NFL: A new attitude

By Alan Keffer

Coming off a losing season, the draft can do one of two things for a team. It can either further their abysmal course or combined with their offseason retooling, it can turn them into a team poised for contention. It can also improve a team’s mental state as they see improvement and effort from the executives above them. For the New England Patriots, that is just what the 2001 NFL Draft did.

The Patriots are coming off a 5-11 season, which included their second straight non-playoff appearance. The team that was a perennial contender loaded with young talent took a turn for the worst last year under new head Coach Bill Belichick. However, with several key free agent signings and some good young draftees, the Patriots players believe this is a franchise ready to turn the corner.

“No one was happy about how things went here last year,” stated a Patriots player, who spoke with Fanstop.com on condition of anonymity. “We really think we have turned things around this offseason. The front office ahs shown us that they really want to win and coming out of mini-camp, I know I feel very good about how things look. We are a team that is going to surprise a lot of people and critics.”

The Patriots started their offseason by signing a pair of players away from division rival Miami. With the addition of special teams star Larry Izzo and wide receiver Bert Emanuel, New England added a pair of quality players that will help strengthen both their offensive and special teams attacks. The Patriots then added former Pittsburgh linebacker Mike Vrabel, to help strengthen a defense riddled with problems last season.

Their great offseason extended to the draft. After drafting defensive tackle Richard Seymour in the first round (#6), the Patriots racked up steal after steal as the rounds clicked off. The names were like a who’s who of college football… Matt Light (OT/Purdue), Brock Williams (CB/Notre Dame), Kenyatta Jones (OG/South Florida, Jabari Holloway (TE/Notre Dame), and T.J. Turner (LB/Michigan State) will all dawn Patriots blue next season as they will be looking to improve New England.

“You look at what we have done and it shows we are committed to winning,” said the player. “We have added a nice mix of veterans and rookies that are going to help make us back into a winner. Every player to a man is very excited about what we have done and we all feel that the right moves have been made. There is no way we will go 5-11 this season.”

Perhaps the one player that most exemplifies the Patriots desire to turn things around, is fifth round pick Hakim Akbar (Safety/Washington). Akbar was considered a late first or early second round pick, however he slid down the board to the Patriots at the end of the fifth round. The Patriots then showed they were willing to take a chance on the young safety, despite the questions surrounding him. Everyone we have talked to in New England feels the Patriots made the right move by taking that chance.

Not every NFL team that had a losing record can turn things around. Though all try and improve, some continue to lose despite their best intentions. The Patriots however, are convinced they will not be one of those teams.

Article courtesy of Fanstop.com