Nobody’s a risk for this Patriots team
You can talk all day about what’s made the Patriots so successful over the last decade.
In the end, there isn’t one right answer: There’s a ton of them. And they aren’t the same every year.
But there are a few constants: Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady … and the “business as usual”?attitude.
What’s that mean? It’s simple. When players walk into Gillette Stadium, they’re expected to leave personal issues behind. It’s purely football and the team — and that’s ingrained in each and every player’s mind upon arrival.
Corey Dillon and Randy Moss worked out — for a while. As soon as Moss made it personal, he was out the door.
His head is probably still spinning.
Similar risks are being taken with Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth. Given the Pats’ track record, is anyone really that worried?
Haynesworth’s legal issues are in the past after Monday’s “no contest” plea. Lo and behold, he practiced in pads with the team yesterday for the first time since Aug. 4.
Likewise, Vince Wilfork doesn’t intend to allow his involvement in the Miami booster scandal to become a distraction.
“I’m done with that situation, and I’m just focused on my football career,” he said this week. “One thing I don’t want to do is be a distraction to this team, to this organization. I won’t be that. … I’ve moved forward, definitely towards the Detroit Lions now.”
If that isn’t the Patriot way, it’s hard to say what is.
“In this locker room, star power is kind of diffused a little bit,” said tight end Garrett Mills, also a member of the squad in 2006. “And that’s a good thing. That’s one thing I appreciate about this organization. Everyone’s in it to win.”
Belichick happy for long week
The NFL is just getting back from a very long, unwanted break.
That doesn’t mean Bill Belichick and Patriots players are unhappy about the few extra rest days
afforded by playing a Saturday game after a Thursday affair.
“We’ve got a lot of things to work on this week with the players,” Belichick said, “so with the extra time hopefully we can accelerate our preparations for the start of the regular season in terms of
situations.”
