As Patriots Training Camp Opens

 The camp is the 10th under Bill Belichick for Light, the two-time Pro Bowler (2006, 2007) who turned 32 in June.

"This is a great opportunity to go out and lose some weight," the 305-pounder said in jest. "It's camp. It's football. It's what we all work our tails off doing.

"It goes with the territory, unfortunately, and I'm sure that there's other places that might take it a little bit easier, but this is how we do it and this is how business is done, right? You can't really argue that end of it. It doesn't really work, either, if you do try. I've tried it. I haven't won one of those yet."

The Patriots' coaching staff is concerned with winning the battles in Tom Brady the trenches; this is where that groundwork is laid.

"Each and every practice is so important," said Light. "For the guys up front, look, we don't have a ton of guys out there (11 with Nick Kaczur and Stephen Neal sidelined and Logan Mankins in the midst of a contract squabble) ... So each guy's going to get a lot of reps. Each guy's going to be out there. They're going to be in these situations where they're doing one-on-ones and nine-on-seven (drills) and everything else. So you develop (a physicality) in everything you do from your position group work to individual periods to what we do in every team period because it's very competitive.

"This is as competitive as it gets in the National Football League. Now, Fred Taylor the games naturally take it up a notch, but on a day-to-day (basis), you don't play two games in a day. I wouldn't say that each practice is a game, but after a while when you're in camp this is a pretty competitive environment so you develop that toughness the same way everybody else does. Just by doing it."

Burgess, Pats chat: According to Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, talks have been ongoing with outside linebacker-defensive end Derrick Burgess, who stunned the team when he didn't show up for camp and is reported to be leaning toward retirement.

"We've had some conversations with Derrick," Caserio said on Sunday. "I think there's still some moving parts on that. We haven't quite reached a resolution. I'm sure when we get to that point, then we'll let everybody know."

Burgess, who will turn 32 on Aug. 12, signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Pats in May.

The inside linebacker position took a hit in the afternoon when Gary Guyton slipped during 11-on-11 drills and retreated to the sideline where the team's trainers appeared to be examining his left knee. A short while later, Guyton left the practice fields under his own power and, while the injury did not appear serious, he did not return.

Room on roster: For those of you keeping score out there, the Patriots' roster is currently at 78 players, two below the league limit of 80.

The full New England Patriots squad reported for its first day of training camp on Thursday in the midst of a suffocating heat wave. The team hopes that it will play into wind, rain, and snow in the playoffs that run into February.

As training camp opens, many questions remain for a team with a recent history Randy Moss of dominance but that many fans fear has slipped into the NFL's second tier. Here are five questions currently lodged in the minds of Patriots fans that will certainly be answered by the time football season has played through the heat of August, the chill of October, the freeze of January and into the air-conditioning at Dallas' Cowboys Stadium for Super Bowl XLV.

Will Tom Brady's contract situation become a distraction to the team?

The quarterback's current contract is set to run out at the end of this season and he has been working with ownership on a new deal. Both sides have said they're looking forward to Brady signing a new deal that would keep him in Foxboro for years. However, the league's collective bargaining agreement is also set to expire at the end of this season and the uncertain financial situation has many NFL owners scared to offer contracts. The bottom line is that the team needs Brady at top form to even think about playoffs, so getting on the same page as the star quarterback has to be a priority.

Who will scare opposing quarterbacks?

Many NFL teams rely on the passing game for most of their offense, which means that defenses have to rush the quarterback well to be successful. At this point, it's unclear if the Patriots have the tools to put together even a capable, let alone dominant, pass rush.

Of the seven positions crucial to mounting an effective pass rush, only three are certainly filled — by defensive linemen Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork; and inside linebacker Jerod Mayo. That means the Patriots still need to lock down a defensive lineman and three linebackers. The team will look to rookie linebackers Jermaine Cunningham and Brandon Spikes to step up and potentially steal starring jobs from veterans.