To illustrate his point, Belichick recalled his team's offseason planning meeting of February 2004, just days after they had beaten Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston. The Patriots had gone 17-2 and won their last 15 games of the season, and still Belichick and vice president of personnel Scott Pioli had come up with 23 different roster needs that required addressing.

"It was like, geez, we just won a Super Bowl and we have 23 needs?'' Belichick said. "But that's how we approach it, and the first thing we did was went out and [traded for running back Corey] Dillon. It's about trying to find a way to get better, and understanding that everybody else is trying to get better.''

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We'll find out in the fall if the Patriots have gotten better, but so far it looks as if Belichick and Pioli have done their usual job of keeping the NFL's winning machine well-stocked with enough usable parts. Cornerback Duane Starks arrived via trade from Arizona, replacing Law. Free agent signees Tim Dwight and David Terrell are in the mix to get some of Patten's receptions. And in the first round of last weekend's draft, New England, choosing 32nd in the first round, made a low-profile selection in Fresno State guard Logan Mankins, who may inherit Andruzzi's starting spot.

As for Bruschi's saga, the coming three months will tell us how much the Patriots can count on him being in the middle of their defense in 2005. Linebacker Monty Beisel was signed away from Kansas City as one potential replacement, but there will be other options emerge from a segment of the depth chart that now numbers 16 players. As for the new coordinators on either side of the ball, highly thought of former secondary coach Eric Mangini was retained and promoted to Crennel's job, and Belichick, as well as assistant head coach/offensive line Dante Scarnecchia and maybe others, will handle the play-calling and offensive coordinator duties.

Despite the issues that have tested New England these past three months, it's hard not to juxtapose the Patriots offseason with the ugly one unfolding in Philadelphia, the Pats' Super Bowl counterpart. Having finally made it to the game's grandest stage, ending their three-year NFC title game hex, the Eagles have endured an acrimonious offseason, with a line of players wanting to address their contract situation stretching around the block (led, of course, by Terrell Owens).

New England hasn't been free of all contract hassles -- Law went the way of Lawyer Milloy because of his contract/salary cap stalemate, and quarterback Tom Brady's anticipated extension has snagged on the amount of guaranteed money -- but some how the Patriots' offseason always seem to position them for another title run, rather than portend a fall from grace.

Belichick all but bristles at the idea that the Patriots are somehow immune from the negative forces that befall other Super Bowl qualifiers. It's how New England deals with its problems that seems to separate it from the rest.

"I don't think we're exempt from anything,'' he said. "I think we deal with whatever everybody else in the league deals with. But there's a working relationship between the players and the organization here. Not everybody's happy. Some people move on and some don't. It's like that with every team. You can't keep everybody.''

New England's team concept approach has been one of the more well-chronicled stories in the NFL the past five years. But if the rest of the league is wondering, it's still very much alive and well, and the indoctrination of the newest Patriots into that mind set began Friday. In Mankins, the team's little-known first-round pick, New England might have selected the quintessential Patriot-like player: He's know for being tough, hard-nosed and a team-first type through and through.

In New England, the beat just always seems to go on. Whatever winds up bringing down the Patriots' dynasty, my guess is it's not going to be complacency or a sense of satisfaction. Not with Belichick around to push his team's buttons. Not with an entire organization seemingly able to turn the page and start fresh every year.

"I think it's more a function of the team than it is the individual,'' said Belichick, of his team's ability to stay hungry. "The essence of a team is that you really want to do something because all your friends and teammates are counting on you. You don't want to let the other guy down. It's more of a military philosophy. Any team that's good, that's really where the motivation is. In the end, when you have a commitment to each other, that's really where the power is.''

In the NFL, the power still resides in New England. If the reign is ending, there were no signs of it on this late April day in Foxboro. Rookies or veterans, minicamp or regular season, doing it the Patriot Way still means the same things it always has. Anyone bold enough to predict that business as usual won't produce the usual results?