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After watching the season ending collapses of the Sox and Jets, can we all agree that the Belichick mantra..."building a team, not assembling talent" has never been more true. (add in the Eagles and Cowboys if you like)
Of course it all starts with leadership at the top. Francona and Fat Rex both admitted to not knowing the true pulse of the locker room and the poison being spread within. They preferred a hands off, treat 'em like men, approach. This philosophy has worked in the past, if leadership among the players is strong and supported by management. But big contracts and entitlement issues change some players and not always for the betterment of the team.
Looking back at who the Pats have decided to pay and the talent they have let go, it becomes clearer now that BB values character as much as talent. The old arguement that BB was always looking to get team friendly contracts is certainly not true now. What is clear is that the Patriots pay talent if leadership is part of the package....Brady, Wilfork, Mankins, Mayo. Can anyone make the case that Samuels, Branch, and Law displayed leadership skills equal to their talent?
This brings us to Randy Moss....the conundrum....defying all that BB believes. He took a one year flier on Moss, loved what he saw out on the field and inside the locker room. BB then gave him 3 more years. The similarities to the Santonio Holmes' career path is eerily similar. Both passed their team auditions and cashed in. THANK GOD BB, with his decades of NFL experience, structured a cap friendly contract allowing the Pats to jettison Moss when his personality traits trended back to the norm......with minimal cap damage. Along with his decades of experience, BB has developed decades of credibility which got Moss to NE and allowed a team safe contract.........compared to the contract the Jets are stuck with on Holmes. Jets management was desperate for talent, paid through the nose for it....character be damned. (Of course BB has swung and missed too....Adalius Thomas ......paid, injured, disgruntled, misused in his eyes, eventual locker room cancer. AD was differenent than Moss and Holmes though...he was a solid guy and teammate prior to the contract that brought him to NE.)
Felger, his Moss hate consistent as ever, nailed the reason BB finally let Moss go. He said that Moss was a dynamic locker room personality, players loved him and many wanted to be him. He had a following of sorts...and for this reason, when Randy soured on his role and contract status, BB jettisoned him ASAP. BB didn't let the cancer take hold, he operated on it and removed it....saving the rest of the roster. Again, through decades of NFL experience, BB understands the locker room dynamic better than most and moves quickly to get control.
KNOW YOUR TEAM ........The Sox allowed the cancer to fester and grow, as did the Jets....and both teams collapsed. In 2010, the Pats operated on their cancer, then rolled out 8 straight wins. Here are three examples that demonstrate how the locker room dynamic is equally important as talent. All hail BB
Of course it all starts with leadership at the top. Francona and Fat Rex both admitted to not knowing the true pulse of the locker room and the poison being spread within. They preferred a hands off, treat 'em like men, approach. This philosophy has worked in the past, if leadership among the players is strong and supported by management. But big contracts and entitlement issues change some players and not always for the betterment of the team.
Looking back at who the Pats have decided to pay and the talent they have let go, it becomes clearer now that BB values character as much as talent. The old arguement that BB was always looking to get team friendly contracts is certainly not true now. What is clear is that the Patriots pay talent if leadership is part of the package....Brady, Wilfork, Mankins, Mayo. Can anyone make the case that Samuels, Branch, and Law displayed leadership skills equal to their talent?
This brings us to Randy Moss....the conundrum....defying all that BB believes. He took a one year flier on Moss, loved what he saw out on the field and inside the locker room. BB then gave him 3 more years. The similarities to the Santonio Holmes' career path is eerily similar. Both passed their team auditions and cashed in. THANK GOD BB, with his decades of NFL experience, structured a cap friendly contract allowing the Pats to jettison Moss when his personality traits trended back to the norm......with minimal cap damage. Along with his decades of experience, BB has developed decades of credibility which got Moss to NE and allowed a team safe contract.........compared to the contract the Jets are stuck with on Holmes. Jets management was desperate for talent, paid through the nose for it....character be damned. (Of course BB has swung and missed too....Adalius Thomas ......paid, injured, disgruntled, misused in his eyes, eventual locker room cancer. AD was differenent than Moss and Holmes though...he was a solid guy and teammate prior to the contract that brought him to NE.)
Felger, his Moss hate consistent as ever, nailed the reason BB finally let Moss go. He said that Moss was a dynamic locker room personality, players loved him and many wanted to be him. He had a following of sorts...and for this reason, when Randy soured on his role and contract status, BB jettisoned him ASAP. BB didn't let the cancer take hold, he operated on it and removed it....saving the rest of the roster. Again, through decades of NFL experience, BB understands the locker room dynamic better than most and moves quickly to get control.
KNOW YOUR TEAM ........The Sox allowed the cancer to fester and grow, as did the Jets....and both teams collapsed. In 2010, the Pats operated on their cancer, then rolled out 8 straight wins. Here are three examples that demonstrate how the locker room dynamic is equally important as talent. All hail BB
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