by By IAN R. RAPOPORT , The Boston Herald

Still, the 6-foot-1, 250-pounder is playing catch-up.

``Not being out there for minicamp, I was a little bit behind,'' said Mayo, who added four pounds of muscle. ``But I've been in the film room, watching the practices. I pretty much have a good gist of it right now.''

They're golden

The Patriots yesterday unveiled their 50th anniversary team, as chosen by the club's Hall of Fame nomination committee.

The Patriots will honor the 50th anniversary team in a ceremony at halftime of the season opener Sept. 14 against the Bills.

The team's coach is Bill Belichick and its captain is kicker/receiver Gino Cappelletti.

The offense includes tackles Bruce Armstrong and Matt Light, guards John Hannah and Logan Mankins, center Jon Morris, tight end Ben Coates, receivers Stanley Morgan, Troy Brown and Irving Fryar, quarterback Tom Brady and running backs Jim Nance and Sam Cunningham.

On defense, the team features ends Julius Adams and Richard Seymour, tackles Houston Antwine and Vince Wilfork, outside linebackers Andre Tippett and Mike Vrabel, inside linebackers Steve Nelson and Nick Buoniconti, cornerbacks Mike Haynes and Ty Law, and safeties Fred Marion and Rodney Harrison.

The specialists are kicker Adam Vinatieri, punter Rich Camarillo, special teamer Mosi Tatupu and returner Kevin Faulk.

Who needs Vick?

If Belichick left the door open for the Patriots to be a potential destination for former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, owner Robert Kraft seemed to shut it.

``For us, that's an academic problem, because we've got the No. 1 player at his position in the world, in my view,'' Kraft said yesterday on Sirius satellite radio. ``Why would we want to do anything that would take (Brady) off the field for one play?'' . . .

Seymour sat out for the second consecutive day with a slight hamstring pull, sources with knowledge of the situation said. The injury is not expected to be serious. . . .

Continuing a trend that began in the offseason, Brady and receiver Randy Moss designated a small portion of practice time to working on communication and rapport. Perhaps because Brady missed virtually all of last season, the two have worked overtime together. On Friday, Brady said, ``There's a lot of trust that's been built up over the last few years.''

Filling big shoes

How will the Patriots make up for the loss of Vrabel?

One of the camp's competitions has not yet begun, as potential starter Shawn Crable is out with an injury. Yet the battle to replace Vrabel may not come down to one player. Belichick indicated several would fill the void at linebacker.

``Mike was a unique, versatile player, and he did a lot of things,'' Belichick said yesterday on Sirius. ``We have a good group here, but I don't think one guy will be doing what Mike did.'' . . .

Safety Patrick Chung said that as his agent and Patriots brass hammered out the details of his contract, he just waited.

``I didn't know what was going on,'' said Chung, the 34th overall pick in April's draft. ``But I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to compete with my teammates and get this going.''

As for where he'll play, Belichick said on Sirius that he believes Chung will function primarily as an inside corner on passing downs.

Read the Rap Sheet at bostonherald.com.

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