The Road Out of Foxboro Is Filled with Potholes

Bob Kraft has constructed and nurtured a fantastic culture and home for any NFL player. Sir Kraft has great vision, has much power amongst the league owners, is very personable and relates with many of his players one on one, and has in my opinion created a home for players that is the most desirable in the league.

Bill Belichick's no nonsense, all-football approach, the stadium, the Patriot hall of fame, the non-football support system for the players, and many other components all add up to the best place in the league to land as a player.

But like in all walks of life, people get complacent and think the grass is greener elsewhere, or at least they think the money is greener.

Here's a list of some recent players and coaches that have traveled the treacherous road out of New England. Granted, some left because they felt they could advance their careers, and you can't blame them for that, but many left for the almighty dollar, which is a big mistake in my opinion.

Regardless of the reason one leaves New England voluntarily, it is a bad choice.  There is no place better to be.

David Givens 

A seventh rounder who, in his rookie year, could get open but couldn't catch the ball.  Worked his butt off and became an outstanding starter. He had it made, playing with Tom Brady and being coached up by the masterful crew in New England. 

Like many, he forgot how he achieved his success. Definitely through his own doing based on his commitment and effort, but with out the coaching, the system, and the players along side him, his achievements could not have been so grand. He lost sight of this perhaps and went for the big contract, which always seems to be out there.

He got his money, and never played again. He blew out his knee and never seemed to recover.

Deion Branch 

A second rounder who got a decent rookie contract as a result. A pretty good talent, but beyond his talent and commitment, he lost sight of the environment that allowed him to reach his maximum potential. 

Then he got greedy, overlooked the benefits of the Kraft and Patriot family, the coaches, the players, the endorsements and other financial opportunities that he had, and focused solely on the big contract. 

The ego can work for you and work against you. Deion found out how average his talent really is in the great Northwest.

Ty Law 

Ty was big in college, and came into the NFL with a big contract as a result.  In spite of the grief he got about "needing to feed his family," I stood up for Ty (I did grow up in MA and am a U of Michigan grad, so its hard not too) because he simply wanted to get what his contract said. 

You can't argue with that, even though almost all contracts have voidable, impractical years stuck on the end of them to massage player and agent egos. Anyway, Belichick, a man of high character, honored Ty's demand to get paid what he negotiated to get paid.

However, that still wasn't enough "respeck" for Ty, he had to be the highest paid player at corner.  Didn't matter who or where, just show Ty the money baby.  He's still around and still getting paid.

Can't say he didn't do the right thing, but I can say he could have made as much money as he needed for the rest of his life, and had so much more than monetary wealth, if he took a little bit less to stay in New England.

David Patten 

I'm not sure David wanted to leave when he did, but he accepted a relatively lucrative deal from Washington and was a total bust there.  He's in New Orleans now and meeting with some modest success, but he would had it all if he stuck around.

Randall Gay

Randall was undrafted I believe—either that or a seventh rounder.  Nick Saban obviously liked him because while at LSU, he put a bug in Belichick's ear about Gay.  As fate would have it, he became a key contributor and did a serviceable job and then some on his way to getting a Superbowl ring. 

He too, left for browner pastures. Although in Randall's case, he went home to New Orleans, so I can see where that has some legitimate pull beyond the green backs.  He is playing for New Orleans still, but not very well.

Daniel Graham

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