--DB Willie Andrews entered a plea to marijuana possession charges May 9 in Lowell (Mass.) District Court. The case was continued without a finding for one year during which time the third-year player from Baylor must speak to student athletes about the dangers of narcotics, pay a $1,000 fine and complete an NFL substance abuse program. The plea stemmed from a February arrest when Andrews was stopped in Lowell according to prosecutors carrying $6,800 in cash and a half pound of marijuana.

Andrews played in 15 games in the regular season and three postseason contests, mostly on special teams. He scored his first NFL touchdown with a 77-yard kickoff return against the Dolphins in October and had eight special teams tackles.

--The finalists for induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame were announced earlier this month, a group that includes tight end Ben Coates, center Jon Morris and running back Jim Nance. The three finalists were selected by a 23-member nomination committee, but the final decision on election is based on fan voting that is currently underway on Patriots.com and runs through July 4. The player with the most votes will become the 13th inductee into the Hall of Fame, joining the ranks in a ceremony at the soon-to-open Hall at Patriot Place at Gillette Stadium later this summer.

Coates spent nine seasons (1991-99) in New England, catching 490 passes for 5,471 yards and 50 touchdowns to earn five consecutive Pro Bowl trips. Morris spent 11 years with the Patriots (1964-74), earning seven straight AFL All-Star appearances as the anchor of the team's line. Nance took full advantage of that line in his seven seasons (1965-71), earning AFL MVP honors in 1966. He remains the team's leader in rushing TDs with 45, while ranking second with 5,323 yards rushing.

--Versatile rookie (WR/DB/KOR) Matthew Slater, New England's fifth-round pick, had an interception in a one-on-one coverage drill in rookie camp, and split his time between offense and defense during the weekend workouts. Slater played very little on either side of the ball during his career at UCLA, failing to make much impact on the team until his senior season when he returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and was an elite player on the special-teams coverage units.

"I think we'll go back and forth from day to day," Bill Belichick said of Slater's role with the team, "if he can do that, if he has a chance to keep up on it. He's not being asked to do everything that everybody would do (on both sides of the ball)."

--QB Kevin O'Connell, who struggled with his accuracy in rookie camp, got some serious attention after one of the workouts as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels ran the rookie through a variety of throws and drops with a member of the Patriots video department taping every movement. The third-round pick said the first few days of his pro career have given him coaching like he's never received before.

"We've just been watching a lot of stuff and there are little things that Coach McDaniels wants me to work on every day. At the end of the day we are just going to film it every day and continue to grow with that," said the athletic San Diego State star. "That's something I'll probably do day in and day out for the rest of the summer. I really haven't been exposed to coaching like this before."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"If you get star struck you'll be sitting back home watching the stars on TV." -- LB Vince Redd, a rookie free agent, on joining New England team that includes some of the NFL's biggest stars.

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