And then there were 10

By Os Davis  |   Monday, February 12, 2007  |  Comments( 28 )

New England Patriots
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Ever wonder why the forecast for the upcoming New England Patriots hopes for 2007 are all going to begin with "Brady and Belichick are still there"? (Aside from the over-simplifying mass media techniques, of course.) Here's why: The truth is the Patriots are slowly eroding from the team that seemingly so long ago bested "The Greatest Show on Turf" in the Super Bowl.

At best, the '07 Patriots will remain a shell of the 2001 team and only the approximation of a dynasty. A mere 10 players remain with New England since the beginning of the run; two more might well be lost before camps open.

Looking at the holdovers from the Super Bowl XXXVI squad, the reason the Pats have stayed relevant for this long becomes apparent. Still with the navy blue-and-silver this late in the A.B. (After Belichick/Brady) Era after Brady himself are:

Troy Brown, a guy who has been waived and re-acquired by the overly, um, frugal New England brain trust. All Brown did for Kraft and Co. this past year was play every game, haul in 43 passes for 384 yards, score four TDs, act as a long threat until the great awakening of Reche Caldwell right around Week 8, and generally earn the designation of "greatest hanger-on of all-time."

Punter Ken Walter, another of the great jerked-around. Walter is technically not truly a member of the dynastic teams, having spent the 2004 season on the Seattle Seahawks and the '05 campaign out of football altogether.

Kevin Faulk, who has taken a back seat in the New England running game (and thus media recognition) behind Antowain Smith in 2001, later Corey Dillon, and now even Laurence Maroney. Faulk's skills and usefulness were well demonstrated in the AFC Championship game, which saw him play on nearly every snap in the first quarter, gathering 19 yards on three carries against the Indy 'D' with a game plan to stop Dillon and Maroney. The smallish Faulk is a poster boy for a Patriot system favoring brain over brawn while making the savvy player a better player.

Patrick Pass, ditto, the fullback still going strong at an average-at-best size of 5-foot-10, 217 pounds.

OT Matt Light, one of two Patriot Pro Bowlers and one of the few Beaneaters truly in his prime. Light was a key injury in the M*A*S*H unit that was the 2005 Patriots and followed it up with his first Honolulu appearance.

DE Richard Seymour, the other prime-time Pro Bowler, actually too dinged up after the playoffs to play with the all-stars this year.

But those who are in the know about the Pats are aware that it's always been about the LBs. Consistently outstanding through the New England run has been the red-zone defense and excellent man-to-man coverage over the middle. Sure, there have been key additions in free agents Rosevelt Colvin and Junior Seau, while the development of seventh-round pick Tully Banta-Cain has been a joy to watch. And three current Patriot LBs still remember the glorious beginning.

Larry Izzo, going into his 12th season, saw a dip in his playing time in 2006 until Seau went down with a season-ending injury. Izzo turned in a sweet five-tackle performance against the New York Jets in the wild-card round.

Mike Vrabel, victim of the Pro Bowl snub. Vrabel was in on 89 tackles in 2006, unbelievably a drop of 19 from 2005, and five sacks. Regardless, Vrabel's ninth and 10th seasons have been the best in his career.

And, of course, Tedy Bruschi.

That's all, folks. To make matters more depressing for nostalgic Patriot fans is the harsh reality that a few of these guys won't be back for 2007, either. Faulk, Pass, Light, Vrabel and Seymour are surely to return, plus Izzo will probably be back. Walter probably will not be re-upped; with Josh Miller and Todd Sauerbrun, how many oldster punters will they carry?

Cynics figure the penny-pinching Patriot brass will again attempt to pay Brown bottom dollar again next season, lowballing based on how much they factor in one missed route in the Indy playoff game. But with so many teams having so much free money, isn't it a matter of time before someone is willing to throw a few more bucks at a steady performer who can play both sides of the ball?

Saddest of all, rumors grow daily that Bruschi, the guy who came back from a freaking stroke, is set to hang it up after a season in which he amassed the second-most tackles of his 11-year career. The much-liked Bruschi has become a symbol of this decade's great Patriot teams, has been a Patriot since the 1996 draft, has become a Buoniconti-esque no-namer mostly unnoticed by non-New England general public outside of New England until the first Super Bowl win.

And he may be off the roster and out of football before spring.

Beyond any playoff loss (even to a hated rival Colts), beyond any ebbing of mystique real or imagined, the dissolving roster is an indication that the Patriots dynasty is emphatically over. This is not to suppose that a fourth Super Bowl win is not in the cards for Brady-and-Belichick; you have to suspect another Lombardi is out there for New England.

That speculative championship team, however, is in the future. Maybe years in the future. The New England Patriots' past is over.

And then there were 10.

Counting down with the New England Patriots all year at RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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CommentsComments: 28  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Icheb		01:12 AM
02/13/2007
Ok, they beat the Chargers and they almost beat the Colts in the playoffs. Who cares if there are only 10 people left? A few ...
No.2
rc		05:01 AM
02/13/2007
a few better plays!?!? they coughed up the biggest lead ever in an afc championship game. get a life. it was good while it ...
No.3
Peter Johnson		06:19 AM
02/13/2007
If a healthy Rodney Harrison plays at Indy they have four rings. Harrison and Samuel are just as important as the LB situation ...
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