Patriots' Revolutionary Concept Doesn't Look Like a Blueprint

By Sam Farmer

Feb. 5, 2002 12 AM PT

NEW ORLEANS —

The NFL is a league of copycats. If something works for one team, a dozen more try it the next season. Dick Vermeil tries to re-create his St. Louis offense in Kansas City. The Bears sign two condo-sized defensive tackles to look more like Baltimore. Bill Walsh’s offense is Xeroxed ad nauseam, then adopted by half the teams in the league.

But how on earth are teams going to emulate the New England Patriots?

The Patriots won the Super Bowl on Sunday with something more than Xs and O’s, something more vague and elusive. They won with hunger.

Long on needs and short on salary-cap space, Coach Bill Belichick and his staff identified a cluster of players who were talented and could play as a team, yet weren’t household names. In the last two seasons, they signed 20 of them for a grand total of $9 million, pro football’s version of a yard sale.

These were guys labeled outdated or damaged goods by other teams. Free agents such as running back Antowain Smith and linebacker Roman Phifer, guard Mike Compton and defensive end Anthony Pleasant, linebacker Mike Vrabel and fullback Marc Edwards. The Raiders used to rekindle the careers of has-beens; the Patriots scoured the bargain bins for never-weres.

Then came the tough part. Belichick molded the hodgepodge collection into a team, a unit that, for the first time in Super Bowl history, sprinted onto the field as one during introductions. Was it only a year ago that Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis did that self-aggrandizing dance when his name was announced, grabbing a handful of grass and rubbing it all over himself? That simply wouldn’t fly with New England.

Delighted as he is to have been named the Super Bowl’s most valuable player, quarterback Tom Brady is still a little uncomfortable with sudden stardom. He was taking his parents and sisters to Disney World on Monday, then up to Boston for a parade today. This is a guy who never wanted to do his weekly news conferences outside the locker room; he preferred to do them at his locker so he could be closer to his teammates.

Brady was asked Monday if he’s prepared for the madness to come--the magazine covers, the endorsement deals, the intensified spotlight.

“I’m working on it,” he said with a smile. “It’s new to me. So I’m going to just--I’m like a kite in the wind, just kind of going with the flow.”

Some players say the real test for Brady will come this off-season, when he has a bit of time to think about how good he can be, or the tenuous nature of fame and popularity. He’ll never have to buy a drink this off-season, at least not in Boston, and the backslaps will never stop. Can he keep it all from seeping into his head?

Clearly, he’ll try.

“There’s so much room for improvement,” he said, “I don’t even know where to start.”

Keep in mind, Belichick said he has never seen a player who made more dramatic strides from his first season to his second.

But Brady is only one example of the Patriot mentality. Smith, a former first-round pick, was humbled when Buffalo dumped him after three seasons and realized he had to prove himself again in New England. He wasn’t resentful, just determined.

Linebacker Willie McGinest, the former USC star and fourth pick overall, unflinchingly accepted his role as a backup. Receiver Troy Brown didn’t gripe when he was left off the Pro Bowl team, even though he caught a franchise-record 101 passes. Drew Bledsoe could have ripped apart the team when he lost his job--probably for good--because of an injury. Instead, he rooted on Brady.

A pivotal member of New England’s front-office brain trust is Scott Pioli, the player-personnel director and son-in-law of Bill Parcells. Pioli waited in the locker-room tunnel Sunday night, too giddy to stand still. He looked sharp in a tan suit, and didn’t seem to mind the new sweat stains he picked up every time he bear-hugged one of his players. Pioli did a masterful job of identifying and signing players who fit the mold.

Of course, it’s awfully hard to build a dynasty this way. These players are low-profile no longer. The Patriots probably will try to trade Bledsoe, a $107-million backup, to Washington or Chicago. Adam Vinatieri, who won the Super Bowl with a 48-yard field goal as time expired, will be an unrestricted free agent this off-season and could be too costly to re-sign. Same goes for Phifer.

The Patriots paid Brady $289,000 this season. Think he’ll get a raise?

“I’d love to keep the team the way it is,” Belichick said. “But, realistically, I know there’s going to be some changes on our team, just like on everybody else’s.”

Belichick and Pioli planned to sit down Monday and start talking about the future, about how they can reshape the roster yet again, cutting the fat and sparing the core.

“This is truly the challenging part of the game,” Belichick said.

And we thought Sunday was tough.

NFL Realignment

With the addition of the Houston Texans, the NFL will realign next season. The South divisions will be composed of teams moved from other divisions. All North division teams formerly played in the Central divisions. Seattle will be the only team to switch conferences. Former divisions are in parentheses; records are from 2001-02 season. Four division winners and two wild-card teams will qualify for the postseason in each conference. Formerly, three division winners and three wild-card teams qualified.

NFC EAST

Philadelphia...11-5

Washington...8-8

New York Giants...7-9

Dallas... 5-11

NFC SOUTH

Tampa Bay (NFC-C)...9-7

Atlanta (NFC-W)...7-9

New Orleans (NFC-W)...7-9

Carolina (NFC-W)...1-15

NFC NORTH

Chicago...13-3