Was the locker room commitment the same as it was during dynasty years? With the losses of [Rodney] Harrison, [Tedy] Bruschi, [Richard] Seymour and [Mike] Vrabel, did the culture of the locker room change? When you have four guys showing up late for practice, wasn’t that the role those players took to police that sort of activity? Does the culture of the Patriot Way still exist?
We’ve all thought about that. Guys like Tedy and Rodney and Mike and Larry Izzo and Richard, they don’t come around very often. It’s not like those guys are just available in free agency every year. Those are special players and special guys.
It’s not the Patriots uniform that makes the team play the Patriot Way that you refer to. It’s the coaches and the players all working collectively to the same goal. Any time you lose players like that, there is a loss. You lose a guy like Rodney, he would practice defensively, then he would come over and practice against the offense to give us a scout team look, and he would play a position that was different than safety — it was corner sometimes, sometimes it was the sub defender, the guy who was the slot — to work on his skills.
Those were exceptional players, big reasons why we were successful over the years. When you lose those guys, it gives other players opportunities, other players that are new to the system or players who had been here for a few years and watched those guys to try and grow into that role. Whether that’s a guy like Jerod Mayo or Sam Aiken, other guys who were elected captains.
You can’t sit here and say Rodney Harrison’s replaceable. There’s no way. But other guys have to step in, fill those shoes. Guys who were here with those types of players have to take those lessons, learn from them, and use those and apply those to what was happening this season.
I know it’s a long-winded answer. The reality is that obviously the leadership on our team wasn’t where it needed to be. I speak for myself — I’m one of those leaders who certainly needs to do a better job getting everyone on the same page and fill the void left by those key players.
