We have finally made it to the top 10 of our 25 best Patriots over the last 25 years. Talk about a trip down memory lane. If you don’t get the warm and fuzzies, your heart is colder and blacker than mine. As I was cobbling this entire list together, I had a pool of about 35 names, then started crossing out this guy, putting a question mark next to that guy, and then – in pen – sketching out numbers next to the no-doubters and where, at first blush, I thought they belonged. There were some modifications – an arrow up or down – and I still regret where Wes Welker ended up – but I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I’ve enjoyed researching and writing it.
As a refresher, here’s the list up to this point:
10. Mike Vrabel: I’ve said this elsewhere, maybe even on this website at some point, but to me, Vrabel was the defining player of that first dynasty. Not the best player – though he was damn good – but his versatility, playmaking, and cocksure attitude helped drive that defense to great heights.
Imagine being a quarterback and you’re not sure if this 6’4”, 261-pound defensive end was actually going to be on the edge, hovering over the ‘A’ gap, lined up on the nose, or dropping 25 yards down the field in coverage. That wasn’t just a week-to-week adjustment Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel made with Vrabel, but down-to-down. Oh, and he’d be doing this with fellow interchangeable parts like Willie McGinest and Tedy Bruschi. Good luck with that.
“Everybody says how smart the Patriots defenses were when we played, and we were. But there was one guy that was the smartest, and it was always Mike Vrabel,” Bruschi told the Titans website after Vrabel was hired as HC in 2018. “If I had a question, I would ask him. If there was an on-field adjustment, I made some, but if I was unsure of something, I was checking with him.
“He was the brains of the unit. And he had guts. He would challenge people, he would challenge players, he would challenge coaches, and he would bring humor. He would lighten it up. He is the perfect person for that job in Tennessee, to be a head coach. Everyone knew he would be a coach.”
Vrabel’s career took off after the Patriots signed him in the offseason before the 2001 season. He hadn’t started a game during the first four years of his career in Pittsburgh. He pretty much never came off the field in NE over the next eight seasons. His immediate pressure, then hit on Kurt Warner in Super Bowl XXXVI, led to the Ty Law pick-6 that announced to the Rams they were in for a long night, and began a stretch of three championships in four years (cue up Springsteen’s “Glory Days”).
The league didn’t give Vrabel love until the 2007 season. That year, he was a first-team All-Pro and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. That was the only time in his 14-year career that he recorded double-digit sacks (12.5), had 17 QB hits and forced five fumbles. Vrabel did all that at the age of 32. At 34, he was part of the trade with Matt Cassel to the Chiefs, and by then, his best days were behind him. But what he gave the Pats organization was some extraordinarily good football for nearly a decade, including his star cameos at tight end.
“Mike had a great personality, great love for the game, passionate, high energy, very strong,” Belichick said. “Mike’s really strong, physically strong player, handled the tackles, obviously could handle tight ends, good power rusher and had enough moves to go with it. His strength was his length and his power and his intelligence. He was a good tackler.”
Vrabel was a handful to cover (that has not changed). He usually didn’t offer reporters much time, and then would spar with us before pulling the plug on the Q&A. But if you got him feeling charitable, you’d come away with a better idea of why the Pats did something or how he felt about an important topic.
9. Devin McCourty: I’ll start with this, part of Bill Belichick’s statement when McCourty announced his retirement. Maybe he ran it through PR maven Stacey James, but if I’m Devin, I’ve got this framed in my man cave.
“It is a rare group of players who win games at a historic rate, exude team culture, lead, win awards, and win championships. And then there is Devin McCourty. Devin did all of those things as a player and more, but what I think of first when I think of Devin is the type of man he is, his character, his values, and how high he raised the bar for spreading goodness and justice in the community.y.
“For 13 years, Devin made everyone in our organization feel better and be better because of who he is – a pillar of professionalism, unselfishness, work ethic, preparation, intelligence and performance,” Belichick continued. “I am excited to see him bring those same traits to his next chapter and brighten the lives of even more people.”
The Patriots did a lot of winning when McCourty was here – try 3 Super Bowls on for size – and I believe strongly maybe one or perhaps two of those titles don’t happen without him. That’s how critical he was, both on and off the field. Not bad for a kid from Rutgers (yes, that was a shot at Bedard’s “University”).
McCourty’s rookie season (2010) was one of the best by any draft pick in the Belichick era. Maybe the best. The late first-rounder was a second-team All-Pro and finished second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting by playing great ball at cornerback (did you forget he started there?). McCourty had 7 interceptions, 17 passes defensed, forced two fumbles, and recorded 82 tackles.
But year two was more of a struggle. McCourty had issues, especially on vertical routes. By 2012, he was teetering, and once the team acquired Aqib Talib, his days at corner were over. But the switch to safety – while initially concerning for the player – proved to be an absolute home run. McCourty became an All-Pro at that spot a year later, and manned the position for over a decade.
The running joke on the radio was that McCourty played so deep, you didn’t always see him on the TV screen pre-snap. But his influence was massive – I can’t tell you how many mistakes he erased – and he wore the green dot, not exactly common for a safety.
“He does everything right,” said Belichick. ”He’s done everything right since he’s been here.”
McCourty was still playing at a high level when he called it quits after the ‘22-23 season (4 INTs, 71 tackles), but 13 years in the league was enough, especially knowing the Pats were headed to the basement for a couple of years. He immediately landed a high-profile TV job, no doubt having studied tape of yours truly to prepare.
This is as good a guy as I have ever covered – in any sport.
