“Tully Banta-Cain turned in possibly the most impressive play of all.” – Andy Vogt

From the Patriot Ledger website: FOXBORO — On a night where the New England defensive front put consistent pressure on Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb for most of the first half, Tully Banta-Cain turned in possibly the most impressive play of all.

Lined up against Philadelphia’s Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters on Thursday, Banta-Cain beat Peters cleanly, circled back and dropped McNabb for the sack midway through the first quarter. It was a good statement to make, given the gridlock to find a spot in the New England front seven. Yet Banta-Cain is only looking toward the next opportunity to make the big stop, perhaps in Thursday night’s second preseason game against Cincinnati.

“I’m itching to get more plays, and I’m never satisfied,” Banta-Cain said. “I always feel like I could have done something better. I got the sack, but it could have been a strip sack.”

Banta-Cain returned to New England in February after a two-year stint with the 49ers, and has always been officially classified as a linebacker. Given New England’s propensity to running the 4-3 alignment throughout training camp and against the Eagles, Banta-Cain may be turning into more of a “hand in the dirt” pass rusher coming off the edge. Which is fine with him – Banta-Cain just wants to be on the field, and his objective is the same, regardless of playing on the line or farther back in the box.

“Once the ball is hiked, you’ve got to get to the quarterback,” Banta-Cain said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re standing up, or in the three-point stance.”

In his previous stint in New England, from 2003-06 (he was a seventh-round draft pick out of California in 2003), Banta-Cain was used mostly on special teams and in passing situations, until a late-season injury to Junior Seau in 2006 vaulted him into the starting lineup. He had several strong outings during that stretch, including a seven-tackle, two-sack effort late in the year against the Texans, and then dropping Jets quarterback Chad Pennington twice in New England’s blowout win in the first round of the playoffs.

The seventh-year player has 12 sacks over his career, although he’d like to show the potential to be an every-down player.

“Hopefully as the year goes forward, I’ll be able to do more and prove that I can do more,” Banta-Cain said.

While he wasn’t specific yesterday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick hinted that Banta-Cain’s may not be as versatile as the linebacker hopes, although his ability to get to opposing quarterbacks hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“We’ve tried to narrow down his area of responsibility and focus so he can really concentrate on a few roles,” Belichick said. “Not saying he won’t have a lot of roles, but we’ve prioritized those for him and I think that’s probably enabled him to concentrate more on a few things and really get better at them.

“He’s definitely spent a lot of time on pass-rush drills and technique and protections and all those type of things.”

Regardless of his role, Banta-Cain expressed gratitude to be out of San Francisco, even though he grew up in Mountain View, Calif., less than an hour from Candlestick Park. That might stem from his reduced role in the 49ers defense after joining the unit In 2007 with a three-year contract worth just under $9 million. Banta-Cain had 59 tackles and 3.5 sacks, and made 10 starts in that season. Last year, however, he played mostly on special teams, recording only seven tackles on defense (he made 19 special teams stops), and didn’t make a start. He was then released on Feb. 11.

Through his two years in the Bay Area, Banta-Cain said he still exchanged text messages with some of his former teammates, and was glad to play catch-up after signing a free-agent deal exactly a week after getting his exit papers from the 49ers.

“It’s definitely good to be back,” he said. “The grass definitely isn’t greener on the other side. I did get a chance to go home to San Francisco, but this feels like the real home to me.”