Continuing our look at some of the veteran newcomers I decided to focus on the tight end position during today’s OTA session at a frigid and wet Gillette Stadium.

Alex Smith and Chris Baker joined incumbents Benjamin Watson and David Thomas – as well as part-time fill-in Tyson DeVree – on the team’s depth chart this offseason. Smith and Baker figure to really enhance the competition at the position and they do so with plenty of NFL experience. Baker, who arrived as a free agent from the Jets, is entering his eighth season out of Michigan State while Smith, a fifth-year player out of Stanford, was acquired via trade with Tampa Bay.

“Something we always stress here is doing things the way we do them around here,” Watson said. “No matter if you’re a veteran from somewhere else, when guys come here there’s always a certain way coaches like things done around here, so they have to learn how we do it. But it’s great to have guys that have been in the league for a long time, who know what it takes to play every game, guys who are very accomplished.”

In Smith and Baker, the Patriots have two such players at Watson’s position. While it’s far too early to tell how that will unfold during training camp and the regular season, it’s already apparent that Bill Belichick will have some options when it comes to roster spots.

“You see here they are very meticulous on the routes similar to the West Coast with the spacing and just attacking defenses in their weaknesses,” said Smith, who played his whole career in the West Coast offense. “I see a lot of similarities. It might be even more evolved than what I was used to. I thought [Jon] Gruden had a pretty complex system with personnel and formations but here it’s almost like twice as much. They’re pretty intricate here.

“[The competition] is all across the board – receivers, running backs, tight ends – we’re all just trying to get better. When we put the pads on is when we can try to separate ourselves.”

The Patriots offense always features a variety of personnel groupings and these OTAs have been no different. On Tuesday, both Smith and Baker (I tried to speak to Baker as well but he and Smith left the field at the same time and he didn’t wait for me to finish with Smith) lined up together and in various packages with multiple wide receivers. Both showed some quickness getting off the line and were open throughout the day – mostly on crossing patterns underneath but also occasionally in the end zone during some red zone work.

DeVree turned in the best play of the day when he one-handed an errant toss in the left corner of the end zone but Thomas, Smith, Baker and Watson were constants in the secondary. Baker worked himself free in the right corner of the end zone on one play but Tom Brady’s pass was overthrown and the connection failed. Later, Matt Gutierrez fired a bullet to Thomas streaking across the deep middle for a nice gain on a play that Smith was actually wide open underneath.

Judging from Tuesday’s action, it would certainly appear that the tight end could re-emerge in the New England offense this season. Smith and Baker figure to be right in the middle of that given their experience and versatility.

“The biggest compliment to me would be not being able to label me at all,” Smith said when I asked him how he’d describe himself as a tight end.

“Being able to do it all is what I strive to do. I don’t want to be known just as somebody that goes downfield – I want to get the job done in the running game, pass blocking, catching passes downfield … if they can say I did it all it would be better than saying I excelled at any one thing.”

Health is always a concern at all positions and certainly Watson and Thomas have dealt with their share of injuries in the past. But assuming everyone’s healthy, Belichick could have one of his more difficult decisions to make should he choose to keep only three tight ends.

Personally, with more than six weeks to go before training camp even starts, I’d be perfectly content to keep all four on the roster. It’s the deepest, most talented group of tight ends Belichick has assembled and the versatility of using some of them in multiple ways would be too tough to pass up.

How do you feel the tight end position will shake out when it comes time to finalize the 53-man roster?

Another day of OTAs provided another look at some of the Patriots newcomers and cornerbacks Leigh Bodden and Shawn Springs are on tap for today.

When watching these two one thing became apparent quickly: versatility. Both operated on the right and left sides, in the slot and Springs was occasionally seen along the backline of the secondary at safety. Most of their work took place on the far field so it was difficult at times to keep track of all the personnel groupings, but it didn’t appear that they were on the field together in any base sets. Generally, Jonathan Wilhite lined up on the opposite side any time either of them was in the lineup.

In talking to both after practice, the switching is nothing new. Springs said he’s done a little bit of everything during his time in Seattle and Washington, especially the latter where he was asked to play outside on early downs and in the slot in sub packages.

“Every day is a different assignment, a different challenge,” Springs said. “All you can do is study as much as you can. The coaches will tell you before you go out and then you get out here and do it. Early in my career I was almost exclusively outside but in Washington it was constant changing. Gregg Williams put more responsibility on me and I was on the inside a lot. Sometimes I was at safety, sometimes I was at corner, sometimes I was the nickel back – it was always changing.”

One thing Springs is looking forward to in particular is not having to cover Randy Moss, Joey Galloway (who he played with at Ohio State and in Seattle) and Wes Welker.

“I knew I would rather be on a team with [Tom] Brady and Moss and Galloway and Welker than play against them. I’m not that dumb,” he said when asked what attracted him to the Patriots.

Bodden had a similar history from his time in Cleveland and Detroit. He played the left side last season with the Lions and worked on the right side at times with the Browns. He also spent a season shadowing the opponent’s best receiver.

Having played in Cleveland under former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, Bodden is familiar with some of the elements of New England’s system.

“It definitely helps a little bit because it is some of the same things as far as terminology,” Bodden said. “But the way they want me to play is different from the way Cleveland wanted things. It’s just knowing how they want to play different things.”

Bodden said he’s spent most of his time on the right side this spring and he has been active during the practices, making aggressive breaks on the ball on a consistent basis. Springs was also involved in some tight coverage and knocked away a couple of passes. He was beaten by Welker in the seam on a play that he was a step behind on later in practice.

Given the level of play the Patriots have acquired in the secondary in recent years with the likes of Fernando Bryant, Jason Webster and Eric Warfield, Springs and Bodden appear to be light years ahead. Each has experience and versatility and should factor into the Patriots plans in a completely revamped secondary that — based on first impressions — looks to be much improved.

The story of Thursday’s OTA at Gillette Stadium was Tom Brady so obviously Team PFW chose to look in another direction and focused instead on a pair of his new receivers. Joey Galloway and Greg Lewis arrived in Foxborough during the offseason and were among the 76 players taking part in the voluntary workout. Judging strictly off first impressions, both figure to be part of Brady’s corps in 2009.

A few things jumped put at me while watching the two newcomers. First, Galloway is freakin fast. His birth certificate may say he’s 37, but he doesn’t look like he’s lost much in the way of his world-class speed. Asked after practice if he feels like he’s lost a step, Galloway simply responded, “I let you guys judge that.” If that’s the case, my verdict is in – No.

Galloway worked on the outside opposite Randy Moss with Wes Welker in the slot. Watching that trio practice brought back memories of 2007 when Donte’ Stallworth took on the Galloway role in what was a record-setting offense. If Galloway remains healthy, something that he’s struggled with on occasion, this group should be even more lethal.

Just the fact that Galloway was on the field in May has to be considered a positive sign. At his advanced age and with his history of leg problems it would have been understandable if Bill Belichick monitored his reps. But Galloway was clearly healthy and looked great and looking forward to his 15th season.

“I’m just trying to learn my position and get used to playing with these guys,” Galloway said. “I have to start with learning the offense. I’ve been through so many offenses in my career and this is as different as any of them. My job is to try to make the 53-man roster and from there Coach will make the decision of what I’m here to do.”

Lewis also spent most of his time lining up on the outside. He worked in a group that included rookie Julian Edelman in the slot and Sam Aiken on the opposite side. Later he replaced Galloway and took some reps with Moss and Welker as well.

He turned in the play of the day during a team period when he ran a deep slant and got a step on cornerback Shawn Springs, who actually had decent coverage on the play, and made a diving catch of a well-thrown Kevin O’Connell pass. Given the coverage, both throw and catch had to be almost flawless and Lewis and O’Connell were up to the task.

Brady later referenced Lewis’ terrific catch when addressed the media and joked that it was nice to have him on the team after his touchdown in Super Bowl XXXIX nearly allowed the Eagles to make a late comeback.

From a physical standpoint, Lewis wasn’t as impressive as Galloway. He wasn’t as sharp on his routes and the quickness and speed weren’t as evident. But Lewis showed good hands and certainly looks like another player who will contribute offensively.

I expected to see him working some in the slot, making he and Galloway sort of a poor man’s version of Moss and Welker on the others side. While we didn’t see that on Thursday, it’s possible that Lewis is still learning the offense and Belichick is looking for him to get settled on the outside before adding to his assignments.

“I’m really just trying to focus on learning what I’m supposed to do and everything the offense encompasses,” Lewis said. “If you know that, then you can do a lot of things. Right now I’m just focusing on learning what everything is before they decide where they want to put me.”