The Patriots Must Restore the Fear

What I am most proud of as a New England Patriots fan is not the records, the rings or the “genius” labels, it’s the simple fact that teams hate to play us.

They dread it.

A lot has been made of last season’s videotape scandal that cemented New England as the team to hate in the NFL. Patriots players are often called “dirty,” and a number of them have received fines and suspensions for misconduct on and off the field.

The Patriots defense is best known for its versatility, but there is another factor that has helped the team remain dominant for so long—what I like to call “The Thunder.”

Rodney Harrison is probably the best example. Fellow NFL players named Harrison the “dirtiest” player in the league in 2004 and 2006 polls by Sports Illustrated.

Out of 18 NFL coaches, 11 of them selected Harrison as the “dirtiest” in a similar survey by ESPN in 2008. He is known for vicious blows, late hits, leading with his helmet, flattening defenseless receivers, and general all around nastiness.

Last season he was suspended for four games for using performance-enhancing substances. Usually this kind of reputation would be a bad thing, but in the NFL, and especially on the Patriots it is a sign of respect.

You want your opponents to fear you. You want them to worry about their safety when they go to catch a pass. You want the quarterback listening for footsteps coming from his blindside. Any hesitation, any loss of concentration is an advantage.

You have to bring The Thunder.

Since coach Bill Belichick took over in 2000, the Patriots have always had strong players in the middle of the defense. Ted Johnson and Tedy Bruschi, formed a fearsome middle linebacker partnership during the early part of the decade before Johnson’s concussion-induced retirement in 2005.

Bruschi was joined by Richard Seymour in 2001, Rodney Harrison in 2003, and Vince Wilfork in 2005. These are smart players, so keyed into the game that not only do they make the big plays, they do so with a bang.

Putting all your momentum into a tackle, timing the hit for when the player is most vulnerable, landing on top of the ball carrier so your weight drives them into the ground, trash talking under the pile—these are things that introduce you to your opponent.

It lets them know you’ll be there waiting for them next time they touch the ball, ready to dish out more punishment.

In a radio interview at this year’s Super Bowl, Nick Mangold, center for the New York Jets talked about Vince Wilfork, “He's the type of player you never want to see, and the fact I have to play him two times a year is miserable.”

This is what I like to hear. Wilfork has been fined so many times in the past couple years that Commissioner Rodger Goodell called him in for a personal meeting to discuss his play.

The Patriots players feed on this kind of publicity. They are fierce competitors who want to be the best, and want everyone else to know they’re the best. In the NFL you get no points for style. You get wins and losses, and anything less than a Super Bowl victory is a failed season.

Rodney Harrison is 36, a free agent, and coming off another serious injury. Richard Seymour is 29, will be a free agent after next season, and commands a salary around $9 million. Vince Wilfork will also be a free agent after the 2009 season, and resigning him is a must. Tedy Bruschi is playing on a year-to-year basis, and at age 35 cannot continue much longer.

Wilfork seems to enjoy his bad-boy image, and could inherit the “dirty” mantle once Harrison retires, but he cannot bring "The Thunder" alone. The Patriots need replacements for Harrison and Bruschi so opponents do not feel safe anywhere on the field.

This will not be an easy task.

In recent drafts New England has focused on getting younger and faster on defense. Safety Brandon Meriweather and especially linebacker Jarod Mayo have shown potential, but do not yet inspire fear. Mayo is an excellent tackler, and has the smarts and desire needed to excel in the Patriots system, but he may be more of a speed player—the lightning.

New England would do well to find a partner for him capable of laying the lumber and crowding the line of scrimmage—someone to make coaches think twice about going for it in short yardage situations. The Patriots need a similar player in the secondary who will make receivers nervous going over the middle, and act as an additional linebacker on rush downs.

This year’s draft has a few players who fit this description, and Rey Maualuga of USC and William Moore of Missouri come to mind. Both are somewhat unpolished players, and not known for their versatility, but that may be the sacrifice that has to be made in order to insure the Patriots keep "The Thunder."

I’ll be listening for it.