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"New guys come here and they see guys you watch on TV, the so-called stars of the team, the leaders of the team,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys China," safety Devin McCourty said, "they see them putting in the work and I think that just trickles down throughout the team."
Amendola has just nine catches this season after being slowed by injuries last season. Johnson caught only 15 passes in 2011 and wasn't re-signed,Cheap Jerseys 2018. Haynesworth was cut after playing six games.
Players who remain accept a system that emphasizes improving every day, taking nothing for granted and believing in a coach and organization with a legacy of excellence.
They also drafted defensive end Chandler Jones and linebacker Dont'a Hightower in the first round in 2012 and linebacker Jamie Collins in the second round in 2013. Then they signed free agent cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner before this season.
All have been key contributors.
Brady picked that up from older Patriots,Wholesale NFL Jerseys.
"We train them to do the kind of work they have to do or they don't last," Fears said. "It's as simple as that. You just can't walk through this thing. It's kind of demanding around here."
The defense also has a much different look with only six players from that team.
"And then the rookies, we train them how to do it. We train them how to be what we need them to be."
Of the team's 46 active players from the Super Bowl played on Feb. 5, 2012, only 18 are still with the Patriots. Current running back Shane Vereen was one of seven inactive players for that game.
"The stability at the top is just awesome," Fears said. "Once the program was put in, once they decided what we're going to do and what we want to be and how we want to do it, then there's a certain work ethic that those guys that come here, especially free agents, they sort of buy into it.
And that tough left side of the offensive line? Tackle Matt Light, retired. Guard Logan Mankins, traded.
Some moves didn't work — the big-money signing of wide receiver Danny Amendola before last season and the addition of wide receiver Chad Johnson (then Ochocino) and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth before the 2011 season,NCAA Football Jerseys.
So are all three who carried the ball.
The Patriots let Wes Welker sign with Denver before last season after his 672 catches in six years led the NFL in that span. Wide receiver Julian Edelman took over and has been outstanding.
Bill Belichick is in his 15th season as head coach and quarterback Tom Brady is in his 13th as a starter, not counting 2008 when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener.
Chances for that slipped when they fell to 2-2 with a 41-14 loss to Kansas City. Since then, the Patriots (7-2) have won five in a row, outscoring opponents by an average of 40.2-21.6.
Even the best players — Brady, linebacker Jerod Mayo — get criticized in team meetings. And success hasn't kept them from being among the hardest workers.
Yet the more the Patriots change, the more they keep winning.
"Veteran leadership," he said,Jerseys NFL Cheap, "is making sure we're all accountable. That's what Willie McGinest did for me when I was young. That's what Rodney (Harrison) did. That's what Tedy Bruschi did, called me aside and (said), 'Look, this is what we're looking for,' and I think that's how you can, hopefully, build and sustain. It's led to a lot of wins."
Now they have a bye before facing another division leader, the Indianapolis Colts.
Belichick "has always tried to bring in guys who football is important to them,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, and if it's not then you're usually not here very long," Brady said.
After losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants 21-17, they made it to the next two AFC championship games and have the best record in the AFC this season.
But of the 14 members of the coaching staff, nine remain.
"Bill does a real good job of really evaluating where we're at and, obviously, where we want to go," said Scott O'Brien, in his sixth season as special teams coach. "It's very important to make sure we're looking for our type of players, the mentality we're looking for, obviously the physical ability that we're looking for."
Consistency in the organization's leadership makes the Patriots contenders every year.
Some changes have worked.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Six of the seven players who caught passes for the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl just three seasons ago are gone.
"Until we get another Super Bowl it ain't done yet," said Ivan Fears, in his 13th year as running backs coach.
In Robert Kraft's 20 full seasons as owner, the Patriots won 13 AFC East titles, six AFC championship and three Super Bowls.
"But you get good players, you get a guy that wants to be a winner, that sees what you've been doing and buys into the program, he's got a shot."
The most recent win was the most impressive — a 43-21 rout of Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. |
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