They both left for money. And Willie had made a lot more already in his career, some of which quite frankly he had not earned early on. And make no mistake about it, if the Colts and not the Browns had offered Willie double his market value he'd be wearing a horseshoe on his helmet today too. So in a sense it was really AV who left because we wouldn't offer him a fair market contract (without perhaps a gun held to our heads). Willie is the one who actually left for more money.
Both players contributed to three successful Superbowl seasons. In Adam's case he flat out got us to the first one - nobody else makes that kick against Oakland. Willie almost cost us the Rams game at one crucial juncture. Tebucky could have been the hero in XXXVI with his clutch fumble recovery for a 98 yard game clinching TD, instead it came down to Brady and Vinatieri to bail Tebucky and the entire defense out of instead being the goats after Proehl beat him for the game tieing TD with a minute twenty one and no time outs remaining.
Willie's was also a little less magnanimous in his exit, the typical attempt to shift blame for his departure to the franchise (they never called me) for forcing the player to have to leave to get the extra money he previously claimed he did not need.
Adam on the other hand could not have been classier, basically taking responsibility for his decision, saying FA presented him with choice to make on a take it or leave it offer that was exactly what he wanted financially from a perrenial contender in a dome that could also extend his career significantly so he it felt like it was just time to move on. He was effusive in his praise for this team and this organization and assured fans that the Patriots would be just fine going forward.
Fans who feel jilted where Adam is concerned believe he had a choice Willie didn't because with a gun to their heads the team surely would have matched Indy's offer to Adam. Unfortunately Adam wasn't prepared to risk that to justify his leaving in your eyes. They had a couple of years to get a deal done with him, and they didn't. There were likely some long simmering issues regarding representation and possible conflict of interest. He moved on with the same class he displayed during his 10 years here without ever stooping to pointing any of that out.
Not to mention he has Willie's agent to thank for his deal.
I'm sure Adam and Willie don't expect Patriot fans to root for them any longer under the circumstances. Willie has likely played his last game in Foxboro. Adam will be here at least once a season for the next couple of seasons. If you boo him when he first returns it says more about your emotional makeup as a fan than him as a player or former player. It's just the psychotic jilted lover claiming they never really loved you to begin with. And as much as players want to embrace their fanbases, on some level they know this reality, and that's why they never let potential fan emotion come between them and their livlihood.
We can all point to Tommy and Tedy as examples of players who took less to stay with us. Just don't kid yourself. They didn't do it out of loyalty or affection towards this fan base. They did it because staying here serves some underlying purpose that matters to them more than money. Tommy wants his legacy to be the that of the greatest QB any franchise has ever seen. Tedy wants to maintain a personal and professional comfort level and stability for himself and his young family.
Personally, I could never boo someone who brought me so much joy. That would make me feel like a total ingrate. Kind of like the wine and cheese crowd at the Razor these days when they boo three time superbowl champions because they struggle once in a while.
