Chad Ochocinco checks in at No. 50. (AP)

With the 2011 season in the rear-view mirror — and the Patriots facing a number of key personnel decisions — it seems like a good time to break down the current 53-man roster, taking a look at who might be the most valuable members of the franchise.

We arrived at this list by considering a combination of factors, including overall ability, positional versatility, expectations, contract situation and place on the depth chart. We also looked at what might be best described as intangibles — loosely defined as a mixture of clubhouse character and willingness to work. In all, it helped us determine the overall value of each player within the Patriots system.

A quick note: The 53 players were taken straight from New England’s postseason media guide, the most up-to-date listing available. That means injured players such as Andre Carter, Mike Wright, Jermaine Cunningham, Dan Koppen and Ras-I Dowling, as well as practice squadders are not included for purposes of this exercise.

We start with No. 53 through No. 26.

53. Safety Sergio Brown: Fewer players slid down the depth chart as precipitously as Brown, who opened the season in a regular rotation at safety (he played every snap of a Week 3 loss to Buffalo) but saw virtually zero meaningful snaps after the Week 12 win over Philadelphia. His low point was a costly pass interference penalty in the regular-season loss to the Giants that set up the game-winning score.

52. Linebacker Gary Guyton: Guyton began the year as a starter, but like Brown, slid quickly down the depth chart. A solid locker room presence and good buddy of Jerod Mayo, he will almost certainly be elsewhere next season.

51. Safety Malcolm Williams: A defensive back who was a seventh-round pick of the Patriots last April, he saw limited action this season as a special teamer, getting into a December win over the Redskins.

50. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco: The Patriots preach value, and there have been few instances of them getting less value for a player than New England got for Ochocinco in 2011. The wide receiver was the recipient of a $6 million base salary, and had just 15 catches on the season. Needless to say, if he does return, it will be with a reworked deal.

49. Defensive end Alex Silvestro: He will always be known to the world as The Guy Who Took Tiquan Underwood’s Spot The Day Before The Super Bowl, he’s someone the organization likes, but still needs more seasoning.

48. Defensive back Nathan Jones: A late-season pickup who bounced around the league before landing with the Patriots, he was thrown right into the action as soon as he showed up — four days after he was signed, he started at corner against the Colts. A veteran, if he is back next season, it will be to provide depth in the secondary.

47. Long snapper Danny Aiken: No problems this season from Aiken at the long snapper spot, as the New England specialists had a good season.

46. Offensive lineman Donald Thomas: A youngster out of UConn, he was used sparingly for a snap here or there throughout the course of the regular season until the regular-season finale. A youngster who provides good depth along the offensive line.

45. Linebacker Niko Koutouvides: A good complementary player, Koutouvides provided depth on special teams and the occasional snap on defense. (The sight of him split wide in coverage late in the year against the Colts was one of the more interesting images of the season.)

44. Fullback Lousaka Polite: A solid locker room presence in his relatively short time with the Patriots, he played just 24 snaps in his four games with New England, including 14 in the postseason. It will be interesting to see what the Patriots do with Polite going forward, as they haven’t had a full-time, traditional fullback on the roster for a full season since Heath Evans in 2008.

43. Running back Shane Vereen: The rookie never seemed to recover after an early hamstring issue kept him on the shelf for an extended stretch (he was only involved in three games this past season), but it will be interesting to see what he can do with a full offseason in the facility. There may be some shuffling at the running back position this offseason (veteran Kevin Faulk could retire, while BenJarvus Green-Ellis is a free agent), and as a result, there could be some opportunities there for Vereen in 2012.

42. Quarterback Ryan Mallett: The rookie didn’t play at all in the regular season, but was a good teammate who, by all accounts, kept his eyes and ears open and his mouth shut. As has always been the case, it’s curious what the endgame will be between Mallett and the Patriots. Is he trade bait? Or is he in New England’s future plans?

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This postseason, according to official NFL gamebooks, the Patriots had 21 hits and 11 sacks during the 2011 playoffs. When it came to who did the best job getting after the quarterback, we already gave you the regular-season breakdown. Now, here’s a look of who did the best job during the 2011 postseason:

Quarterback hits
Defensive end Mark Anderson: 4
Linebacker Rob Ninkovich: 4
Defenisve lineman Vince Wilfork: 3
Linebacker Brandon Spikes: 2
Cornerback Kyle Arrington: 1
Defensive end Brandon Deaderick: 1
Safety James Ihedigbo: 1
Linebacker Jerod Mayo: 1
Defensive tackle Kyle Love: 1
Linebacker Dane Fletcher: 1
Defensive lineman Shaun Ellis: 1
Linebacker Niko Koutouvides: 1

Sacks:
Anderson: 2.5 (16 yards)
Wilfork 2.5 (14.5 yards)
Ninkovich: 2 (12.5 yards)
Deaderick: 1 (2 yards)
Ihedigbo: 1 (12 yards)
Spikes: 1 (4 yards)
Ellis: 1 (5 yards)

Gerard Warren and Vince Wilfork. (AP)

With the Patriots off this weekend and the postseason ready to begin, we’ve got the Patriots Positional Playoff Preview, a weeklong, position-by-position look at the Patriots and how they look heading into the postseason. We’ve already looked at the offensive side of the ball. Now, we take a look at the defense, starting with the defensive line.

Depth chart: Shaun Ellis, Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, Gerard Warren, Mark Anderson, Brandon Deaderick. (Myron Pryor, Andre Carter and Mike Wright have all landed on season-ending injured reserve.)

Overview: It’s been an eventful season for the New England defensive line, which has run several new bodies through the system. Some have worked (Carter), while some haven’t (Albert Haynesworth).

In the end, even though the numbers may not suggest it, the New England defensive line was able to have a relatively productive season in 2011, thanks in large part to the work of Wilfork. The 30-year-old had one of the finest seasons of his already impressive career, finishing with a career-high in total snaps played and doing his best to hold together an occasionally unsteady defensive line that spent most of the first half of the season learning how to play together. His Pro Bowl nod — the fourth of his career — was well deserved. (In addition to his traditional work in the trenches, he’s added a pair of interceptions this season.)

As for the rest of the defensive line, Ellis has struggled with age and injury, while Warren has been a relatively solid presence as a rotational player along the interior of the defensive line. When it comes to the young guys, Love has flashed some talent (he appears to be a very good complementary piece at defensive tackle next to Wilfork). It also appears that Deaderick (who has some good positional versatility) will bear watching over the course of the next year.

Carter suffered a quad injury in a win last month over the Broncos, and with him on injured reserve, the Patriots have struggled to get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Anderson (who finished tied with Carter in quarterback sacks with 10 and second to Carter in quarterback hits, 22 to 14) continues to get lots of reps as a situational pass rusher, but those pass-rushing numbers must improve if the New England defense wants to slow down opposing offenses in the postseason.

An opposing scout’s take on the New England defensive line heading into the postseason: “Big and hard to move inside, which may bode well in cold weather games against running teams. Don’t create a lot of pressure on the passer, but can push the pocket inside. Will miss the steady play of Andre Carter against the run and pass. Mark Anderson will flash some ability to create some pressure. They struggle to get pressure when rushing four, and will leave secondary on an island.”
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According to official NFL gamebooks, opposing quarterbacks had 620 dropbacks against the Patriots this season, and were hit by New England defenders a total of 88 times, to go along with 40 sacks (14th in the league) for 274 yards. Here’s a breakdown of who did the best job of getting after the quarterback this year:

Quarterback hits:
Defensive end Andre Carter: 22
Defensive end/linebacker Mark Anderson: 14
Linebacker Rob Ninkovich: 9
Defensive lineman Vince Wilfork: 8
Linebacker Dane Fletcher: 6
Linebacker Jerod Mayo: 6
Defensive lineman Kyle Love: 5
Defensive lineman Shaun Ellis: 3
Defensive lineman Myron Pryor: 3
Defensive lineman Gerard Warren: 3
Defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth: 2
Defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick: 2
Safety Pat Chung: 2
Linebacker Brandon Spikes: 1
Cornerback Phillip Adams: 1
Defensive lineman Mike Wright: 1

Sacks:
Anderson: 10 (75 yards)
Carter: 10 (70 yards)
Ninkovich: 6.5 (54 yards)
Wilfork: 3.5 (17.5 yards)
Love: 3 (14 yards)
Deaderick: 2 (13 yards)
Mayo 1 (5.0 yards)
Warren: 1 (7 yards)
Ellis 1 (7 yards)
Chung: 1 (3 yards)
Pryor: 0.5 (4.5 yards)
Wright: 0.5 (4 yards)

According to official NFL gamebooks, opposing quarterbacks have 574 dropbacks against the Patriots through 15 games this season, and have been hit by New England defenders a total of 85 times, to go along with 38 sacks (tied for 13th in the league) for 262.5 yards. Here’s a breakdown of who has been getting to the quarterback for the Patriots through 15 games:

Quarterback hits:
Defensive end Andre Carter: 22
Defensive end/linebacker Mark Anderson: 13
Linebacker Rob Ninkovich: 9
Defensive lineman Vince Wilfork: 7
Linebacker Dane Fletcher: 6
Linebacker Jerod Mayo: 6
Defensive lineman Kyle Love: 5
Defensive lineman Shaun Ellis: 3
Defensive lineman Myron Pryor: 3
Defensive lineman Gerard Warren: 3
Defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth: 2
Defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick: 2
Safety Pat Chung: 1
Linebacker Brandon Spikes: 1
Cornerback Phillip Adams: 1
Defensive lineman Mike Wright: 1

Sacks:
Carter: 10 (70 yards)
Anderson: 9 (67 yards)
Ninkovich: 6.5 (54 yards)
Wilfork: 2.5 (17 yards)
Love: 2 (11 yards)
Mayo 2 (5.0 yards)
Deaderick: 2 (13 yards)
Warren: 1 (7 yards)
Ellis 1 (7 yards)
Chung: 1 (3 yards)
Pryor: 0.5 (4.5 yards)
Wright: 0.5 (4 yards)

According to official NFL gamebooks, opposing quarterbacks have 542 dropbacks against the Patriots through 14 games this season, and have been hit by New England defenders a total of 76 times, to go along with 33 sacks (16th in the league). Here’s a breakdown of who has been getting to the quarterback for the Patriots through 14 games:

Quarterback hits:
Defensive end Andre Carter: 22
Defensive end/linebacker Mark Anderson: 11
Linebacker Rob Ninkovich: Nine
Defensive lineman Vince Wilfork: Seven
Linebacker Dane Fletcher: Five
Defensive lineman Kyle Love: Five
Linebacker Jerod Mayo: Four
Defensive lineman Myron Pryor: Three
Defensive lineman Gerard Warren: Three
Defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth: Two
Defensive lineman Shaun Ellis: One
Safety Pat Chung: One
Linebacker Brandon Spikes: One
Cornerback Phillip Adams: One
Defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick: One

Sacks:
Carter: 10 (70 yards)
Anderson: 9 (67 yards)
Ninkovich: 5.5 (48 yards)
Wilfork: 2.5 (17.5 yards)
Love: 2.5 (14.5 yards)
Deaderick: One (3 yards)
Chung: One (3 yards)
Pryor: 0.5 (4.5 yards)
Mike Wright: 0.5 (4 yards)
Warren: 0.5 (3.5 yards)

According to official NFL gamebooks, opposing quarterbacks have 519 dropbacks against the Patriots through 13 games this season, and have been hit by New England defenders a total of 71 times, to go along with 29 sacks (tied for 17th in the league). Here’s a breakdown of who has been getting to the quarterback for the Patriots through 13 games:

Quarterback hits:
Defensive end Andre Carter: 22
Defensive end/linebacker Mark Anderson: Nine
Linebacker Rob Ninkovich: Eight
Defensive lineman Vince Wilfork: Seven
Linebacker Dane Fletcher: Five
Linebacker Jerod Mayo: Four
Defensive lineman Kyle Love: Four
Defensive lineman Myron Pryor: Three
Defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth: Two
Defensive lineman Gerard Warren: Two
Defensive lineman Shaun Ellis: One
Safety Pat Chung: One
Linebacker Brandon Spikes: One
Cornerback Phillip Adams: One
Defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick: One

Sacks:
Carter: 10 (70 yards)
Anderson: 7 (49 yards)
Ninkovich: 4.5 (20 yards)
Wilfork: 2.5 (17.5 yards)
Love: Two (11 yards)
Deaderick: One (3 yards)
Chung: One (3 yards)
Pryor: 0.5 (4.5 yards)
Mike Wright: 0.5 (4 yards)