Patriots are keeping just four running backs this year

Has this fact led to sleepless nights for the notoriously leaden Belichick? Doubtful, though the fact that New England used a fifth-round pick on Michigan punter Zoltan Mesko in this past April's draft offers a clue to just how pleased the head man has been with that area of his team. The 6-5, 230-pound Mesko was the first specialist taken in the Draft.

"He's a good player, a guy that's worked hard, been productive in his career [at Michigan] and has obviously earned the respect of the people he's been around," Belichick said of Mesko. "He's a big, good-looking kid."

Though the weather the Patriots face both at home and on the AFC East road isn't going to do the team's punters any statistical favors, Belichick and New England special teams coach Scott O'Brien were finished making excuses for the team's deficient punting game. The Pats were last in the NFL in both gross punting average (39.7) and net average (36.4) in 2009, and subsequently opted not to tender veteran Chris Hanson a contract after three seasons with the club.

Three seasons has been about the limit for New England punters, as Josh Miller (2004-06), Ken Walter (2001-03, as well as a short stint in 2006), and Lee Johnson (1999-2001) have all lasted roughly the same amount of time as did Hanson.

If Mesko sticks for the duration of his recently-signed four-year deal, he will be New England's longest-tenured punter since Rich Camarillo spent the better part of the 80's (1981-87) with the team. Camarillo, incidentally, is the only Patriots punter ever named to the Pro Bowl (1983).

Closing the recent revolving door is clearly a challenge that the former Michigan co-captain embraces.

"If I go out there on the field and perform, the rest will take care of itself," Mesko told reporters in the spring. "There's a lot of punters that have a hard work ethic and a lot of talent so if you combine the two, that's probably the best hybrid to have."

Mesko had one of the most intriguing stories among the '10 draft class, and has already conquered long odds on his journey to the NFL. Born in Romania in 1986, Mesko survived the revolution that predated the fall of communism in 1989, then emigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of 12. Eventually, the family landed in Twinsburg, Ohio outside of Cleveland. Soon after, Mesko's powerful left leg was spotted during a kickball game, when he broke a gymnasium light with a booming kick.

After starring at Twinsburg High School, Mesko became a fan favorite at Michigan, eventually becoming the Wolverines' all-time punting leader. The big-bodied Mesko also proved he was more than a punter, executing multiple fakes and proving tougher to bring down than your average punter.

No doubt, it was Mesko's generous build that sealed the deal for Belichick, who had never before drafted a punter.

"I imagine he probably does most things that all the other players on the team do, as opposed to there are some kickers that really aren't at the same athletic level as other players on the team," said Belichick. "I think he would be a lot closer to that than a lot of other guys would be."

Below, as the eighth and final installment of our eight-part "GameChangers" series, we look at five incoming punters or kickers who will enter their first year in a new uniform as central figures in their team's 2010 development:

 Jay Feely, K, Cardinals (free agent, from Jets) - Though his controversial political musings seem to make as many headlines as his work on the field, the journeyman Feely has quietly become one of the more reliable kickers in the game. He's been at 83.3 percent or better on field goals for the last five seasons, yet the Jets became the fourth team since 2004 (Falcons, Giants, Dolphins) to deem him expendable after last season. The Cardinals snapped the former Saturday Night Live punchline up for $3.5 million over two years, after the once-reliable Neil Rackers (now with the Texans) had begun to show diminishing returns in big situations. Feely has likewise experienced some trouble in big spots - he missed field goals of 44 and 52 yards indoors against the Colts in last year's AFC Championship - but also had a stretch of 24 consecutive made field goals in 2009 and is a slight upgrade over Rackers.

 Matt Dodge, P, Giants (rookie, East Carolina) - Last year's Giants punter, Jeff Feagles, made his NFL debut on Sept. 4, 1988. This year's Giants punter, the 6-1, 224-pound Dodge, made his debut as a human on May 30, 1987. The movement from old guy to young guy isn't the only transition the Giants punting game will make this season, as Dodge has a bigger leg but less directional acumen than did Feagles, who spent seven years with Big Blue before retiring in April. The first time Dodge over-hits a pooch-punt for a touchback, the New Meadowlands Stadium faithful are sure to groan. But the Giants are thus far happy with their decision to select Dodge in the seventh round, as they cut Jy Bond, the only other punter on the roster, on June 21st. If Dodge can approach the 45.8 average he had as a senior at East Carolina - Feagles averaged 41.2 as a Giant - the quality of the decision will be confirmed.

Josh Bidwell, P, Redskins (free agent, from Buccaneers) - The Redskins' struggles to find a reliable punter have been even more pointed than those of the Patriots, as Washington has recently thrown a bunch of guys at the wall (Hunter Smith, Derrick Frost, Ryan Plackemeier, Durant Books, Glenn Pakulak, Andy Groom) who haven't stuck. The former Pro Bowler Bidwell, who averaged 44 yards per kick in five seasons with Tampa Bay, would seem to possess the ability to close that loop. But Skins fans are necessarily skeptical, as the same was said of Smith last season and Bidwell comes off a hip injury that forced him to miss all of 2009. Smith averaged just 41.3 yards per kick last year (his lowest figure since 2002) and was slowed by a groin injury. That gave new Washington GM Bruce Allen an opening to ink Bidwell, with whom he had a history in Tampa Bay, to a two-year, $2.4 million contract.

 Zoltan Mesko, P, Patriots (rookie, Michigan) - Upon his selection, Mesko spoke in glowing terms about fellow Michigan alumnus Tom Brady, the man who hopes to keep Mesko firmly planted on the sideline this year. Ironically, the face of the franchise was selected one round later in the 2000 Draft than Mesko was taken this year. In any case, the man known to his Wolverine brethren (curiously) as "The Space Emperor of Space" definitely knows how to align himself with the power by exalting Brady, and has already set about winning over the rest of the locker room. "It takes a lot to earn the respect of your teammates," Mesko said. "And right now, here with the Patriots football jerseys, I'm starting off from block number zero. So I've got to prove myself all over again, get in the weight room, get on the practice field and ultimately make plays on the game field."

en, my main thought on Green-Ellis is he's been trumped by more experienced players on the roster, so in a sense it's less about him and more about the players in front of him. If the Patriots are keeping just four running backs this year, and you have Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris, Fred Taylor and Green-Ellis as the top five, it creates a potential tough call. Do you keep a proven veteran who might be in his last year with the team or a younger, potentially promising player in Green-Ellis?

Sammy Morris seems to play well in spurts. Then, in every year, just as he is doing well, he gets hurt. Is there any explanation of how he can be so snake-bitten? If he had been completely healthy, would he have been the answer to our starting running back problem? -- Harry (Providence, R.I.)

Harry, part of it might be Morris' physical running style. He often initiates contact. But overall, it's tough to say what has contributed to his injuries over the years.

With an increasingly younger defense do you think the Patriots will blitz more this season? It seems in the last couple of games with that "organized chaos" play they were able to keep some teams in check. Will we see more in '10-'11? -- Nick (Hull, Mass.)

Nick, it's hard to believe, but the Patriots actually blitzed more than 40 percent of the time in 2009. That ranked them as the seventh-highest blitzing team in the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Information. I think the key is actually lowering that number and finding a way to generate pressure out of the standard four-man rush. As for "organized chaos," I think the package will be part of the team's playbook in 2010, but it's more like a baseball pitcher using a changeup. You don't want it to be your main pitch, but it can be a nice way to keep the hitter off balance.

Mike, I'm beginning to question the Patriots' use of the 3-4 as our base defense. I do like the Tom Brady  versatility that it gives a defensive genius like Bill Belichick but I have a few issues with it now. One, with so many teams switching to the 3-4 it's tougher to get the unique players needed for OLB. Second, it is not the change of pace it used to be when only us and Pittsburgh seemed to be using it. Lastly, I think our roster has more quality at D-line than linebacker, so it would behoove the Pats to have more D-lineman than linebackers out there. Could you envision us switching to a 4-3 base ever, or do you think as long as Belichick is in charge New England will be a 3-4 team? -- Kartal (Denver)

Kartal, I have spent some time on this 3-4/4-3 issue this offseason, learning more about defensive techniques Randy Moss within the team's system. The Patriots aren't a pure 3-4 defense. They have 4-3 principles within their scheme. It can happen quickly: one example would be using an outside linebacker as a defensive end, and then shifting the defensive linemen to different techniques (e.g. instead of having Vince Wilfork playing over the center, he would shade to one side, altering the overall "fit" in the running game). So in the end, I think we'll see concepts from both defenses over the course of the year, and it would be misrepresenting the Patriots' defense by pigeon-holing it as a pure 3-4 scheme.

Hey Mike, I was just thinking about the situation with the Pats' coordinators, and a weird thought popped into my mind. A couple of years ago, I believe, the league began to require teams to have their coordinators give press conferences. If I remember correctly, this was thought to be something that Bill Belichick did not want to do, presumably because he wants to control the message. The question is, since no one technically carries the title of coordinator now, are the Pats exempt from this requirement? If so, is it possible that BB chose not to assign titles with this reasoning in mind and/or are there other benefits he could see by not having named coordinators? -- Darryl (Woodstock, Vt.)

Darryl, as I understand the rule, the Patriots jerseys are still required to make assistant coaches available once a week, so the no-coordinator approach does not circumvent that. I don't think it was a factor in Bill Belichick's decision-making.