Foxborough, Mass.
It is true that, in the summer heat, the eyes can sometimes play tricks on a person. So it seemed here at the New England Patriots’ training camp.
Depending on whom one talks with, the AFC East power is either undergoing a startling physical and philosophical metamorphosis, or is the focal point of a massive urban legend. A glance onto the field at Gillette Stadium would seem to lend credence to the former: There’s Tom Brady, not only recently having turned the big 3-0, but also monitoring his tosses, on a pitch count like Curt Schilling.
There are also a number of new players; not the bargain-basement, castoff defensive linemen who always seem to be catching passes to win Super Bowls, but rather big-name acquisitions – Adalius Thomas, Randy Moss, Donté Stallworth – each of whom cost the Patriots some serious coin. What seems to seal the deal is that fact that there isn’t even a hoodie in sight. But then you spy coach Bill Belichick, summer chic in a cutoff sweatshirt and sandals. Not much later, the coach speaks, in that familiar monotone, and, like seasons past, you’re reminded anew of just how unworthy you are.
“It was a case of the same thing we do after every offseason,” Belichick said. “We evaluate our team and then as opportunities come up through the course of the offseason, we evaluate each one and try to find ways to improve our football team.
“That’s what we’ve always done and that’s what we did this year. That’s what we’ve done every year. There was no conscious effort, ‘Well, we’re going to go out and sign “X” number of this,’ or, ‘We’re going to spend “X” amount of money.”‘
But the team’s denials haven’t stopped all the rumor and supposition that has grown like wildfire throughout the NFL. One story holds that the team’s spending spree happened because the 2007 season will be Belichick’s last. He denies it. Another take suggests that, now having missed the Super Bowl for two consecutive seasons, management has decided to emulate their baseball brethren, the Red Sox, and try to buy a championship.
“Everyone’s trying to make this something that it’s not,” vice president Scott Pioli said. “Was there a sense of urgency? I don’t know if I like that word. This was no different from every other offseason, every other year.”
So why is it that no one believes it? Told of the Patriots’ insistence that they followed standard operating procedure this winter, Tony Dungy, coach of the Indianapolis Colts team that rallied to beat New England in the 2006 AFC championship game, didn’t even try to suppress the guffaw that revealed his thoughts.
“It was different,” he said, a sentiment that has even been seconded by some Patriots players.
“It was exciting; they spent some money,” linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. “I don’t know. You never know with us. How we handle things in the offseason, our game plans from week-to-week, that’s just the type of organization we are.
“We as players, the front office, we’re not going to do just what you expect. We’re going to do things the way we see them, not the way someone else expects us to do them.”
Boosting receiving corps
Last season there wasn’t a Patriots player to be found in the NFL’s top 30 in receptions, yards or touchdowns. So when Stallworth, who had issues in New Orleans before moving on to Philadelphia in 2006, and Moss, the Hall-of-Fame talent whose series of escapades in Minnesota and Oakland could launch reality programming on “A&E,” “E,” and “Court TV” without any worries about duplication or reruns, became available, the most aggressive suitor was New England.
There actually was precedence for that move. In 2003, the Patriots ranked 27th in the NFL in rushing with a paltry 1,607 yards, scoring nine touchdowns on the ground. In the following offseason they brought in Corey Dillon, regarded as a malcontent during his days in Cincinnati. The next year, Dillon rushed for 1,635 yards and 12 TDs as New England won the Super Bowl.
Locker room control
One reason why the Patriots can make moves like the ones for Dillon or Moss is a high level of accountability in the team’s locker room. While Belichick chafes at the idea of locker room policing – “We don’t have a chief of police, a sergeant or some detectives and all of that,” he said – the reality is that long-time Pats such as Bruschi and Mike Vrabel, and senior NFL veterans like Junior Seau and Chad Brown, would certainly nip any nonsense in the bud.
“That goes on all the time, whether there’s a problem or not,” Bruschi said. “We’re always giving each other a hard time – ‘Did you get your workout in? Are you taking care of yourself? Are you getting enough sleep at night?’
“We’re joking about it in the locker room, but that’s our way of telling each other that there’s a lot of work to be done besides what you do out on the practice field.”
And Moss, just as Dillon did, knows that’s the case, which is why everyone involved can approach things without trepidation.
“The only feel you have about someone is what you hear or see or read,” Bruschi said. “But in the past, we’ve always treated free agents the same when they come in here. We’ll start judging you once you get here. We don’t care what you did in the past, whether it was good or bad. If you went to seven Pro Bowls in a row we wouldn’t care about that, it’s what you do once you get here.
“So with Randy, I didn’t anticipate anything. It was, ‘Hey Randy, I’m Tedy Bruschi, let’s go win.’ That’s all I care about.”
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
Addition: Adalius Thomas
The defensive end/linebacker from Baltimore is the premier free-agent signing of the offseason.
Addition: Randy Moss
Moss, a wide receiver traded from Oakland, gives quarterback Tom Brady a true home run threat – if Moss is healthy.
Addition: Donté Stallworth
The free-agent receiver from Philadelphia is a talented player who has had issues on his previous teams.
Exit from New England
The notable departures from last season’s Patriots team, which lost to eventual Super Bowl champion Indianapolis in the AFC title game:
DEPARTURES
Player, Position, Status
Corey Dillon, Running back, Released
Comment: Had next to nothing left last season.
Daniel Graham, Tight end, Signed by Denver (free agent)
Welcome back home in Colorado, sorely missed back East.
Asante Samuel, Defensive back, Holdout
The secondary’s big-play performer is causing more internal friction the longer he stays away.
