FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – Rosevelt Colvin is chasing quarterbacks again nine months after simply walking without crutches was an accomplishment.

The left hip that he broke in the second game last season feels fine. Now he needs to get the feel of football again – recognizing plays, improving his reaction time – and he should give the New England Patriots a lift they expected when they signed him as a free agent from Chicago.

Colvin says he has no doubt he can be the player he was when he recorded 10 sacks in both 2001 and 2002 with the Bears, Colvin said Monday. “I’m physically prepared and able to do whatever they need me to do,” he said.

He participated in just a few plays in the exhibition opener against Philadelphia, then played more at Cincinnati and figures he was in on more than 30 plays last Saturday night at Carolina.

“Rosie has made consistent progress not only in the games but in practices,” coach Bill Belichick said. “He has kind of climbed every step, and there have been a lot of them, through the different stages of this camp. I think he has come through them fine.”

With Colvin sidelined for all but the first two games last season, the Patriots still ranked seventh in the NFL in defense and were sixth in sacks with 41.

Now he rejoins a linebacking corps of Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Willie McGinest, Roman Phifer and Ted Johnson.

The strength of that position has allowed Colvin to work out without having to rush back. And he never thought his career was over at age 26 after just four full seasons plus two games.

“Ever since the doctors told me that I was going to be able to make a full recovery my mindset was being able to pass the conditioning test,” he said. “I got over that hurdle and now my mindset is to be out there and be productive on defense. I’m still working on it.”

He led Chicago in sacks in consecutive seasons and had a streak of eight games with at least one sack. With New England, he had one sack in each of the first two games last season.

But in a 31-10 win at Philadelphia last Sept. 14, he felt discomfort in his hip when he went to recover a fumble, went on injured reserve the next day and then had surgery.

“Was I saddened because I couldn’t play? Yeah,” Colvin said, “but there’s nothing I could do about it. That was the hand that I was dealt and I had to play it out.”

The Patriots played poorly in their second exhibition game, a 31-3 loss to the Bengals, but Colvin made three tackles and shared a sack with defensive end Jarvis Green.

He’s not reluctant to make contact in practice or games but sometimes the hip feels sore and he knows it will take time for him to contribute consistently.

So is he encouraged?

“As far as my ability to go out and be a professional football player? Yeah. Am I good at it? Not right now,” Colvin said. “Progress is good, still haven’t taken any steps backward, keep knocking the rust off from being out last year.”

Belichick knows Colvin needs more time to work well with his teammates, recognize quickly what play an opponent is running and aggressively track down the ball carrier.

“He hasn’t played football in one year, so there are some timing effects, for all of the players but particularly for him,” Belichick said. “He has had a good camp and has continued to move forward on a daily basis.”

Colvin has one more exhibition game, Thursday night against Jacksonville, before the regular-season opener against Indianapolis the following Thursday night in Foxboro.

He didn’t get emotionally high when he took the field for the first time against the Eagles this summer and knows that chasing the Colts’ Peyton Manning – maybe even sacking him – is just one step on his way back.

“I don’t want to get too excited,” Colvin said. “The surgery’s in the past, walking, jogging is in the past, running, cutting. Now we’re back to playing football and now my biggest goal is to try to become a football player completely again.”

AP-ES-08-30-04 1809EDT