He's a safety valve

But there remains a key missing part: safety Rodney Harrison, who suffered a season-ending knee injury.

While Harrison's absence has hurt the entire defense -- New England's top three defensive performances in passing yards and total yards came in the three games he started -- his absence has had a strong effect on free safety Eugene Wilson.

While Wilson doesn't think his play has slipped -- he enters today's game against the Jets with five more tackles than he had at this point a year ago -- many observers feel he hasn't been the playmaker he was the last two years with Harrison as his security blanket.

Wilson was the AFC Defensive Player of the Month in September 2004, when he had two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in just two games. He had a little more freedom then to attack.

''I don't think it's necessarily affected my play, but I know with Rodney going down, it's changed the way offenses come at us," Wilson said. ''When Rodney was in there, they'd go away from him, which freed me up to make more plays. Now with him down, I would say they don't come at me as much. That's one of the differences."

Another difference is that Wilson, ''The Quiet One" as one teammate referred to him, has had to take on more of a leadership role in the revolving door secondary. He has been charged with recognizing shifts and adjusting coverages accordingly, something he didn't do as much of in the past.

Six players have started at Harrison's position in the eight games he has missed, with no player starting more than two games in a row. None of those six had played strong safety for the Patriots before this season.

''For a while there, it was like every week, somebody else was shifting in," Wilson said.

No wonder the secondary has at times looked confused. The complicated schemes and combo coverages that blend with the trickery Bill Belichick likes to use with his front seven have been minimized.