Tired of Spygate? Ready for some football?

A limited number of New England Patriots individual game tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster.

Tickets will not be sold at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Tickets are limited to eight regular season tickets per person, with a maximum of four tickets to any one game.

To purchase tickets, go to www.ticketmaster.com or call Ticketmaster at 617-931-2222.

For wheelchair accessible seating, call 508-384-9191.

All on-line and phone purchases must be made with a Visa credit card or debit card.

The Patriots regular season begins on Sept. 7 with a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium at 1 p.m. The home schedule features five 1 p.m. starts, one 4:15 p.m. game (Nov. 20 vs. Pittsburgh), a Thursday nighter against the New York Jets (Nov. 13, 8:15 p.m. on the NFL Network) and a Monday night game on Oct. 20 against Denver.

The Patriots have sold out 149 consecutive home games, dating back to 1994.

Being away on vacation during the NFL draft has some advantages, in that you can take a little extra time to digest what occurred.

With the Patriots, it's obvious that Coach Bill Belichick and personnel guru Scott Piolo identified some serious needs and went after them, while ignoring some of the team's old draft routines.

Did you notice that the Patriots didn't draft any linemen – on either side of the ball – or tight ends? That's the first time that's happened in the Belichick era.

What they did do, as Belichick told the media afterward, was "get younger and faster on defense.''

With an aging linebacking corps and a secondary that is in flux, the Patriots selected three linebackers and two defensive backs with their seven picks.

Everyone agrees that their top pick, inside linebacker Jerod Mayo from Tennessee, was a great selection. Coming out as a junior, he was one of the fastest linebackers available and is also known as a big-hitter. He looks primed to step into some serious playing time as a rookie. Mel Kiper Jr., the big-haired draft expert from ESPN, said Mayo reminds him of Junior Seau, a heady compliment.

There are some questions about the team's second-round pick, cornerback Terrence Wheatley of Colorado. No one questions his ability, especially his speed, but many "experts'' say there were better corners available. Of course, that's the beauty of the draft.

No one expected a sixth-round pick of of Michigan, the 199th player selected, in 2000 to become the best quarterback in the NFL. But that's where Tom Brady is these days.

Wheatley, who is only 5-foot-9, is a great closer on passes and could help in special teams with the return game.

Shawn Crable, the linebacker from Michigan selected in the third round, is another player who could help immediately. He looks to be an outside rusher with some speed.

The drafting of San Diego State quarterback Kevin O'Connell in the third round shocked a lot of people. He wasn't rated that highly by a lot of clubs. But his selection should send notice to Matt Cassel, the incumbent back-up, and Matt Gutierrez, the third quarterback, that the competition to back up Brady is wide open.

The selection of UCLA wide receiver Matthew Slater is an intriguing one. Son of an NFL Hall of Famer, former Los Angeles Rams' offensive tackle Jackie Slater, he is a very gifted special teams player and could have an immediate impact there.

The final pick, linebacker Bo Ruud of Nebraska, is someone the Patriots have been watching for two years.

Overall, the Patriots did a nice job of filling in an aging roster, especially at key positions. However, they did not address the tight end situation, where Ben Watson is coming off off-season ankle surgery and David Thomas is coming off an injury-lost season, or defensive line, where their gold-dust starters were worn out down the stretch.

The team did, however, sign veteran tight end Marcus Pollard and defensive lineman Kenny Smith in the days before the draft. So maybe Belichick and Pioli felt they were comfortable at those positions with the veteran free agents and chose to really upgrade the areas of need on defense.

Overall, a good draft, if not a flashy one.

Bill Belichick met with the press Wednesday in his annual pre-draft press conference and, as usual, didn't shed a whole lot of light on what the team will do.

The Patriots have the seventh pick in the draft, courtesy of a trade with San Francisco last year. They, of course, lost their own first round pick as a penalty for illegally videotaping opposing assistant coaches from the sidelines.

Belichick noted that the team is still bringing in some players for visits and that they are still looking at all prospects. "Hopefully we'll be in a position to to make some good decisions to try to improve on our football team next week.''

The draft is held April 26-27.

Asked about the linebacking and cornerback prospects in this draft – two positions the Patriots need to fill – Belichick said the linebackers are as deep as they have been the last couple of years while the cornerbacks are probably a little deeper. "Whether they'll be able to perform at the NFL level, we'll see,'' he said.

Asked about the perception that teams are trying to trade out of the top of the draft – because of a lack of a consensus No.1 pick and the financial implications of picking high – Belichick compared this draft field to 1991. He called Russell Maryland a surprise No.1 pick and that many of the second rounders went on to have better careers.

Overall, he said, "We've got a handful of guys that we're considering and maybe they'll be there.''

The press conference ended on a light note: nose tackle Vince Wilfork walked into the media room and someone asked Belichick if he might take one of the top-rated defensive tackles to push Wilfork.

"That's something we're looking very closely at. Very closely,'' said Belichick, prompting a laugh from everyone.

The New England Patriots, coming off their 18-1 near-Super Bowl championship season, will have more 1 p.m. starting times at home this season but also will play five prime-time games, including one on the hard-to-find NFL Network.

Owner Bob Kraft had petitioned the NFL to allow the Patriots to play more 1 p.m. home games this season and, given his stature in the league, was granted his wish, starting with the season opener on Sept. 7 at Gillette Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Other 1 p.m. home games are:

Sept. 21, Miami Dolphins; Oct. 26, St. Louis Rams; Nov. 9, Buffalo Bills; Dec. 21, Arizona Cardinals.

The highlight of New England's prime-time adventures is easily its Nov. 2 trek to Indianapolis to play the Colts and Peyton Manning – the old brother of Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning. That game is on NBC and begins at 8:15 p.m. Is it me, or do the Pats and Colts seem to play the first Sunday in November every season?

New England is on NBC two other times: Oct. 12, at San Diego and Dec. 7, at Seattle (both starting at 8:15 p.m.).

The Patriots have an ESPN Monday nighter on Oct. 20 at home against the Denver Broncos at 8:30 p.m.

Then they play the rival New York Jets at Gillette on the NFL Network – good luck watching that one at home unless the NFL and Big Cable come to terms soon – on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 8:15 p.m. In case you missed it, the NFL Network is looking for a new play-by-play announcer after Bryant Gumbel resigned.

Overall, the Patriots have the easiest schedule in the NFL in 2008, based on 2007 results. New England's 2008 opponents were 99-157 last year, a .387 winning percentage. That's what happens when your schedule includes the AFC East, NFC West and AFC West.

Conversely, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who play at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 30 at 4:15 p.m., have the hardest schedule (.598) and the Colts the second-hardest (.594).

click here for the entire NFL 2008 schedule

One day after the New England Patriots brought back Randy Moss, they re-signed wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, giving them their top three receivers back for next season.

While the team did not release details of the contract – it never does – it was widely reported in several outlets, including the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, that Gaffney signed a one-year deal.

He spoke to Dan Pires of The Standard Times of New Bedford, Mass., and said he would have liked a longer contract: "I wanted to get a longer deal, but we couldn't. But we will get it done."

The NFL Network reported the deal was worth $2 million.

Gaffney caught 36 passes for 449 yards and a career-high five touchdowns last year. He started the season as the No.4 receiver, but passed Donte Stallworth – who signed with the Cleveland Browns – on the depth chart late in the season. He joins Moss and Wes Welker to give quarterback Tom Brady three top options in the passing game.

"Jabar is a good fit for our offense,'' said Patriots Coach Bill Belichick in a statement. "He has been a versatile and dependable player who steps up in whatever role is asked of him.''

Gaffney was originally a second-round pick by the Houston Texans in 2002. He was signed as a free agent by the Patriots on Oct. 6, 2006.

The Patriots also took a small step toward fixing their defensive secondary issues, signing veteran cornerback Jason Webster. He has been injury-prone the last couple of seasons, appearing in just nine games, and is seen as a replacement for Randall Gay, not Asante Samuel.

The Boston Globe's Mike Reiss is reporting that free agent wide receiver Randy Moss is close to signing a three-year, $27 million contract with the Patriots.

The signing would bring a huge sigh of relief to Patriots fans, who have watched as three key members of the team signed elsewhere in the first days of free agency. Cornerback Asante Samuel signed with Philadelphia, cornerback Randall Gay with New Orleans and wide receiver Donte Stallworth with Cleveland.

Moss had spent much of the week leading into Super Bowl XLII talking about how much he wanted to return to the Patriots. He caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes from Tom Brady in his first season with the team, then had the go-ahead touchdown pass in the waning minutes of the Super Bowl.

But the lack of a contract once free agency started had many fans worried that the Patriots were going to lose Moss.

While nothing is official yet, the Globe, the Boston Herald and ESPN are all reporting that the deal is all but done.

The Patriots made one other signing on Monday, agreeing to a contract with former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sam Aiken, who is a capable special teams performer.

On a day when cornerback Asante Samuel moved on to Philadelphia, signing a six-year, $54 million contract, the New England Patriots had lesser news.

They re-signed linebacker Tedy Bruschi – whom many folks thought would retire after the team's 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the Giants – long snapper Loni Paxton and wide receiver Kelley Washington.

Washington is an interesting signing. He was a great special teams player for the Patriots. But now, with Donte Stallworth gone, could move into the No.3 or No. 4 receivers role, especially with Jabar Gaffney looking elsewhere.

That Bruschi is back for a 12th season indicates how much he wants to play and how much the Patriots – never too sentimental about anyone – want him to finish his career in Foxborough.

Given his talent and experience in the Patriots system, it's easy to see why New England wants him back.

As far as Paxton . . . well, when's the last time you saw him make a bad snap? Right, I can't remember either. And that's why he's important.

Still no word on a Randy Moss deal, which is surprising. Everyone expected that deal to be done immediately.