FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – Ken Walter edged out Daniel Pope to retain his spot as the New England Patriots’ punter, just in time for Friday night’s exhibition game against Philadelphia.

The Walter-Pope matchup was reminiscent of a midseason tryout in 2001 when New England brought them in after deciding to cut Lee Johnson. Walter won that one, too, and played in the last 11 regular-season games and the Patriots’ Super Bowl win.

This year’s decision, announced Wednesday, came down to establishing consistency in the kicking game, coach Bill Belichick said.

“In the end it was a close call. Both players performed well,” Belichick said. “We made a decision. We felt like the last two preseason games were needed for Kenny to get his timing down.”

Rookies Spencer Nead, a tight end, and Chad Lee, a linebacker, also were waived Wednesday.

Walter said the competition added to his performance in practices.

“I’ve had times in my career where I didn’t have competition and, not to say that you get lax, but you have nothing to compare it to,” Walter said.

“Dan was a heck of a punter, a heck of guy. He’d been around, he’s done it in the league before and I think he brought out the best in me and I think I did the same with him.”

Walter spent four years with the Carolina Panthers before joining the Patriots for the past two seasons.

Walter struggled at times last year. He had 70 punts, with a net average of 33.3 yards. He recorded eight punts against the St. Louis Rams in the 2002 Super Bowl after leading the AFC and ranking second in the NFL with a net average of 38.1.

“Kenny’s been a good net punter in terms of his hang time and relatively low yardage on returns,” Belichick said.

Walter and Belichick said establishing consistency and repetition are the tasks ahead for special teams.

The Patriots signed Pope, 28, in April. In three NFL seasons, he punted for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Jets, appearing in 33 games and averaging 40.9 yards per punt on 199 punts. After the Chicago Bears released him last August, he was not on an NFL roster last season.

The Patriots drafted tight end Nead, 25, in the seventh round – 234th overall – of the 2003 draft. He appeared in both of New England’s preseason games. Lee, a 22-year-old linebacker, was signed as a non-drafted rookie free agent in May after starring at Louisville.

AP-ES-08-20-03 1928EDT