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By planning ahead, the Patriots are well positioned as free agency opens.

Pro Football Weekly analyzes the performance of each NFL head coach and puts Bill Belichick in the "head of the class" category for his work this season (link here). The PFW piece leads off with this thought: The lockout robbed the league's coa...

Stew Milne/US PresswirePatriots rookie Nate Solder.One line of thinking was that the NFL lockout would make it hard for rookies to contribute immediately, especially those needing some extra time to gain strength to play at the line of scrimmage. Off...

When it comes to the business side of football, former Green Bay Packers executive Andrew Brandt is one of the must-reads from this perspective. His written work on the National Football Post website, and TV work on ESPN during the lockout, is/was ap...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts after the first quarter: 1. This is a lockout-based approach from Bill Belichick. In not playing several of his top stars, he is making a statement that it's too much football, too quick. The Patriots have o...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tonight's preseason opener figures to have a heavy emphasis on developmental players. When asked earlier this week if veterans might play more than a normal load because of the lockout, Bill Belichick said, "Probably not this wee...

Every Tuesday on ESPNBoston.com, questions from Patriots followers are answered as part of a weekly mailbag. This week's mailbag has been posted and includes some of the following topics: 1. How the lockout is tied to Bill Belichick's experimentat...

'Lockout effect' has the Patriots making it up as they go along.

New names, possible new scheme the buzz in this week's mailbag.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Patriots running back Kevin Faulk spoke with reporters Saturday at Gillette Stadium. A few soundbites: On his return. "Before the lockout started, Bill [Belichick] called me and told me, 'Look, Kevin, I want you on my team ...

The Patriots' first training camp practice will have a different feel from past years. There will be no full-pad practice and there will be a larger number of players not on the field because of the post-lockout timeline. With this in mind, here a...

There is a difference between the media-based quietness surrounding the Patriots' team-building plans and the idea that the Patriots have been inactive over the last 24-36 hours since the lockout ended. On Twitter, for example, @illmatic940 wrote:...

Even with his wife ailing, Robert Kraft played a critical role in the NFL talks.

One of the common themes this offseason was that teams with a returning head coach and quarterback would have an advantage over others when the lockout ended. This point is highlighted in a Pro Football Weekly piece that picks the three teams hurt...

The top 10 things the Patriots should tackle first once the lockout lifts.

Question marks loom over the Patriots' roster as season inches closer.