Familiarity breeds...a defense?

How would you like to be the person that has to process all of the paperwork in the league offices as all 32 NFL teams slice their rosters down to 53 players on Black Saturday?

Vellano (72) and Francis (96) reunite on Patriots defensive line

Because it's not just all the contracts being terminated - it's also waiver claims, IR designations and the trades - and then on Practice Squad Sunday, more players are released to make room for free agent acquisitions, players reverting to the injured reserved list after clearing waivers and teams building their eight player practice squad. 

That's a lot of paperwork, manila folders and white out - bandages for the inevitable paper cuts and wrist braces for the carpel tunnel crowd...

...and it goes to figure that Roger Goodell doesn't get his hands all inky - no,  he's probably "supervising" things out on his yacht getting all twisted on Human Growth Hormones, burning himself with lit blunts and personally reviewing every single play of the preseason finales with his discipline czar to see how many fines and/or suspensions he can nail players with.

And...yes.  why not?  Everyone needs a hobby to relieve stress in their lives, something they can lose themselves in and refresh their minds - Goodell's is harsh discipline and ours is to obsess over the Patriots and their seriously unbalanced roster.

But something funny happened while updating the player movements and depth charts this afternoon, and it's something that would have never surfaced were it not for a certain undrafted rookie free agent who made the Patriots 53 man roster.

Tight end Zach Sudfeld's Nevada Wolfpack line mate Chris Barker took one of the vacancies on the roster this afternoon, the 6' 3" 310 pound guard part of Nevada coach Chris Ault's "Union" seemed like a nice signing, impressive depth to back up the interior of the Patriots interior line, and someone that that Sudfeld is fully familiar with...

...but the trend didn't strike me until the Patriots also signed Joe Vellano's Maryland line mate and fellow undrafted rookie free agent A.J. Francis, the 6' 5", 310 pound brawler claimed on waivers from the Miami Dolphins - then thinking, what's happening here?

Is Bill Belichick bringing in systems rather than just players?

Everyone knows about the former Florida connections on the team, now weeded out by attrition and felony, linebacker Brandon Spikes the only Gator left on the team - and the much publicized and joked about connection between coach Bill Belichick and his good friend Greg Schiano's Rutgers University players...

...what with safeties Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon providing a last line of defense behind cornerback Logan Ryan and linebacker Steve Beauharnais, a full 1/3 of the defense could be comprised of these college teammates if the mood strikes him...

...and if he put in former Illinois defenders nickle safety Tavon Wilson, cornerback Justin Green and defensive end Michael Buchanan along with the two Terrapin tackles Vellano and Francis, Belichick could conceivably put a defense together using players from just three schools - with a few stragglers from the SEC mixed in for fun.

Overall, there are five players from Rutgers in the Patriots organization (wide receiver Mark Harrison is on the NFI list), four from Illinois (tight end Michael Hoomanawanui included) and two each from Maryland and Nevada, with 12 of the 14 either rookies or sophomores.

It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but the New England Patriots apparently are hoping that it speeds up how quickly their players gel together to form a cohesive unit.

Or maybe it's just a really weird coincidence...