Dec 16, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Gillette Stadium. The San Francisco 49ers won 41-34. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

(This is the second entry into a seven part series that will grade the players from the 2012 season.)

Tom Brady:

As Brady gets older, he gets better. He is one of the rare athletes in sports that does this, and it is really amazing to witness it. Brady’s final stats for 2012 were 4,827 yards with 34 touchdowns to go along with 8 interceptions. He also completed 63% of his passes. Brady is the best quarterback in the league in my opinion, and he proved that again in 2012. He engineered the best offense in the NFL with his two most talented weapons (Gronk and Hernandez) missing a combined 11 games. That is very impressive and yet it doesn’t come as a surprise to Pats fans. Brady makes great decisions with the football and his accuracy and pocket presence skills are some of the best of all time. If Brady is not on this Patriots squad, then they probably don’t even make the playoffs and because of that he deserves nothing less than an ‘A’.

Grade: A

Ryan Mallett:

Mallett hardly got any playing time in 2012 mostly because Tom Brady hates to come out of the game, regardless of the score. The time to really evaluate Mallett is in the pre-season and in those games he really impressed me. Mallett has a very strong arm, and although he makes a lot of questionable decisions I think he has a very bright future. As for his grade for 2012, he threw a whole four passes throughout the season so it is very hard to give him a grade, so his grade is based on his pre-season games.

Grade: B-

Stevan Ridley:

Ridley gave the Patriots a running game in 2012, which was something that they hadn’t had for a good seven or eight seasons. Ridley finished the year with 1,263 yards on 290 carries with 12 touchdowns. He has great vision as a ball-carrier to go along with his solid speed and quickness. He did have some fumbling issues in 2011, but he really worked hard to clean them up in 2012. He lost two fumbles last year, but he did a much better job at protecting the football.

Grade: A-

Danny Woodhead:

The amount of clutch plays that Woodhead came up with last season was truly remarkable. Whenever the Patriots were in some sort of a jam Woodhead seemed to bail them out. He is a small guy, but he makes up for it in quickness, and football smarts. Between rushing and receiving he had 747 yards and seven touchdowns. The impressive thing about those stats is he put them all up as a backup running back. Woody is now on the Chargers, and they are a very lucky team by being able to pick him up.

Grade: A

Shane Vereen:

Vereen didn’t play much because of injuries, but he really came on in the late stages of the year. His biggest game was in the divisional round of the playoffs against the Texans where he scored three touchdowns. Vereen is a talented guy that has been hampered by injuries his whole career. Another reason he hasn’t received a lot of playing time is because his skill set is very similar to Danny Woodhead’s. Now that Woodhead is gone, Vereen is going to get a lot of chances to show off his impressive athletic ability. In 2012 he finished with 400 yards from scrimmage along with 4 touchdowns.

Grade: B

Brandon Bolden:

Before Bolden was suspended on Nov. 9th in 2012 and up until that suspension, it looked like he would be headed for a big season. But that suspension really put him in the doghouse and he never was able to consistently get back on the field. He is a very talented back, and hopefully he is able to get back on Belichick’s good side in 2013.

Grade: C

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Stevan Ridley is obviously the feature back and is one of the best feature backs in the league, but I would think the Patriots are interested in lowering his carries from 290 last season. While Ridley is a workhorse, 290 carries is a high number, and the Patriots should maximize Ridley’s stamina going forward following his first season as a starter. Ridley was a smashing success last season, but I am hoping that either Blount or Bolden can emerge as a good No. 2 option to Ridley. I have faith that one of those two backs can do that, but it will be interesting to see which one can help successfully alleviate Ridley’s workload.

LeGarrette Blount was in the doghouse under new Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano, but Blount is a former 1,000-yard rusher and was treated to harshly in Tampa Bay by Schiano. Ridley shared his thoughts on Blount, via NESN’s Doug Kyed, “He’s another back. At 250 pounds, what doesn’t he bring? There’s a lot of power in there. For him, he’s just learning one day at a time. As a unit, we’re sticking in there. Me, Shane, LeGarrette, Brandon Bolden, we’re sticking in there. Akeem [Shavers], the new guy that’s there, we’re all just trying to learn as much as we can. … We just have to help [Blount] out when he starts to struggle and the same for me. We’re all gonna have days where we’re gonna have our difficulties, but we just have to keep pushing.”

The Patriots have plenty of depth at the running back position, and each back bring something else to the table for this team. Shane Vereen is an explosive change-of-pace RB with incredible pass-catching skills, Ridley is a feature back, Leon Washington is an excellent returner, Blount is a home-run back (not a bruiser, get that straight despite his big frame), and Bolden is a bulldozer.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Middle linebacker Brandon Spikes is not going to be participating in OTAs, so it is no surprise to see that Spikes is a no-show. He is definitely going to be at the mandatory minicamp that starts on the 11th of June for the New England Patriots, and Spikes isn’t holding out at all. I can’t comment on the rumor that the Patriots are upset at Spikes for missing out, but I will say that those things are almost always overblown. Spikes isn’t trying to leverage himself against the team at all, and he’s just one of those players who feels like it is best to work out on his own; he’ll be there for minicamp.

Brandon Bolden is nursing a foot injury and is most likely still in a walking boot, so no surprises there either.

Newly signed backup offensive tackle Will Svitek is also reportedly a no-show, and fellow offensive lineman Nick McDonald wasn’t spotted either, per Reiss. Those two are surprise absences for the Patriots, so let’s just hope that there are no negative updates on either backup OL.

Rob Gronkowski is out with…well, you know.

Julian Edelman suffered a setback on the foot he broke during the final stretch of the Patriots regular season, so it is no surprise to see that he is still out of Patriots OTAs.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.