Once and For All

Sunday is the most important day in the history of the New England Patriots. As Boston radio personality Michael Felger would say, this is fact, not opinion. The Patriots are 414-365-9 in their regular season history, and 23-15 in the playoffs. They have won three Super bowls out of six appearances, but this one means more.  Here is why.

Clean Laundry

Throughout the Patriots run of dominance in the NFL, people have always doubted the legitimacy of their titles.  First it was the injustice of the "Tuck Rule" game against the Raiders in the 2001 AFC Divisional game.  Experts, players, and opposing fans alike argued that while it was the correct call, the stupidity of the rule somehow nullified the legitimacy of the Patriots Super Bowl victory.  In fact, Charles Woodson, the Raiders cornerback who knocked the ball out of Brady's hand, continued to complain that the ring was taken from him just last year when his Packers prepared to play the Patriots.  However silly it seems that people argue against a rule that was correctly recognized and enforced, the masses will continue to say that the 2001 improbable Patriots run was, at least in part, impure.  Aside from the media created phantom scoreboard operator that somehow prevented Raven's coach Jim Harbaugh from calling a time out, this one is as pure as can be.

The End of the Witch Hunt

The Patriots franchise and Bill Belichick were forever tarnished in 2007 when the so-called Spy-Gate scandal erupted.  I will admit that I was more ashamed than upset when the details emerged.  The Patriots had blatantly broken a very clear rule that adhered to taping opposing teams practices and defensive signals, yet the ensuing investigation seemed more like a anti-Patriots witch hunt than anything else.  Hell even United States Senator Arlen Specter got involved demanding a governmental probe into the scandal.  Now do I believe other teams did the exact same thing? Absolutely, positively, yes.  But the Patriots got caught and really had no answers.  When it was all said and done, Belichick received the biggest fine handed out to a coach in NFL history and the team was docked a first round draft pick (many New Englanders scoffed at this as we would have surely traded it anyway).  Worse than the punishment was the image it created in the public eye that all three Super Bowls had been won via cheating.  The 2007 team came out the next season on a mission to prove the opposite, but were stopped in the most heartbreaking and ironic of ways; on a botched defensive assignment and a misread of coverage by Ellis Hobbs.  Not only can this game tell off all of the Spy Gate conspiracy theorists, it can remove all doubt of Patriot greatness in the eyes of all New Englanders.

Proof of the Patriot Way

The “Patriot Way” became entrenched in the sports lexicon back in 2001 when a Patriots team consisting of unheralded veterans, castoffs, and a rookie quarterback shocked the Rams and the world by winning the Super Bowl. It became even clearer several years later when veteran slot receiver Troy Brown began playing defensive back when several players went down with injury.  The term has come to mean players and coaches putting the team first at all costs.  As a player it has also meant doing your specific job on the field correctly and not playing for yourself, your stats, or your next contract.  This organizational philosophy, deeply rooted in Belichick’s childhood days roaming the Navy sidelines with his father, has led to a near media blackout, several big name players being let go or traded when they demanded contract extensions (Richard Seymour, Asante Samuel), and consistently dealing out of the first round of the draft in exchange for a higher quantity of smaller pieces to add to the puzzle.  The idea of the “Patriot Way” – all working together for one collective cause, is a noble one.  But along with the class and candor carried by the organization and its players from top to bottom, are questions.  Have the Patriots frugal ways during contract negotiations irreparably hurt them?  Can they really expect to field a solid defense without a solid pass rusher that could have been acquired trading up in the draft? 

These questions are valid ones.

In addition, the team has not won a title since the core group led by Teddy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, and Troy Brown hung up their cleats.  Team management has not brought in a veteran core to replace them but rather has rebuilt through mid-round draft picks, low level free agents, and waiver wire additions.  The continued method of trying to get more out of less talented players by reducing their responsibilities has seemingly continued to work – until the playoffs that is.  Since their championship season in 2004, the team is mediocre 7-5 in the playoffs, including the two wins this season.

Indeed the Patriot team we have been watching recently is eerily similar to the 2001 team we all fell in love with.  If anything, it is more ragtag.  The 2001 Patriots relied on numerous undrafted free agent acquisitions in their playoff run including Bobby Hamilton, Matt Chatham, and Lonnie Paxton.  Ten years later the 2011 team has outdone themselves, fielding a team with 18 undrafted free agents, many of whom serve important roles, specifically on defense (see: Kyle Arrington, Sterling Moore), and running back (BenJarvus Green-Ellis).  In fact, more than half the roster is made up of players who were either undrafted or taken in the 5th round or later.  The question is can this group finally come up big in the spotlight?  They face a team that is not quite the Rex Ryan opposite of their own, but one that loves to talk big, spend big, and draft high in the first round.  For a man who seems to always carry his father’s legacy and memory with him, Bill Belichick would find beating a team like the Giants and proving once and for all his method effective to be the sweetest vindication of all.

The Legacy

We all know the influence that both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have had on the NFL.  Combined they have 8 Super Bowl Rings and are the winningest quarterback/coach combo in regular season history.  Together they have reshaped a franchise, established a dynasty, and cemented themselves a spot in Canton as first ballot hall of fame inductees.  But what is at stake on Sunday is above and beyond that.  If the Patriots play four quarters of good football and defeat the Giants, both Belichick and Brady will be indisputably the greatest of all time at their respective positions.

Brady will have won four super bowls, tied for most all time for a quarterback.  More importantly he will have won rings with two completely different groups of players which no other quarterback has ever done. His first three centered around a defensive core of Richard Seymour, Willie Mcginest, Ty Law, Mike Vrabel, Troy Brown, Teddy Bruschi, and Adam Vinateri.  There are only a few remnants left, and those that remain are role players.  But Brady has remained. 

Belichick has already amassed five total rings with the Giants and the Patriots, and three as a head coach.  A win Sunday would tie him with Chuck Noll as the only coaches to have four Super Bowl Championships as head coach.  He will have won his rings over a 10 year span, showing a remarkable consistency that is evident in his astonishing 139-53 regular season record as Patriots head coach.  He has taken what Bill Parcells started in New England in 1993 and turned it into the NFL’s premier franchise.  More incredibly, he has done it the past few years without assistant coaches.  He has effectively served as the offensive and defensive coordinators since Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel left for greener pastures after the 2004 season.  While he has been criticized for not hiring more high profile coaches in recent years, he has maintained a single-minded approach over the organization.  He has a vision, the players, coaches, and scouts follow it.  And they have done it well.  A win on Sunday would put him above all the rest.

Myra and Robert Kraft

The final reason this Sunday’s game is the most important in Patriot history is less about X’s and O’s and more about something greater.  The 2001 Patriots Super Bowl run began in the shadow of 9/11.  As the country and region mourned the loss of thousands of innocent civilians, the Patriots became something of a symbol of American morals and pride.  Aside from their Patriot logo, the team represented an unwillingness to quit and an idea of continuity and cooperation that the nation badly needed.  Guard Joe Andruzzi’s three brothers were New York City firefighters who responded to the scene when the towers were hit, and it was he who ran onto the field carrying the American flag before the Patriots first game of the season against the Jets.   In one of his more unforgettable moments, Robert Craft addressed a small throng of Patriots fans gathered in Pittsburgh’s Heize Field following the Patriots 24-17 victory over the Steelers in the 2002 AFC Championship game and declared that “it was fitting that a team called the Patriots were represented in the biggest game in this country”.  It seemed that the 2001 team was one of destiny, getting every bounce, call, and break.  It was as if it was just meant to be.

This year, ten years after that improbable run, the team is playing in honor of Robert Kraft's late wife Myra, who passed away before the season began.  Kraft's emotional investment to his wife has been well documented, as has the fact the she was one of the great philanthropists of our time.  While she never tried to directly interfere with her husbands running of the team, she wanted to make sure the organization continued to represent the ideals of integrity and charity that she had always held so dear.  This year the team has been wearing a black MHK patch on their sleeves, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis could be seen tapping it in celebration after a touchdown against the Broncos several weeks ago.  While the death of the women that players still refer to as "Momma" has hurt, her inspiration and the emotional support for her grieving husband has inspired the team.

In this sense, the Patriots have come full circle.  They are once again playing for something greater than football.  The bounces, calls, and breaks are falling their way and they seem like a team of destiny.  They continue to be led by the solid foundation that guided them all those years ago.

Kraft, Belichick, and Brady have established a winning franchise without fanfare, trash talk, and player scandal that is all too familiar in the NFL.

Throughout the ten years much has changed.  The owner, the coach, and the quarterback have not.  They have all continued to strive to demonstrate that their approach is right, their belief system just, and their legacy is that of a champion.

Sunday, they will get a chance to prove it once and for all.