Patriots eye the prize

Coach marched team toward improbable goal

By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Staff, 2/3/2002

EW ORLEANS - On a sultry July morning, the Patriots convened training camp at Smithfield, R.I., with the objective of erasing the hangover of a sluggish 5-11 season in 2000.

Expectations among the fans and media were tepid. Even the players confess, in retrospect, they were uncertain how this team would fare.

What if they were afforded a glimpse of the future? What if someone told them they'd be playing in the Super Bowl but franchise quarterback Drew Bledsoe, top receiver Terry Glenn, starting linebacker Ted Johnson, and Pro Bowl defensive end Willie McGinest would have precious little to do with it?

''If you told me that in preseason, I'd look at you a little funny,'' said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. ''It really is sort of baffling.

''Having said that, the way the league is structured today, everyone has a chance. But we got here with a team that was willing to set aside egos to make it work.''

In this truly improbable Patriots season, which climaxes tonight with a Super Bowl showdown against the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, the most stunning aspects of their success are the evolution of a blue-collar roster that thrived with interchangeable parts and the philosophy of a coach who cared for neither a player's reputation nor salary - only results.

Bill Belichick unfurled that blueprint when he played the recalcitrant Glenn in only one game and eventually suspended him indefinitely for insubordination. Glenn, who led the team in receiving yards (963) and touchdowns (6) last season, mistakenly thought he was indispensable.

The initial shock was palpable in the locker room. How could the Patriots expect to win without one of their most explosive weapons?

''The bottom line was, Bill made a decision, and he stuck with it,'' explained David Patten, who emerged as a valuable receiver in Glenn's absence. ''He didn't care how many balls Terry had caught in the past. The message got through. If you did something to hurt this team, you're gone.''

There was another, more poignant message: No matter how great you were, either last year or last week, what matters is now. After Bledsoe sheared a blood vessel in his chest in Week 2, leaving him hospitalized in serious condition, his understudy, 24-year-old Tom Brady, seized control of the team and ignited new life in a floundering offense. By the time Bledsoe was ready to return, he was out of a job.

For five years, Bledsoe had envisioned myriad scenarios that would lead back him to the Super Bowl, where he could recoup the losses he incurred in 1997. He had never shaken the burden of New England's 35-21 drubbing at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, tossing his Super Bowl ring in a drawer and refusing to watch a replay of the most hollow game of his career.

Next time, he had vowed, would be different.

How right he was.

Bledsoe's return to the Super Bowl will feature him on the sideline, clipboard in hand, his thirst for personal redemption unquenched.

Yet Bledsoe suffers in silence, declining to criticize Belichick and resisting the urge to allow his personal frustrations to spill onto the field.

''Drew's reaction was key,'' said Bruschi. ''He could have easily divided this football team, through the press, through the owners, through his friends in the locker room. But he didn't.''

As a result, Bledsoe made it impossible for other veterans whose playing time was reduced to complain. Who had it worse than the $100 million quarterback, whose only crime was losing a few pints of blood?

''Drew was disappointed for a long, long time,'' said veteran linebacker Bryan Cox. ''I felt for him, but as a leader on this team, I had to stand up and back Bill Belichick's decision to start Brady.

''Then I go out, break my leg, and lose my job. So the same rules apply to me. I'm not playing much, and I don't like it, but I'm eating the same [expletive] Drew did.''

The reward for accepting a limited role without rancor is hearing your name called at critical junctures, often when you least expect it. Cox, for example, found himself on the field late in the playoff game against Oakland and made a critical stop to help send the game into overtime. McGinest, whose slow recovery from back surgery reduced his role this season, made a number of key stops in the second half of the AFC Championship game against Pittsburgh.

Cornerback Terrell Buckley, who was placed on the inactive list at one point during the season for complaining to the coaches about playing time, was as surprised as anyone to be on the field one month later against the Jets in the fourth quarter of a close game. With two minutes left in the game, Buckley intercepted Vinny Testaverde to seal a win.

''He puts competition on everybody,'' kicker Adam Vinatieri said. ''I think it's why this team has succeeded. Nobody can get too comfortable.''

Belichick's what-have-you-done-for-me-lately approach remains a topic of conversation among his players, and the comments aren't always favorable. But what many of them have come to learn is that if you stay ready, your turn will come.

''If you can prove you can take all the stuff he dishes out, everything will fall back into place,'' Buckley said. ''There's a group of us that have put ourselves aside for this team. We sit around and talk about it. We all came to the same conclusion. You look at the team and it's going in the right direction.

''So here's the choice: Do you want to be a distraction or help the team win some more?''

The players concede it's a potentially explosive situation when you require veterans to take a seat. The reason so many of them have accepted their fate is that the team keeps on winning (eight straight going into today).

''I don't think people realize how true that statement is,'' said linebacker Ted Johnson. ''Say we don't win that game against San Diego. We're looking at a 1-4 start, and it could potentially be a disastrous season.

''It's one thing for everybody to put their egos aside and go along with things when you're winning. But if you're losing ...''

Coming into this season, Johnson had started 73 of his 75 career games. He was knocked out of the lineup by injuries, like McGinest, another former defensive staple. Their replacements were hard-working veterans Mike Vrabel, Bobby Hamilton, and Anthony Pleasant, who are low on profile but big on production.

Belichick's varying game plans and rotating personnel make it infinitely more difficult for teams to prepare for the Patriots. The Rams coaching staff surely reviewed film of their 24-17 win over New England back in November, yet they are fully aware the lineup they face tonight could be vastly different.

Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis promises there will be a new wrinkle in the game plan tonight, perhaps paving the way for another emerging name in another improbable situation.

''We've come to expect somebody new to step up every week,'' Weis said. ''Some people have described it as destiny. We describe it as preparation.''

Who would have guessed in July that the Patriots could come so far with names that meant so little to us back then? Ask Bill Belichick, and he'll give you his trademark half-smile. He knew, even back then, that team parts had to be interchangeable to become one whole champion.