Then and Now

While there is no replacing these Patriots' greats, I thought I would look at how current Pats compare with a few of my personal favorites, and no doubt, some of the best players to ever grace New England. 

Rodney Harrison                Safety         2 words that come to mind: dominant & aggressive. Probably the best way to describe him. Some would argue that he was a dirty player, but I won’t say that. I will say that I would’ve loved him as a teammate, but hated him as an opponent.	Brandon Browner        Corner This season, I feel like we finally had a physical, torturous presence back in our secondary. Brandon’s still no Rodney Harrison, but I like what he brought to our defense, this season. Some dislike Browner's playing style for various reasons, but I wouldn't say it's dirty. Is he aggressive? Sure. Does he get in opponents faces and talk trash? Of course. What corner doesn’t? My main complaint with Browner is how many penalties he draws. Other than that, I love that New England picked him up. Browner’s nasty, dominant playing style is exactly what the Patriots have been missing   since, well, Rodney Harrison went out in 2008.
Law is one of my all time favorite players. How could anyone not love watching a secondary with Ty Law? Up until recently, you couldn’t convince me that there was any other 24. In fact, it never seemed right to me to see any other Patriot wearing #24…especially Arrington. Law was dominant, effective, and opposing teams loathed throwing in his direction. He could cover receivers better than most anyone back then.	Revis, the new 24, is another key piece that we’ve been missing for quite some time. Yeah, yeah, Talib, I know..But no; not even close. Law and Revis: pretty much used the same way. Usually responsible for covering the #1 receiver, in either man or zone coverage. And in my opinion, they both really shine in man-to-man. It's just something about #24's in New England...
Kevin Faulk Whether he was running up the middle, catching passes out of the backfield, or throwing to Brady, Kevin Faulk did it all. And he was pretty good at it, too. His versatility was arguably his best trait.	Shane Vereen With similar size, speed, and athleticism, Shane kind of does it all, too. Not quite as much…yet, but he offers a similar skillset for the modern-day Brady led offense. He was vital to the Patriots' success throughout the playoffs and contributed greatly to our Super Bowl victory.

You could make a case for Willie McGinest and Jerod Mayo, but given Mayo’s season ending injuries the past 2 seasons, I’ll hold off on that. Both share a ridiculously good ability to read the offense and make critical adjustments, big or small. It’s hard to tell whether their on-field performance or just their presence alone had the bigger impact. 

As you can tell, my love for the Patriots goes much deeper than Jules and Gronk. The early 2000's teams were probably my absolute favorites to watch. I still get chills. 

As always, go Pats.