8-million bonus. Branch may be looking at that as a starting point. Hard to blame him. The talks are not at a stalemate, but nothing is said to be looming either. Branch won't need a lot of time to get up to full speed and the Pats held him out of all preseason games last year. Still, in order for New England to hit the ground running, it needs its best receiver in the fold sooner rather than later.

tcurran@projo.com / (401) 277-7340