These New Patriots Of Old

Editor's Note: This article was originally featured in Emerson College's The Berkeley Beacon: http://www.berkeleybeacon.com/

BY IAN TASSO
EDITORIAL. PHOTOS BY AP NEWS

There’s a new team on top in the NFL.

Five straight wins – four of them within the conference – and the New England Patriots are back on top, boasting an NFL best 6-1 record seven games into the season.

It’s been a while since New England has been there – five long seasons to be exact. A city once atop the football world has taken a seat on the bus of “above-average mediocrity” that seemingly has reached its final destination: 2010.

With instinctive and aggressive athletes like Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes ravaging the middle of the field, thoughts of 2004’s Homeland Defense flicker through my head.

With a versatile, “get just as many points as we need and nothing more” offense stomping up and down the field, it feels like I stepped in a Time Machine and punched 2001 into the dashboard.

But it’s been a long time coming – and a process that was far from easy.

Let’s be honest: the 2009-10 season wasn’t an easy one for our New England Patriots.

Beloved stars Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison were turned away in the offseason, defensive stalwarts Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour were shipped off just before the season began, and Wes Welker limped away just before it ended.

They suffered a heart-wrenching defeat at the hands of Peyton Manning and their bitter rivals, and an embarrassing one against the Super Bowl champs-to-be on prime-time television.

For the first time in over a decade they played second fiddle to the Jets in the AFC East, and the swirling rumors of Randy Moss and his resurfacing attitude problems were tougher to avoid than getting wet in a rainstorm.

It got so bad that halfway through the regular season the local media was calling for Bill Belichick’s head – despite the head coaches’ three Super Bowl victories and the winning attitude he brought to New England.

But there they stood, at 10-6, on their home turf, in the first round of the NFL playoffs.

And that’s when it all came tumbling down: a season of disappointment culminating in horrible fashion on Sunday Jan. 10, as I watched helplessly while my men in blue were dismantled on national television at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens - their season over in the flash of an eye.

They were not the New England Patriots I knew and loved that day.

They were my New England Patriots when Drew Brees jammed his foot on the accelerator that Monday night in October. They were my New England Patriots when Bill Belichick threw all his chips on the table on fourth and two against the Colts. And they were my New England Patriots when they watched in horror as Tom Brady’s human golden retriever limped off the field in the regular season finale.

Because it wasn’t pretty, but they fought on.

The New England Patriots I knew – my New England Patriots – were once the most feared team in the NFL. They were as terrific on offense as they were terrifying on defense. They battled through the loss of their starting quarterback not once, but twice, and would punch you in the mouth from whistle to whistle and even afterwards if that’s what it took.

Every season was a form of art, whether it was Tom Brady and Randy Moss painting Picassos through the air, or Tedy Bruschi and Ty Law erecting monuments of mud, snow, and bruises.

They set records and they set precedents. But more importantly, they set the standard. Every NFL fan loathed them and every NFL team wanted to be them. They were champions of not only the NFL, but also the sporting world. They were my New England Patriots.

But the mark of a true franchise – a true champion – is how they react when adversity rears its ugly head. And that’s when my Patriots were at their finest.

When golden boy Tom Brady went down with a torn knee ligament in 2008, probability for success looked down. But the heads stayed high.

When Bill Belichick was nearly drowned amidst accusations of cheating and scandal in 2007, his team responded with a judicial 16-0 beat down of the NFL.

Those were my New England Patriots. They looked that adversity straight in the eyes and asked for more.

But on that January afternoon, my New England Patriots were not on that field. They never left the locker room, and maybe they never even left the bus. Maybe they just stayed at home.

Whatever the reason, they were not there that afternoon. And many wondered if they would ever come back.

Well, they have. And in a big way.

Long gone are the days when Rodney Harrison patrolled the secondary like a salivating Doberman hounding a scent – the days when Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel owned the center of the gridiron like Adam Vinatieri once owned the uprights.

But this offseason, Bill Belichick had a mission – a mission to restore New England’s pride on the football field. He might not have been able to restore the wins, the 45-point blowouts, or deliver another fistful of Super Bowl rings, but he would restore that pride if it was the last thing he did.

Enter the draftees: a four-down specialist, a punter who was team captain at Michigan University, two big-bodied tight-ends the likes New England hasn’t seen since Ben Coates and Brandon Spikes, a University of Florida defensive captain who has howled pre-game speeches that would make Al Pacino weep.

Just ask Carson Palmer, Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, who took their Bengal attack to the air against New England’s young-gun defense, and were out-swagged, out-hustled, and out-gamed by Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and a new breed of Patriot secondary.

Or ask Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, and the hard-hitting Minnesota Viking offensive line, who were pushed back, pushed around, and over-matched by Brandon Spikes, Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork and a suddenly confident New England front seven.

Now I can’t guarantee a Super Bowl championship from these New England Patriots. Not even a Super Bowl berth.

To be quite honest, these Patriots might not even make it past the first round. Again.

But you can bet everything you own that no matter how they go out – if they go out at all – they’re going to go out swinging, with their heads high. Up by 30, down by 30, doesn’t matter – these Patriots will hit hard, play fast, and think even faster.

Because there’s no quitting this time - Belichick made sure of that by drafting and signing an assortment of guys that may not have been the most talented – but they’re the most driven and focused in their field.

Bill knows he’s got something special this season. And by sending Randy Moss to Minnesota for a third round pick, he made sure everyone else knows it too. The Patriots have no time for egos this year. They’ve got a date with the NFL Playoffs – and they don’t plan on leaving early like last year.

And through the first seven games, so far these Patriots look different. They act different, they talk different, and more importantly, they play different. At least, that’s what some might say.

But to me? I’d say it looks rather familiar.

These are my New England Patriots. And they’re finally back.