Dallas ? The New England Patriots cut six players this off-season, traded away a Pro Bowl quarterback and receiver, and lost four other players in free agency.

If the defending Super Bowl champions didn’t feel compelled to stand pat, no one in the NFL can. And no one did. Change has become a way of life in today’s NFL as teams operate on one-year clocks. Win or lose, there is change on and off the field.

The Miami Dolphins altered the dynamic of their football team this season by acquiring 1,000-yard rusher Ricky Williams via trade and hiring Norv Turner to call the plays. The Dolphins moved from AFC East contender to Super Bowl contender with those two moves alone.

Dallas and Carolina generated instant pass rushes this off-season when the Cowboys signed tackle La’Roi Glover in free agency and the Panthers drafted end Julius Peppers with the second overall pick of the NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers gave Brett Favre an elite speed receiver for the first time in his career when they traded for Terry Glenn, and the Washington Redskins firmed up the NFL’s best linebacking corps by signing free agents Jessie Armstead and Jeremiah Trotter.

But there were five off-season additions that stand out from the rest: head coach Tony Dungy by the Indianapolis Colts, pass rusher Joe Johnson by the Green Bay Packers, running back William Green by the Cleveland Browns, quarterback Drew Bledsoe by the Buffalo Bills and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips by the Atlanta Falcons.

1. Tony Dungy: The Colts have the AFC’s best offense but one of the NFL’s worst defenses, allowing a league-high 486 points in 2001. Dungy is one of the best defensive minds in the game. When he arrived at Tampa Bay in 1996, the Bucs jumped from 27th to 11th in defense. In his 15 years as an NFL head coach or defensive coordinator, Dungy has fielded nine top-10 defenses in three cities (Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Tampa Bay). If he can reduce the defensive yield by a touchdown per game, the Colts are a Super Bowl contender.

2. Joe Johnson: Brett Favre and one of the NFL’s best offenses helped the Packers win their only Super Bowl of the 1990s.

But the forgotten element of that title team was the defense, which led the NFL that 1996 season. The Pack has slid right out of the top 10 since then. The signing of Johnson gives Green Bay its first real presence up front since Reggie White retired after the 1998 season. The two-time Pro Bowler had 21 sacks in his last two years with the Saints. The Packers won 12 games last season, and the arrival of Johnson puts them on a pedestal with the Rams.

3. William Green: The Browns have had one of the league’s most inept running games since returning to the NFL in 1999, never ranking higher than 29th on the ground. Butch Davis wants to build the Browns in the image of his former employer the Cowboys, which means running the ball and playing defense. So the top priority this off-season was to find a back. The best runner in this draft slid right to the Browns at the 16th pick just as Emmitt Smith slid to the Cowboys at 17 in the 1990 draft. Like Smith, Green fell because of a perceived lack of speed, yet he managed six TD runs longer than 50 yards in his college career at Boston College. He makes the Browns a playoff contender. Pencil in Green as the favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

4. Drew Bledsoe: How often do you see franchise quarterbacks in their prime traded? Drew Bledsoe, 30, has started in Super Bowls and Pro Bowls. But the meteoric rise of Tom Brady in a Super Bowl championship season pushed the expensive Bledsoe off the New England roster this off-season, and the Bills were more than willing to trade for him. Buffalo has had two superb drafts under GM Tom Donahoe to fill out a salary cap-ravaged roster. Those young players now have a belief their quarterback can win games for them.

5. Wade Phillips: Like Dungy, Phillips has a history of success on the defensive side of the ball. He also has a history of success with Dan Reeves, his new boss in Atlanta. Phillips was the coordinator of a top-10 defense at Denver for Reeves in 1990 and had five top-10 defenses during his six years with Buffalo in the late 1990s. The Falcons ranked 30th in defense last year. Like the Colts, expect a quantum leap on defense by the Falcons in 2002. Phillips’ arrival may make them the NFC South favorites.