Pondering the "Patriot Way"...

[DarrylS]

This morning on the way back from playing golf in Southern RI, very early tee time, had the misfortune of only being able to listen to Dennis and Callahan who were ranting and raving about the "Patriot Way" and how that concept lost its way. Last week had the misfortune of listening to that azzclown Felger rant and rave about the Patriot Way and when did that idyllic period end..

Got to thinking, do not ever remember BB, Mr. Kraft or anyone from the front office speak about the "Patriot Way"... then it dawned on me that this was a media creation, that the players picked up. Not a Patriots creation that the media picked up..

Correct me if I am wrong, but seems as though the mediot contrarians are the creators of this concept, and now they are criticizing something they created???
Guess they gotta sell air time on the airwaves..

 

[kennyb]

Maybe the term is. But I've read kraft saying he didn't want to have players who would embarrass the team. Bb instructed to get players the fans would be proud to root for. Ahern = fail.

 

[Pewsterbaby]

Yes, you're on the mark about it being a media creation and such. Also, nobody outside New England is even aware of it.

And most of all, the whole thing went right down the crapper the second Spygate erupted. Ask someone, anyone, what The Patriots way is and they'll laugh and say,"What? The Patriot Way? Oh, you must mean cheating. Yeah, that's the ticket. Next time you see someone try to get away with something, point 'em out and say,'Hey, no Patriot Way rules around here buddy.'"

I cringe every time this damned phrase is tossed around. The Patriot Way. Yuh sure thing. rolls eyes.

Yeah, I know The Pats really didn't do anything THAT bad, but the whole country took it and ran with it. They sould've shelved that phrase "The Patriot Way" and put in in mothballs the moment Spygate blew up in their faces.
It just sounds ridiculous. It's the ultimate in hypocracy to the ignorant fan (which is what most everyone is).

 

[IllegalContact]

Brady, wilfork, and Mayo were asked about it during superbowl week 2 years ago......the phrase is media created, but the notion is quite simple.......putting the team first pretty much always.......there have always been instances to the contrary, but the number of them has increased and are more vivid.....

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

I'm with the OP on this. I Think about every time I hear or read "the pat way". All media. Of course they want a "perfect team", who doesn't. It's just the media and the less fortunate teams fans, etc, loving any bump in the road. I've got news for 'em. IT AINT OF YET, BE-OCHES!

 

[kennyb]

I'm with the OP on this. I Think about every time I hear or read "the pat way". All media. Of course they want a "perfect team", who doesn't. It's just the media and the less fortunate teams fans, etc, loving any bump in the road. I've got news for 'em. IT AINT OF YET, BE-OCHES!

Definitely not a media invention. Pats go out of way to find good character guys for whom football is important. Guys who won't embarrass the team. Read about christian Peters they draft him and waive him without signing when he has a domestic disturbance thing in his past. They could have traded his rights but didn't. They didn't want to benefit from a bad egg like him.

What's the op's point? Ahern is no big deal because there never was a patriot way? As long as he's not in jail the pats won't have a problem playing this guy? We'll see. I think he's done here even without an arrest.

 

[DarrylS]

Definitely not a media invention. Pats go out of way to find good character guys for whom football is important. Guys who won't embarrass the team. Read about christian Peters they draft him and waive him without signing when he has a domestic disturbance thing in his past. They could have traded his rights but didn't. They didn't want to benefit from a bad egg like him.

What's the op's point? Ahern is no big deal because there never was a patriot way? As long as he's not in jail the pats won't have a problem playing this guy? We'll see. I think he's done here even without an arrest.

No the point is that the term "Patriots Way" is a media creation, and not a creation of the Patriots, and perpetuated by the media...

It is not about Hernandez, sorry, but more about the term in general..

 

[Tunescribe]

Cross-posting this from an earlier thread; here's my take:

The "Patriot Way," as defined by the Patriots signing ONLY players of impeccable character with no baggage whatsoever, is a tired old figment of the media's imagination. The real "Patriot Way" is team-first come hell or high water, player 53 being just as important to the overall WINNING picture as player 1. BB gave birth to it in 2001 and NOTHING has changed.

 

[Deus Irae]

The Patriot way:

It Is What It Is » Jerod Mayo and friends explain ‘The Patriot Way’ and what it means now

It's not about having 53 choir boys. The signing of Bryan Cox should have put the kibosh on that notion a long time ago.

 

[SB39]

This morning on the way back from playing golf in Southern RI, very early tee time, had the misfortune of only being able to listen to Dennis and Callahan who were ranting and raving about the "Patriot Way" and how that concept lost its way. Last week had the misfortune of listening to that azzclown Felger rant and rave about the Patriot Way and when did that idyllic period end..

Got to thinking, do not ever remember BB, Mr. Kraft or anyone from the front office speak about the "Patriot Way"... then it dawned on me that this was a media creation, that the players picked up. Not a Patriots creation that the media picked up..

Correct me if I am wrong, but seems as though the mediot contrarians are the creators of this concept, and now they are criticizing something they created???
Guess they gotta sell air time on the airwaves..

I agree 100% with half of what you wrote.

I think one of the problems is that the media in this town hold on to things FOREVER. So what happens is everytime some character issue arises, we hear about the Christian Peter incident, which was 17 years ago.

To me, the "Patriot Way" is all about the way things are done in the locker room and how they affect the team. I believe Bill Belichick would sign ANYBODY, no matter their history, to a contract if that person could contribute on the field and not be an off field distraction. Now, of course, a tiger can't change their stripes so we won't be seeing someone like Titus Young in Foxboro anytime soon.

 

[SB39]

Definitely not a media invention. Pats go out of way to find good character guys for whom football is important. Guys who won't embarrass the team. Read about christian Peters they draft him and waive him without signing when he has a domestic disturbance thing in his past. They could have traded his rights but didn't. They didn't want to benefit from a bad egg like him.

This is exactly what I was talking about in my post (and I swear I made my post before reading this one). It is absurd that the media brings up something that happened almost 2 decades ago to make a point.

Dude, Christian Peter was 17 years ago. Let it go. Things have changed in Foxboro since then.

 

[lurker1965]

Definitely not a media invention. Pats go out of way to find good character guys for whom football is important. Guys who won't embarrass the team. Read about christian Peters they draft him and waive him without signing when he has a domestic disturbance thing in his past. They could have traded his rights but didn't. They didn't want to benefit from a bad egg like him.

What's the op's point? Ahern is no big deal because there never was a patriot way? As long as he's not in jail the pats won't have a problem playing this guy? We'll see. I think he's done here even without an arrest.

I hesitate to speak for others (Like that is ever true) but...
I think the OP was speaking about the term "Patriot Way." It gets thrown around as if teams like, say, the Steelers absolutely do not care about a players off field peccadillos. (Arguably true of teams like the Bengals, but I digress.)

Yes, Christian Peters was a player who would be difficult to market to a family oriented audience and supposedly lead to Parcells leaving. (Although claiming Parcells favored domestic abuse for all his players is libelous. Also saying there would not be another reason if Kraft caved to Parcells probably would be wrong.)

Actual reply to thread:
Maybe it was in reply to a question using the term, but didn't Bruschi use the term in like 2003. (Note, it was around before then, I'm sure.)

 

[ctpatsfan77]

FWIW, my big problem with sports media is that they too often try to have it both ways.

What do you want to bet that the same people who are writing "The Patriots have lost their way by signing/extending Hernandez," would, if the Patriots did let him go—only for him to have success elsewhere, then castigate the Patriots for not hanging on to him?

 

[Uncle Rico]

Cross-posting this from an earlier thread; here's my take:

The "Patriot Way," as defined by the Patriots signing ONLY players of impeccable character with no baggage whatsoever, is a tired old figment of the media's imagination. The real "Patriot Way" is team-first come hell or high water, player 53 being just as important to the overall WINNING picture as player 1. BB gave birth to it in 2001 and NOTHING has changed.

The Patriot way:

It Is What It Is » Jerod Mayo and friends explain ‘The Patriot Way’ and what it means now

It's not about having 53 choir boys. The signing of Bryan Cox should have put the kibosh on that notion a long time ago.

Yup. And yup.

Here's the thing a lot of the unoriginal dime-a-dozen columnists are missing: There was no "Patriots Way" until AFTER THE TEAM WON SUPER BOWLS. WINNING WAS PART OF THE PACKAGE.

Sunday's Globe had a graphic with Volin's column showing the "risks" Pats have taken on guys who had been red flagged. After a week of copycat "lost their Way" commentary it was a good reminder to see the list going back to guys like Cox and Rodney. Hey, it's America -- people deserve second chances. And the Pats have always kept these guys on short leashes. Behave and perform while you're here, or else. That's always been "The Way." (Like I said in the other thread: How many times do you hear commentators say of a troubled player, 'Well, if there's any place he can turn it around, it's New England.'?)

 

[ctpatsfan77]

(Like I said in the other thread: How many times do you hear commentators say of a troubled player, 'Well, if there's any place he can turn it around, it's New England.'?)

I remember pretty much every analyst saying that Vick should/needed to sign here.

 

[fnordcircle]

The Patriot Way seems to mean - not saying anything provocative to the media and...I can't really think of anything else.

There's no 'Patriot Way' when it comes time for the team to cut a player who has done a lot over the years. There's no 'Patriot Way' when a player wants a pay raise. There's no 'Patriot Way' when Wes Welker audibly calls someone playing for the Colts (I think) a '******* ******'. Or when Belichick hip checked Marvin Harrison to keep him from getting back onto the field after a fumble.

So it really only seems to come down to not shooting your mouth off like the Jets to the media - which I highly doubt is about some moral good that Belichick aspires to - and is likely entirely about not giving a motivational lift to the other team.

Beyond all of that Belichick strikes me as an amoral person. He will try to leverage every advantage he can to win. This is the guy we believe is the architect of some noble code called 'The Patriot Way'?

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

Definitely not a media invention. Pats go out of way to find good character guys for whom football is important. Guys who won't embarrass the team. Read about christian Peters they draft him and waive him without signing when he has a domestic disturbance thing in his past. They could have traded his rights but didn't. They didn't want to benefit from a bad egg like him.

What's the op's point? Ahern is no big deal because there never was a patriot way? As long as he's not in jail the pats won't have a problem playing this guy? We'll see. I think he's done here even without an arrest.

Me, Haynesworth, Moss, Harrison, AHern, ....disagree. All questionable character players. Me, I'm just an average questionable character person . But, The Pats have and will take chances on many they "think" will "change their "questionable" ways. Doesn't always pan out. Then they move on. Certainly doesn't mean they have lost what the media calls "The Pat way". The point being the Pats didn't come up with the phrase, as the OP, I think was referring.

 

[Bruins29]

Oh I think the Pats came up with it. I just think the Media (and fans) turned it into something that suits their agenda when convenient.

BBs job is to win football games and build the correct team to do it. Not collect talent and certainly not (as mentioned above) only sign the good guys. If a football team made an effort to only have players on the roster who were squeaky clean then they would lose. Its about finding players that complement each other and the system in place.

Another thing, with all this talk about the Pats Way with recent events I really dont want to see Tedi Bruschi on his soap box talking about how in his day as a Pat this never would have flown and blah blah blah...

I just dont want to hear it from him right now.

 

[kennyb]

Yes of course they take chances on players. What now with ahern? Suppose he's arrested for obstruction but not murder. Not enough evidence for that. Do the pats keep him and say whatever his off the field business is his own? Or do they suspend him? How about if he isn't arrested at all. Does he show up for training camp like nothing happened?

 

[lurker1965]

Yes of course they take chances on players. What now with ahern? Suppose he's arrested for obstruction but not murder. Not enough evidence for that. Do the pats keep him and say whatever his off the field business is his own? Or do they suspend him? How about if he isn't arrested at all. Does he show up for training camp like nothing happened?

There are two answers.

1) If he is good enough they'll keep him no matter what. No it is not morals, it is Goodell. (Personally I do not think he is good enough, but that is another debate.) Belichick will decide if his hypothetical jail time and/or suspension is worth a roster spot, etc.

2) It is a business. If someone in the marketing department thinks he is hurting the brand he is gone. (This goes into #1. If He is seen as the reason for success - like Brady - the PR hit will be measured by how much the business loses by no longer being a good team.) If "they" decide it can be spun as a redemption story - like Ray Lewis finding Jesus (Yes, that may be real, but it was also marketing.)- then "they" might keep him after he donates most of his salary to charity, supports the dead guy's family, finds Jesus, etc.

#2 trumps #1, but #1 exists. (Belichick is not concerned with #2, but Jonathan Kraft - Robert's son and VP of, I think operations is concerned with #2.)

Yes #2 sounds cold, because, well, it is cold. Businesses concerned with $$ are cold. And, no, Kraft is not running a charity.