Four New England Patriots Late To Practice: Better Late Than Never?

Bill Belichick doesn’t care if a blizzard has engulfed New England in white like a Snow Cap .

If you show up late to practice, you will suffer repercussions.

Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, Derrick Burgess, and Gary Guyton learned that the hard way.

The four players were late to a Wednesday morning team meeting, and were sent home from practice for their delinquency.

This comes on the heels of Tom Brady’s statement, in which he called out the team for not putting in enough time. This has very much been Brady’s bunch for the duration of the decade, but this is also the first time we’ve seen Brady hold people accountable and really take on the role of team leader in quite some time, partially because he hasn’t had to; the Patriots have long been the league’s most disciplined group.

It’s easy to see why action was taken against the athletes, but is Belichick’s punishment a little harsh?

Absolutely not; after dropping three of their last four, all in dramatic and/or embarrassing fashion, it’s about time someone cracks the whip.

In the past, we've come to know Belichick as the gourmet chef of “Humble Pie,” and it’s clear that the team needs to return to the disciplined, error—free ways of old.

I’m afraid that if this is the full extent of the punishment taken against these athletes, it could very well just be taken as a snow day.

But we’ll never know if there’s anything further; Belichick did, after all, say that “anything that happens with discipline on the team will stay between me and the players.”

The two names on the list that stand out for me are Derrick Burgess and Adalius Thomas.

Burgess was supposed to be a formidable replacement for Richard Seymour, and I gushed over him from the very start. Since his arrival, he has done nothing but disappoint and underachieve, amassing an unsatisfactory two sacks on the season.

Adalius Thomas, meanwhile, was a healthy scratch for the 59-0 drubbing of the Tennessee Titans earlier in the season (which, ironically, also occurred in heavy snowfall). Add that to his tardiness today, and Belichick seems less than satisfied with his star free agent signee of 2007.

Don't get me wrong; being tardy to a meeting in a snow storm is hardly grounds for a release. If the discipline isn't there, with the way these players are playing, there's no way they'll be turning their performance around anytime soon.

Randy Moss and Gary Guyton have much less to worry about. Moss has performed well throughout the season, and Guyton has really begun to come into his own, playing alongside Jerod Mayo in the middle of the 3-4 defense.

The outlook for both Thomas and Burgess is cloudy, though. At this point, it's no sure thing that they'll even be on the roster for next season.

The pass rush has been a problem for the Patriots all season. Two expensive players who promised to be pass rush beasts have begun to dig their grave of opportunity in New England.