There has been quite the flurry or interesting Vince Wilfork quotes ever since he singed his new contract last weekend. Here are the ones that got me thinking:

“I think I have everything I want already,” he said this morning on a conference call, laughing. “The only thing we’re going to do – closer to the time of retirement – I’m going to build a home. That’s it.

“I’m not a big flashy guy. I’ve got my truck. I’m just a normal dude. I don’t need to go out and buy a Ferrari or Bentley or stuff like that. Even though I love to fish, it doesn’t make sense to go out and buy a boat, because I can’t enjoy it. I’m fine for now.”

So if you have everything you already wanted, then why did it take so long for you to sign a contract extension? I have no problem trying to get every penny in a negotiation, but this comment somewhat contradicts that theory, no?

Wilfork said he hopes to build his “dream home” in Florida. He has land in Lake Wells, which is between Orlando and Tampa Bay.

“I’ve had it for five years now, and I can’t wait to build it out there,” he said. “It will definitely be in the Sunshine State, somewhere with some good weather all the time so I can golf and fish every day.”

1 – Can you imagine Wilfork walking 18 holes with the clubs on his back, wouldn’t that be something. I bet he can crush the ball though.

2 – Obviously he wouldn’t be in a little canoe, but the first thing that popped into my head was a 320 pound black man cracking a brewski in the middle of a lake somewhere sitting in a tiny canoe. It made me laugh.

He also had this to say in a conference call that took place yesterday:

“As players, everybody has to be accountable. If you are on the field, you have to give me 100 percent,” Wilfork said Wednesday morning, taking perhaps the first steps toward a larger leadership role.

“You have to weed out the bad seeds, point blank. If you can’t give me what I’m giving you on the field, I don’t need you on the field with me. That’s point blank. That’s how you win. You have to build trust. Show me that I can count on you.

“If a guy is not giving me that, I have no problem telling that guy that I don’t need him on the field, and I have no problem going to tell Bill that I don’t want him on the field. That’s point blank. That’s how it’s going to have to work.”

“We need to build that bond. And with that bond, you have to have some accountability. We need to trust one another when we’re on the field. There is no question that we have that, but we have to pull it out of the guys,” he said. “I think this year is going to be a huge change.

One can only speculate who those bad seeds were, but from my point of view the number one culprit has to be Adalius Thomas, who hopefully, will no longer be with the team next year. It was obvious that he wasn’t on the same page as the rest of the team with the deactivation and constantly questioning the Patriot way through the press. The guy has all the talent in the world but if you don’t buy into the system you simply aren’t going to fit in.

“We have a bunch of leadership on this team. A lot of guys aren’t used to seeing young leaders, because all the leaders we had were older guys — Rodney [Harrison], [Richard] Seymour, [Tedy] Bruschi, [Mike] Vrabel. You name it, they were older guys. They’re not here anymore and now you’re starting to see younger guys becoming leaders earlier.”

This is going to be one of the most important things going forward. Guys like Mayo and Meriweather need to step up and lead this defense. Wilfork can only do so much, especially when he isn’t on the field every down. You can’t have one guy leading the way on defense and while there was always talk of Mayo stepping up last season and becoming a leader, I just didn’t see it. The Patriots locker room was in shambles last season compared to what we usually see. Starting with mini camps this spring, the entire team needs to focus and get their act together because Miami and New York aren’t going anywhere, point blank.

Outside Linebacker

The Problem – There is no denying the Patriots struggled to provide any significant pass rush last season. Because they were in a 3-4 defense most of the time, a lot of that can be attributed to the amount of blitzes being called. Usually, in those cases it is the responsibility of the outside linebackers to get to the QB, this group included Tully Banta-Cain, Derrick Burgess, and Adalius Thomas for the most part. Banta-Cain did his job amassing 10 sacks but Thomas and Burgess were anything but impressive combining for only 8 sacks between the two of them. Factor in the amount of plays they botched by being out of position and it is safe to say that both players were useless. Burgess is now an unrestricted free agent and Thomas is in all likelihood going to be cut this summer leaving a pretty significant need for an edge rusher.

The Solution – Re-signing Banta-Cain was big. Had we lost him we would have had some serious work to do at the position. Ideally he is a situational rusher but proved this year that he can handle full time duties. Luckily for the Patriots, this draft is loaded with 3-4 edge rushers. While yesterday I mentioned how I wanted the Pats to draft Tate in the first round, I think the more likely scenario has them taking and outside line backer. Most of the mock drafts out there have the Patriots taking OLB Brandon Graham out of Michigan.

It will be interesting to see if Shawn Crable can finally become a productive player. The kid has the talent, but he can never seem to put it together and stay on the field for an entire season. 2010 will likely be a make or break year from him, hopefully he can finally step it up.

Other names out there that raise an eye brow are Jason Taylor and Mike Vrabel, both unrestricted free agents. After the way Vrabel left town, a reunion is unlikely. However, it is a well know fact that Bill Belichick has always loved and respected Jason Taylor. He is well past his prime but he definitely would bring value to this team and some much needed leadership to a young defense.

- Chris

Assuming that Leigh Bodden is actually on the verge of a contract agreement the Patriots have essentially taken care of all immediate in house contract situations. Jarvis Green remains the be the outstanding piece of the puzzle but all signs point to him being employed elsewhere for 2010. The Patriots main focus entering free agency was Wilfork, Banta Cain, and Bodden and all have been locked up. Over the next few days we will delve into the waters of un-restricted free agency, the draft,  and what lies ahead for this team as there are still plenty of problems that need fixing.

Wide Receiver

The Problem - With Wes Welker, the Patriots were lacking a third option at wide receiver. Teams were doubling Randy Moss and using a safety to spy on Welker coming across the middle of the field. While Josh Reed would be a perfect fit to replace what Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth did, they still are going to need someone to replace Welker. There is no guarantee that he will be effective when he comes back as he relies much more on his knees than Tom Brady ever did.

What they should have done – Anquan Boldin would have been a great compliment to Randy Moss. He is a big, physical receiver who can beat you deep or over the middle. Injuries have been a concern as he missed nine games in the last three seasons, but when he is on the field, he produces. Instead, he went to the Ravens for a third round pick. Had they obtained Boldin, you would have had much more flexibility next season when Randy’s contract expires. Instead, we are left with only one quality wide receiver and a handful of question marks.

The Solution – First, sign Josh Reed. He is by no means a bad player, but he couldn’t hold Wes Welkers jock strap. However, we need someone like Reed to be a third option and adding a solid clubhouse guy is a definite bonus.

Second, draft Golden Tate with the 22nd overall pick. Tate has played his entire career at Notre Dame under Charlie Weiss learning an offense very similar to what the Patriots did while Weiss was in New England. The kid is smart, has great hands, and ran a 40 under 4.40 at the combine. I usually hesitate taking wide receivers with early picks as we have been burned in the past (Chad Jackson and Bethel Johnson to name a few). But the fact that this kid played in an advanced, pro like offense puts him over the top for me.

- Chris

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that there was no way that Julius Peppers ended up a Patriot. This past weekend, I was proven right once again. Don’t feed me this nonsense that the Patriots were close just because they had an offer on the table either, their offer was probably for half of what Peppers ended up getting from Chicago. In reality, he just wasn’t a good fit for this team. Sure, it would have been nice to have him for passing situations, but the cost/benefit just wasn’t there.

But glorifying my genius isn’t even the point of this post if you can believe it. The NFL free agency period began at midnight Friday morning. No more than an hour later Peppers was in Chicago ready to sign a deal. Yea right. You can’t tell me the two sides haven’t been negotiating for weeks now. Do I blame them? Nope, if you are cheating you aren’t trying. My beef is with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. If this was the Patriots, he would be all over it, as would the rest of the media. There would investigations for tampering and you would hear stories about SpyGate 2.0. Ever since Goodell took the commissioner’s office he has put on this show of cracking down and being tough, but he really just chooses people he doesn’t like and brings the hammer down on them while letting everyone else get away with murder. Oh well, nothing we can do about it, just expressing my dislike towards the douche that is Goodell.

- Chris

Hold up, what happened to the Patriots being cheap and not paying anyone? Isn’t that what Randy Moss said a couple weeks ago? Not only him, but seemingly every media outlet in the country has been shouting the same nonsense for years as the Patriots have been ruthless in letting star players walk after their contracts expire. The fact of the matter is that the Patriots don’t overspend for players past their prime, end of story. Wilfork does not fit in this category, and like I have been saying all along, a deal was inevitable, despite Ron Borges saying that if they franchised him and he made it to free agency then “He’s gone. He’s trying to do what’s right. What are they trying to do?”

On Friday night Wilfork signed a record breaking deal worth $40 million over five seasons with an $18 million signing bonus and $25 million guaranteed, the largest deal for a nose tackle in NFL history. Arguably the most valuable player on the team beyond Tom Brady, we can now be assured the Wilfork will be here for years to come. In the base 3-4 defense that the Patriots run, it is crucial to have a two gap stopper in the middle of the line, without it, the defense would not work. Wilfork is one of the best in the business at what he does and will now get paid like it. His value also increases with his versatility and durability. At times this past season you would find Wilfork playing the end position and he has played in 90 of 96 total games since being drafted in 2004.

The Patriots still have plenty of work to do, but locking up Wilfork needed to be their top priority. Now that he is taken care of look for the rest of the dominoesto begin to fall.

- Chris

In the early hours of Feb. 16, 2005, Tedy Bruschi’s life changed forever.

Days after winning his third Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots, Tedy Bruschi suffered a stroke.

Bruschi’s first two months of 2005 were full of good moments. He won the Super Bowl, made his first Pro Bowl and welcomed his youngest son, Dante Bruschi, all of which were trumped by his stroke.

“The only time I’ve ever used the word stroke was on the golf course,” said Bruschi. “When things are going good, life comes and knocks you back down.”

The first sign of a stroke for Bruschi was when he woke up in the middle of the night with a severe, unexplainable headache and numbness down the left side of his body.

There was one issue, Bruschi did not know the signs of a stroke so he just went back to sleep.

When he woke up, the headache was still there, the numbness was still there and he could barely walk. Bruschi knew something was wrong when his son came in to say good morning and he could not see him.

“I could hear him but I couldn’t see him,” said Bruschi.

Bruschi’s wife, Heidi Bruschi, brought him to the hospital. After tests, Bruschi’s neurologist gave him the bad news, he had suffered a stroke.

Bruschi also had a hole in his heart. The first thing that came to his mind after hearing this was that he can’t play football again.

“In my mind, I had to retire,” said Bruschi.

Football was no longer on Bruschi’s radar. He went to Foxboro and told Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots, that he was retiring.

“Longest ride of my life from the stadium to home after telling Bill I was retiring,” said Bruschi.

After a successful procedure on his heart and rehab, Bruschi started having second thoughts about his retirement from football.

“When you start to get better, thoughts enter your mind,” said Bruschi.

According to Bruschi there was one instance when he knew he was on the road to recovery. A side effect of his stroke was blurred vision. When looking at a digital clock at 12:23 he would usually see 2:23. One night he woke up and saw 12:23. From that point on he was determined to get back to football.

Bruschi’s only obstacle to get back into football wasn’t rehab. He also had to deal with his wife, who was completely against the idea of a comeback.

“My wife told me we need to see as many doctors as possible and if one told me I was crazy, I couldn’t play,” said Bruschi.

Fortunately for Bruschi doctors told him that the only difference between him returning to football when he wanted to or a year later was that he’d be a year older.

Doctors also told Bruschi that he was in a data free zone. No player had ever returned to the game after having a stroke.

“I wanted to ask questions, but the doctors had no answers for me,” said Bruschi. “No one else had come back from a stroke to play in the NFL.”

On Oct. 29, 2005, Tedy Bruschi was officially activated by the Patriots and played his first game back from his stroke the following night against the Buffalo Bills.

“My wife told me if I was on the ground for more than three seconds she was coming on to the field and taking me out of the game,” said Bruschi.

Bruschi admitted that his first year back he was not the same.

“I wasn’t all there mentally,” said Bruschi. “I was worrying about what might happen to me if I got hit really hard.”

Even though Bruschi wasn’t the same player when he came back from his stroke, he is extremely proud of what he overcame.

“How you deal with adverse situations in your life, that defines you,” said Bruschi. “As long as you make it through to the other side, that’s all that matters.”

Currently Bruschi is serving as an analyst for ESPN.

“It is tough covering your old team,” said Bruschi. “They certainly didn’t make it easy for me with the trade of Richard Seymour and the famous fourth and two call against the Colts.”

Bruschi concluded his speech with a message to the audience.

“Realize that you are in the middle of something great right now,” said Bruschi. “Make the most of it. That’s what I wish for all of you.”

After a long standing ovation, Bruschi opened up the room to a question and answer session.

One member of audience asked Bruschi about the infamous “spygate.”

“Ah, spygate,” said Bruschi. “We felt insulted that people thought that diminished what we did in the past. We used it as motivation to go out and beat everyone.”

A second fan asked Bruschi his thoughts on Brett Favre.

“As a player I just wanted him to retire and get it over with,” said Bruschi. “As a fan I want Brett Favre to come back because he is exciting to watch.”

Many in the audience were moved by Bruschi’s story.

-Willy

According to ESPN.com’s John Clayton, LaDanian Tomlinson was released yesterday by the Chargers after nine years of service. Based on the lack of production from the running back position and the fact that everyone’s favorite thing to do on Monday mornings is shit on Laurence Maroney we are likely going to have to endure a few months of speculation on whether or not Tomlinson will suit up for the Patriots in 2010.

Despite still scoring 12 touchdowns, LT had his worst season as a professional in 2009. He had 223 carries for 730 yards and an unimpressive 3.3 yards per carry. Also, he only had 20 receptions for 154 total yards and no scores. LT has been in a steady decline since he peaked in 2006. Take a look at the below statistics:

What is most telling to me is the decrease in yards per carry. It is expected that a running back in his late 20’s/early 30’s will suffer from a decline in production. It’s unreasonable to expect him to have 320+ carries for his entire career. But when you only have 223 attempts, if you had anything left in the tank then you should be averaging at least four yards a carry, any less and you are hurting your team. To compare, Laurence Maroney has a career 4.2 YPC and last year was at 3.9. Not great by any means, but definitely solid production from the position. Maroney, however, has been getting run out of town for three years, even before he started fumbling. Is it realistic to think that Tomlinson would come to New England and be anything better than what we saw this past year?

Unfortunately, the answer to that question is no. Tomlinson is too beat up after years of carrying the load in San Diego and playing through nagging injuries. To expect him to come in here and solve the New England’s ground issues should not be expected nor wanted, and that is without even taking into consideration the fact that Tomlinson has done nothing but express his hatred for the Patriots and Belichick at every chance he had. Currently, the Pats have Sammy Morris, Fred Taylor, Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis, along with Maroney under contract and will likely be bringing back Kevin Faulk as well. All but Maroney and Green-Ellis are on the wrong side of 30. If the Patriots were to add another running back to the mix, which is unlikely considering they already have five, I would expect them to draft someone young who could potentially be a long term fix rather than a stop gap like Tomlinson.

The solution to the problem remains in house. There is not one thing that is glaringly wrong with the Patriots run game. Everyone deserves a piece of the blame pie including Maroney for fumbling too much, the coaching staff for calling the wrong plays, Belichick for having a short leash on Maroney, and Fred Taylor for being old and fragile. If in 2010 we can finally get away from the 2007 run and gun offense and be more balanced and committed to the run then the Patriots will be far more successful. Maroney has the talent and Taylor has the experience; combined, they could be quite the two headed monster in 2010.

- Chris

WEEI.com – Longtime NFL.com senior analyst Pat Kirwan said the Patriots are the team that’s most likely to land potential free agent defensive end Julius Peppers. “I still think the Patriots are the team that had the most interest in him, and they struggled in the pass rush last season,” Kirwan said during a live chat Monday on NFL.com. “Bill Belichick has had great success with the hybrid players, like Willie McGinest, who can play in both three- and four-man fronts. The Redskins are notorious for spending money. But I think Peppers wants to play for a playoff contender, along with making a ton of money.”

Am I the only person who doesn’t want to see Peppers end up with the Patriots? Because honestly, I think it is hilarious that people are even considering it. The Patriots defense is built on versatility and smarts. There really isn’t a spot on this team for a pure pass rusher, especially at the cost that it would take to lock up Peppers. There is no doubting the mans talent. He can get to the quarterback better than most. But the majority of the time he is breaking containment and opening himself up to be burned by draws and quick runs/passes. You may think that it is a small price to pay in order to reap the rewards of 10+ sacks a year, but Belichick undoubtedly feels differently, just ask Adalius Thomas.

If the Patriots wanted to drop big bucks on a pass rusher they wouldn’t have traded Richard Seymour. He embodied everything the Patriots look for in a defensive end. Seymour would get to the quarterback when his number was called, but also knew how to play his position and draw double teams opening up the field for the rest of the defense to run wild. If you ask me who would Belichick rather have on his team all things being equal I would go with Seymour. Peppers just isn’t a good fit for his system.

This is obviously a terrible comparison because their skills are not even in the same atmosphere, but we brought in a pure pass rusher in Derrick Burgess last summer and that didn’t work out too well. His lack of versatility often led him straight to the bench.

The Patriots have four of the top 53 picks in this springs draft. A draft, mind you, that is loaded with 3-4 caliber defensive ends. It is much more realistic that they use one or two of these picks to bring in someone fresh who they can teach and develop from the get go. This is also a far less expensive route as well which is sure to come into play, especially when you have plenty of your own players (Wilfork, Brady, Mankins, Gostkowski, etc.) to worry about signing first.

It is easy to pin point pressuring the quarterback as one of the teams glaring weaknesses in 2009. But adding a man who recorded 10.5 sacks last year doesn’t immediately make everything all better.

- Chris

ProFootballTalk.com – The Colts had the best two-minute drive quarterback of his era, perhaps any era, and they chose to run the ball with Mike Hart instead. The Colts’ decision to go conservative late in the first half, more than any other, is ripe for debate… The following quote from Peyton Manning indicates that the decision to run came from above. “Had we gotten that first down, we were going to call a timeout and then go back to our two-minute offense, but Jim Caldwell told Tom [Moore] to try to get a first down, try to punch it out first,” Manning said. “We feel like you should convert that third down and we didn’t. Then we gave them a short field and gave them the easy field goal. That was a disappointing series,” he finished. (Manning unsurprisingly didn’t sound thrilled with the decision.)

Let me preface this by saying that I actually don’t mind the Colts, I know, it’s amazing. But for some reason I was always a fan. Obviously this happened long before they became the Patriots biggest and most hated rivals, but still, I think I look at them from a completely different perspective than most in the area. That being said, it really is ridiculous the double standard that is out there when comparing the Colts and the Patriots, and hell, even the Saints.

Coming out and blaming your rookie head coach for blowing the Super Bowl is quite the statement. If it was Tom Brady who said this he would be crucified for months and probably suspended from the league. At the very least he would be fined $10 million. This is a true statement, not just my opinion. The guy who supposedly has all the power in the offense and the ability to call whatever play he wants and change the play to whatever he wants at the line of scrimmage all of the sudden is blaming the play calling? I’m not buying it Peyton, you can’t fool me. Listen, part of being one of the greatest of all time is owning up to your mistakes. Whenever the Patriots lose a game, Brady is the first one to the mic taking the blame, even if he just threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns, Brady comes out and says he could have done something better that would have won them the game. When has Manning ever done this? Just off the top of my head I recall him blaming the kicker and his offensive line for losing playoff games in the past, and now, he is blaming the coach? No way. I didn’t see Jim Caldwell say one word on the sidelines this entire season, let alone in the most important game of the year. He is simply a figure head and it would surprise me if his head set was even plugged in.

Despite this ludicrous outcry, Manning, yet again, is getting a free pass. It’s almost like because he makes funny commercials and has won every regular season game of his life that he gets to just say whatever he wants and never take the blame for a loss. It can’t be Manning’s fault right? He is perfect in every way. Blow me, give me Brady every day of the week.

- Chris

ESPN.com - Bill Cowher believes even if the Indianapolis Colts win the Super Bowl on Sunday, the New England Patriots should be considered the best team of the past decade and scoffed at the idea the Spygate scandal had any impact. The debate about the best team of the aughts includes three teams. Only the Patriots and Cowher’s former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, won multiple championships. The Colts would win their second with a win over the New Orleans Saints. “I think the decade still has to go to New England,” Cowher said Tuesday at a CBS Sports news conference to preview the Super Bowl. “But the Pittsburgh Steelers went to a lot of championship games, won two Super Bowls. The Colts I’m not so sure within the last five years they haven’t been the most consistent football team. But you go back to the body of work and the consistency, and I think New England clearly is above everybody else. They never had that one down year. They’ve been on the brink from when they first won in 2001 until this past year they were in the playoffs. They’ve been the most consistent team.”… Cowher gushed about Patriots coach Bill Belichick, citing him as influential to philosophies Cowher applied to the Steelers… “The humility that they won with, that’s what set them apart,” Cowher said. “I learned a lot from their ability to respect an opponent every week, to not get caught up with it. I remember taking a lot from the way the New England Patriots handled success. To me, they epitomize that. How you handle success and not get caught up in it makes them role models.”

Well there you have it, if the coach of one of the most successful teams of the decade comes out and says that the Patriots are the best team of the last ten years then it must be true, right? Especially if said coaches team is part of the debate. Bill Cowher has always been someone I respect. He just seems like a no nonsense kind of guy that always has a plan and will execute regardless of the talent surrounding him. He was always a menace on the opposing side lines but seeing him in the studio you really get an understanding of how good he really was at his job. It’s not easy for a coach to cross over to the other side of the camera, but Cowher has done it fabulously.

Anyways, onto the Patriots. Is it really even an argument? In my opinion, the only thing that matters is championships. The Patriots have three, the Steelers have two, and at the most, the Colts have two. Three > two, therefore, the Patriots are the clear winners. The only thing that could happen to sway me from this argument is if during the seven years that the Patriots weren’t winning Super Bowls they sucked nuts. This was not the case as I’m sure you all know. They won the division seven times, made it to another Super Bowl in 2007, should have made it to one in 2006, and had also put up one of the best seasons in NFL history. Sure, the Colts may have a few more regular season wins and can make a strong argument for the quarter back of the decade, but team, I don’t think so.

- Chris