With the addition of three key defensive players, New England sets its sights on returning to the playoffs.

FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – The New England Patriots had three major needs after following their Super Bowl victory by missing the playoffs.

Defense, defense and more defense.

So the Patriots added three outstanding players, moves that should give opponents problems moving the ball on the ground or through the air.

“I definitely feel like we’re a better defense,” linebacker Roman Phifer said, but “you have to go out on Sunday and prove it. There’s a lot of teams that look good on paper and then you see the end result.”

The Patriots’ defense looks very good on paper and is filled with players who already have proven it on Sundays.

They added 365-pound nose tackle Ted Washington to improve the NFL’s second-worst run defense. They picked up linebacker Rosevelt Colvin to put pressure on quarterbacks. And they signed hard-hitting safety Rodney Harrison to smack receivers over the middle.

Washington and Harrison have been to the Pro Bowl and Colvin is one of the game’s best young pass rushers.

That should make head coach Bill Belichick, a defensive specialist, very happy as he prepares to play in perhaps the NFL’s toughest division, the AFC East.

Of the 53 players who made the roster, 27 play defense, 23 play offense and three are kicking-game specialists.

“There are some young players on defense that we wanted to keep,” Belichick said.

They include two cornerbacks drafted this year, second-rounder Eugene Wilson of Illinois and fourth-rounder Asante Samuel of Central Florida.

“All of our young kids have done a nice job,” defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said.

In 2001, the season the Patriots won the Super Bowl, they ranked 24th defensively among the 31 NFL teams, 19th against the run and 24th against the pass.

Last season, with Houston added as a 32nd team, the Patriots were 23rd in overall defense, but only 31st against the rush. They were a respectable 11th in yards allowed passing, in part because opponents preferred to exploit the run defense.

They allowed 100-yard rushers in eight of their 16 games, but this season they plan to use the 3-4 defense more.

“It doesn’t matter what the scheme is. Players are the ones that have to go out and make it work,” Phifer said. “We just weren’t able to get on the same page and make it work.”

They finished 9-7, missing the playoffs by a tiebreaker on the last day of the season.

The Patriots didn’t add as many top players on offense. Unless the running game, ranked 28th last season, improves, the pressure will be on quarterback Tom Brady again.

He led the NFL with 28 touchdown passes last year and threw just 14 interceptions. He also threw six touchdowns and no interceptions as New England went 4-0 in exhibition games.

The Patriots kept only two running backs. Antowain Smith is coming off a subpar season, but Kevin Faulk has been solid and should be more than a third-down back.

They added fullbacks Fred McCrary, primarily a blocker, and Larry Centers, the all-time leading receiver among backs.

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis doesn’t want his use of personnel to tip the defense to the play – a pass with Faulk or Centers in the game, a run if Smith is playing.

“You don’t want to get pigeonholed,” Weis said.

The Patriots kept Fred Baxter as their third tight end, primarily because of his blocking ability.

“That’s the one thing that we’ve done this preseason is re-establish that level of toughness,” center Damien Woody said. “Sometimes we kind of got away from the running game. This year we’re making a concerted effort to establish that.”

The passing game also should be better.

Tight end Daniel Graham, last year’s first-round pick, had a good preseason. Wide receivers Deion Branch and David Givens also are starting their second seasons, and veterans Troy Brown and David Patten remain solid.

With all the progress on defense, the Patriots should be in good shape even if it takes the offense time to improve.

“We’ve still got a lot of kinks to work out,” Woody said. “It’s not perfect, but we’re on the right track.”

AP-ES-09-01-03 1639EDT