Add Brandon McGowan to the list of disposed veterans who have flourished under Bill Belichick's tutelage in Foxborough. The 26-year-old safety was a late addition to the Patriots following four middling seasons in Chicago, and it didn't take long for Belichick to tap into McGowan's toughness and ability to cover tight ends downfield. Although not the fleetest afoot, he was instrumental in shutting down Tony Gonzalez in Week Three and has done an enviable job in infusing the secondary with the blue-collar physicality it lost when Rodney Harrison retired. But McGowan's insertion into the lineup over James Sanders is only one aspect of New England's revival in the defensive backfield. After taking its share of pass-defending lumps in 2008, the secondary's rock-solid look has served as a foil to the uncertainty in the Pats' front seven. CB Leigh Bodden has played well, and fellow veteran newcomer Shawn Springs' seamless shuffling between corner and safety has been a boon.

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