For a team that went 13-3 and made a fifth Super Bowl appearance in 11 seasons, the Patriots will enter training camp in 2012 with a surprising number of options at several positions. Several different things -- including personnel decisions, health and roster turnover -- have combined to create some intriguing positional battles on the New England roster. Here’s a look at the five we’ll be keeping an eye on when camp opens in late July:

Running back: The lines are pretty evenly drawn here. Despite his rough finish last season, Stevan Ridley figures to start camp as the closest thing the Patriots have to a feature back, while veteran Joseph Addai will also get plenty of work in on a regular basis in his first season in New England. The wild card in the mix is Shane Vereen, who endured a rough rookie year -- he suffered an early hamstring pull and never really seemed to record after that. The only guy at the position who figures to be a lock to get his carries on a regular basis (provided he stays healthy) is Danny Woodhead, who will have much of the same role he’s had the last two seasons: rotate in for an average of 10-15 touches a game as a receiver and back.

Quote: “[BenJarvus Green-Ellis] left last year and he was the main guy, so it’s wide open. But what we’re doing, we’re not the ones who say who it’s going to be; we’re just trying to go out there and learn this playbook. That’s all we’re doing. We’re not really focused on who’s going to be the guy or anything like that; we’re just trying to help each other out and learn together, because if we can all [learn] that playbook, then they can put us anywhere on the field and we can go out there and be successful. That’s when we do better as a unit. One person is not going to get it done all the way through the season and we know that, so we have to be able to depend on everybody.” -- Ridley

Wide receiver: There are two receivers who are guaranteed of seeing more than 1,000 snaps in 2012 -- Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd, with Welker operating out of the slot on a regular basis and Lloyd at one of the outside receiver spots. The next two on the depth chart are Deion Branch and Jabar Gaffney, with Gaffney likely operating on the other island and Branch playing outside as well as inside. The final two are Julian Edelman and Donte Stallworth, with Edelman a lock to make the final roster because of his special teams experience. Stallworth faces an uphill climb, and is trying to secure a spot by any means necessary, including working as a kick returner.

Quote: “He’s got a unique skill set, so it’s going to take some time to get used to things that he does really well. We haven’t had anyone quite like him, so (I have to) understand where he likes the ball placed and how he gets open. He’s a very good player. He’s got great ball skills and great body control. If you get it near him, he’s going to catch it.” -- Quarterback Tom Brady on Lloyd

Middle/inside linebacker: The Patriots have traditional been a flexible defense, but more often then not (when he’s been healthy), New England has utilized Jerod Mayo in the middle of their linebacker corps, whether he’s been the middle linebacker in a 4-3 or an inside linebacker in their 3-4. The Patriots will have plenty of options at the spot this year, with Brandon Spikes likely the first option as a two-down linebacker on the inside. (He had great success against the run last year, when healthy.) In addition, there’s rookie Dont’a Hightower, who will likely have some positional versatility as he continues to adjust to the NFL game, but at this point in his career, he likely projects as a 3-4 inside linebacker. In addition, the Patriots also have Dane Fletcher, who has worked inside over the course of his two seasons in New England, as well as newcomer Bobby Carpenter, who has played inside linebacker in a 3-4 base defense and outside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme over the course of his career.

Quote: “Dont’a Hightower is a solid football player that has come up in the type of system and coaching that prepares him for New England.” -- an NFL scout on one of the Patriots’ two first-round picks

Cornerback: Lots of possibilities here, but really, this battle likely hinges on one guy: Ras-I Dowling. If Dowling is healthy and ready to play, the Patriots could conceivably have Dowling at one corner and Devin McCourty or Sterling Moore at the other spot, with Kyle Arrington bumped inside to the slot to fight with Will Allen for time at that position. If Dowling isn’t ready to go, look for some combo of McCourty, Moore and Arrington. Based on Moore’s emergence down the stretch last season, the Patriots might be inclined to keep him as a starter on the outside with McCourty and bump Arrington inside full time regardless, with Arrington kicking outside on third-down and other passing downs and pushing McCourty back to safety, as was the case in the regular-season finale and the playoffs last year. And these combos don’t even take into account the possibility of rookies Alfonzo Dennard or Tavon Wilson or converted receiver/return man Julian Edelman figuring into the mix in 2012. Whew.

Quote: “I’m just happy for him. He’s a guy that you always can see how eager he is to try to get better and to learn. Like you said, last year with him being out, he did a lot of just trying to study film and stay in it that way. I’m happy now that he’s getting the opportunity to be out here and he’s working hard. I think he’s doing a good job of just trying to pick up from where he left off last year and improving on that.” -- McCourty on Dowling

Kick/punt returner: It’s clear that after speaking with special teams coach Scott O’Brien during minicamp, the Patriots weren’t thrilled with their return game last year. So they’re doing their due diligence when it comes to examining their options. Woodhead was the closest thing New England had to a regular kick returner last year, fielding 20 of the 46 kickoffs, while Edelman handled 28 of the 38 punts that came the Patriots’ way. (Last year, Edelman also fielded 12 kicks and Ridley seven, while Welker also handled eight punts.) But several different players worked at both spots throughout the spring, including the two incumbents as well as Stallworth, McCourty and Patrick Chung.

Quote: “We know what our standards are, and we didn’t reach them last year. We know why and we have to keep working at it.” -- O’Brien on last year’s return work