Head-Scratching Moves in New England

With the regular season opener just one week away, the Patriots have been scrambling to give their final roster the shape they are seeking heading into week one. They finally cut down to their 53-man roster yesterday, and the sheet of paper that Bill Belichick finds himself looking at is a bit different than most of us may have expected.

Let's start with the injuries. On a defensive squad that has big time question marks in the defensive backfield, the Patriots lost safety Brandon McGowan and cornerback Leigh Bodden for the season. McGowan suffered a torn pectoral muscle that sends him to the IR, and Bodden finds himself on the same list with his torn rotator cuff. Additionally, the Patriots have Nick Kaczur sidelined with what many believe is a serious back injury that required surgery. Oddly enough, however, New England has included Kaczur on their 53-man roster heading into the regular season.

The injuries are tough, but they can be overcome. The Pats added safety Jarrad Page from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick, as well as inside linebacker Tracy White from the Philadelphia Eagles for what was reportedly a 2012 draft pick. They have been doing the necessary patchwork to prepare for the Bengals next Sunday, but it hasn't come without a fair share of mysterious activity on that roster. New England has parted ways with Sam Aiken, Pierre Woods, and -- perhaps most surprisingly -- outside linebacker Derrick Burgess.

Outside linebacker is arguably the biggest question mark on this entire Patriots team right now. Tully Banta-Cain is expected to start on one side, but the other side was expected to be Burgess's job. New England was patient with Burgess and allowed him back to training camp after considerable time off, and before long, he was getting the first-team reps. So his release comes as quite a surprise to most. The gap leaves what seems to be a developing three-man competition for the position between rookie Jermaine Cunningham and veterans Rob Ninkovich and Marques Murrell. Cunningham has missed some time to injury in the preseason, but many expect big things from him. Murrell was also impressive at times during the preseason, lining up at both defensive end and outside linebacker. One of those three guys will be expected to fill the hole left by Burgess. Joining Burgess, though, on that list, are major special teams contributors Sam Aiken and Pierre Woods. Aiken was the captain of the special teams unit last season, and Pierre Woods was the preseason leader on the Patriots for special teams tackles. Woods also figured to see periodic reps at linebacker. The moves are head-scratchers for sure, but I suppose we'll just have to trust Bill Belichick's judgment and look forward to opening day.

The countdown is getting smaller and smaller as we wait for opening day. The NFL season will kick off Thursday night, and I can't wait for this to get rolling. And when the Patriots kick off with the Bengals on Sunday, the anticipation will finally be over and the crazy ride will finally set sail.