Following Curran's Top 50 Belichick era players?

It's down to two which means...I'm not going to give it away. Besides, Tom deserves the clicks. I think that Brady guy gets number one and I'm a bit surprised at who has to be number two.

discuss

RayClay said:

It's down to two which means...I'm not going to give it away. Besides, Tom deserves the clicks. I think that Brady guy gets number one and I'm a bit surprised at who has to be number two.

discuss

Click to expand...

Must be Bledsoe. Right?

JR4 said:

Must be Bledsoe. Right?

Click to expand...

I'm surprised that's a possibility, but one season and two games? There's someone else conspicuously missing.

#2 is wilfork, can't say I agree though, Willie, Bruschi, Vrabel all should be ranked higher.

Where did Seymour end up? There was talk about him possibly being a hall of famer for a while.

Froob said:

Where did Seymour end up? There was talk about him possibly being a hall of famer for a while.

Click to expand...

He was #10 I think?

Froob said:

Where did Seymour end up? There was talk about him possibly being a hall of famer for a while.

Click to expand...

It can be argued that Seymour's production doesn't justify a spot in the HOF. That said, his performance + punching Rothlisberger in the face certainly justifies one.

I really don't have an issue with VW being #2. Great player. Great person. All-Pro. Team leader. I guess there would be players like Sey or Law that I might pick ahead of him in their respective primes but not many players truly embodied what it means to be a Patriot and everything BB expects from a player.

robertweathers said:

I really don't have an issue with VW being #2. Great player. Great person. All-Pro. Team leader. I guess there would be players like Sey or Law that I might pick ahead of him in their respective primes but not many players truly embodied what it means to be a Patriot and everything BB expects from a player.

Click to expand...

I think Troy Brown should be a contender for #2. Bruschi too. I would also mention Mayo, but I'd rather avoid the flames would ensue.

Galeb said:

I think Troy Brown should be a contender for #2. Bruschi too.

Click to expand...

Both are very worthy. I wouldn't have an issue with either one.

I was just going by talent level.

robertweathers said:

Both are very worthy. I wouldn't have an issue with either one.

I was just going by talent level.

Click to expand...

Probably my bad. When I think "Top BB Era Players", I think about players that epitomize what BB values. Neither player would break the top 10 if talking about pure talent.

Too early for Gronk to be that high? Ultimately he'll probably end up as the 2nd best player in BB's tenure. If he's healthy he'll end up as the GOAT tight end. Bru was one of my favorites as was Brown. Bruschi in his younger days could really move, crazy mother****er too diving over the line of scrimmage. 2004 was a fun year to watch him. I think #2 would be too high for Troy but he was a very valuable role player. Hell even shutdown Greg Jennings that one game.

Froob said:

I think #2 would be too high for Troy but he was a very valuable role player. Hell even shutdown Greg Jennings that one game.

Click to expand...

Donald Driver, who had 93 catches and 1300 yards that year. Complete shutdown

Galeb said:

Probably my bad. When I think "Top BB Era Players", I think about players that epitomize what BB values. Neither player would break the top 10 if talking about pure talent.

Click to expand...

Yea..

I guess my top 5 "Patriots"
1 TB12
2 TB80
3 Bru
4 VW
5 Light

Could add a few more easily...

Yeah, Mankins, Faulk, Light and VW are pretty interchangeable.

If you put a gun to my head for the last 2 spots I may go with Faulk for one spot. Never was a all-pro but was an incredibly selfless player, elite special teamer, ultra clutch and probably one of the best blocking 3rd down backs of his generation.

Mankins had 8 Probowls compared to ML's 2 and VW's 2. He would be a consideration. Gronk should make it up there in a couple of years for sure.

I love Vince. But is it possible he is being ranked too highly based on the fact he was a great leader at a time that most of the 01/03/04 champs were gone ? In other words, does Vince deserve it more just because Troy Brown played with other strong leaders such as Bruschi, Vrabel, Willie.... ?

So I think Vince gets extra props for being a semi-solo leader while Willie might get demoted because he was one of multiple leaders.

farn said:

I love Vince. But is it possible he is being ranked too highly based on the fact he was a great leader at a time that most of the 01/03/04 champs were gone ? In other words, does Vince deserve it more just because Troy Brown played with other strong leaders such as Bruschi, Vrabel, Willie.... ?

So I think Vince gets extra props for being a semi-solo leader while Willie might get demoted because he was one of multiple leaders.

Click to expand...

Vince was a huge NT that played at an elite level for more than 10 years. He may not have gotten a lot of sacks, but he was almost always doubled teamed and still collapsed the pocket. He did that while shutting down the run and being a great leader. I think it can be effectively argued that Vince deserves to be at #2. If Gronk stays healthy and productive for another 5+ years, an effective argument for Vince could no longer be made.

I figured Bruschi or Troy brown, but I'm not going to argue with my man Wilfork, just a bit surprised. We forget, before his injury, he just about was the defensive line for a handful of years in that transition period after warren and Seymour [who I think was #8]. He got his contract and turned into just about the besr lineman in the league, considering they were moving him from end to end and at nose depending on the oppositions personnel.

Troy Brown turning into a star for an early championship team that lacked offensive talent, then a cornerback when the team was desperate in that area.

Bruschi became heart and soul switching from end to olb, then ILB when T Johnson went down.

I think these things weighed heavily, though other players had more athletic ability, and I agree with Curran there. All three played special teams at times too.

My top 5.......Without these players dominating, no rings.....list
1) Brady
2a) Ty Law.......with him =>rings, without him => opponent airshow
2b) Seymour....when inserted into the stating lineup mid season, NE's defensive dominated for the next half decade
Law and Seymour were the key foundation pieces that allowed BB defenses to transform on the fly
4) Gronk.....with him healthy, the X factor....without him healthy, lose the last game every year. A few more years and a few more rings and Gronk will be #2
5) Matt Light.......unheralded fixture starting day 1 ...on a Pats O line that won the ground game in the early years and the air game later when Brady became Brady.
**Willie Mac and Vrabel were on my bubble....but so much talent on D back in the day. My top 5 are what I believe to be the keys to the NE Championships. My Light pick will get dissected but he was Brady's blind side guardian for 11 years of success. There's no faking LT

Here's the criteria and link to the list


I used this criteria:

-- First, level of play. How good was the player in his tenure with the team?

-- Next, impact. How consequential to the team’s success was his presence? Did he make improve the play of the players around him? Was he a player opponents had to specifically concern themselves with?

-- Next, team success. How much did the player contribute to outstanding teams? How many outstanding teams was he a part of?

-- Finally, Patriotism. It’s a “know it when you see it” kind of thing. A combination of game intelligence. versatility, the ability to perform well in big games and not giving a crap who gets the credit. Hard to measure.

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/currans-top-50-patriots-under-bill-belichick