- 13 minutes ago
Mike Vrabel said he wants to use the 2001 Super Bowl winning team as a blueprint for the New England Patriots. The guys discuss whether this year's team is trending in that direction.
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00:00You know, there was that statement that Mike Vrabel made about how he wanted to use the 2001 team, your
00:05team, as a blueprint for what this team can be.
00:08Do you see any of those fingerprints on this team, any type of similarity between who you guys were and
00:16what you're seeing on the field right now?
00:17Yeah. Oh, yeah, I do.
00:21I mean, are you kidding me?
00:22I mean, we have a quarterback that makes plays.
00:27We have a quarterback that can execute the two-minute drill.
00:31Did you see that two-minute drill?
00:32It was awesome.
00:32Right? Right before half.
00:33And then the last drive of that to Bill's game, Tom accelerated at that.
00:39You have a smart defense that you can do multiple different looks and schemes with.
00:47So that's very much.
00:48And then you have little role players, Efton Chisholm, Eli Raritan, Charles Woods.
00:55Who was the Efton Chisholm of the 2001 team?
00:59Yeah, it's hard to say that Troy Brown was that guy.
01:01Yeah, yeah.
01:02You know, how about David Givens?
01:05Mm-hmm.
01:06About David Patton?
01:07David Patton wore 86, you know?
01:09286.
01:09Yeah.
01:09So there was guys that were role players that were, you know, had key moments in the season
01:18that helped us, propel us to where we got.
01:23So they might not have had the biggest roles in the playoffs, but they had key kind of roles
01:28in the regular season.
01:29And that all factors into a team getting to the Super Bowl.
01:33Both teams have coaches in their second year.
01:36Belichick, second year.
01:37Both defensive.
01:37Second year.
01:38Defensive-minded.
01:39Yeah.
01:39Both teams have overcome injuries.
01:40You guys overcame the Bledsoe injury, obviously.
01:42It was a big one.
01:43Yeah.
01:43This team has a bunch, but I like it.
01:46And I don't know who's the big Seymour of this team.
01:49Is that Milt Williams?
01:50That's big Milt.
01:51Yeah.
01:51That's definitely Milt Williams.
01:53Yeah.
01:53Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:53Milt man.
01:54Yeah, Marcus Jones.
01:56Great punt returner.
01:58Troy Brown.
01:58Troy Brown.
01:59Kevin Falk.
02:00Yeah.
02:00Great both great punt returners.
02:03Who's the Ted Johnson of the team?
02:06Please.
02:07You can't replicate that guy.
02:08I mean, they don't make them like that anymore.
02:10Bayard, maybe?
02:12You know what?
02:13I couldn't survive in today's NFL.
02:15They're too fast.
02:16They're too athletic.
02:17And so, it was a straight-line game.
02:20So, the reason there's not a Ted Johnson on here is because Ted Johnson probably
02:23wouldn't be playing in today's NFL.
02:25Are you out of your mind?
02:26Ted, if you're being honest to yourself.
02:28So, you can be dishonest to these guys, but don't be dishonest to yourself.
02:31Well, let's talk about that 2001 team and that weekend that you guys had.
02:34As I said, I heard Ty Law this morning, and he seems to still be glowing.
02:39And it sounds like he had an excellent time.
02:43And I feel bad for Wiggy because he had something come up, and I know that he really sounded
02:46like he wanted to be there, but it was, I think, a personal matter.
02:48I was surprised not to see him there.
02:49Yeah, yeah.
02:51But, obviously, it sounds like you guys had a – I've got to imagine just the whole
02:55weekend was great catching up with everybody.
02:57Yeah, it just felt like every interaction was like – there was an authenticity to
03:04it, and it just a really warm kind of – we all greet each other.
03:08Like, you know, we saw – we didn't see each other 25 years ago, but like it was
03:11yesterday, it felt that way.
03:14Just guys falling into their same roles, their same behaviors.
03:18Everybody was on brand.
03:20I mean, Ty was pretty much hammered the whole weekend.
03:23You know, William –
03:24Did he have Corvus vodka to pass around?
03:26Oh, yeah, yeah.
03:26Oh, of course.
03:27You know, dude, just – you know, Adam and Terry was just always, you know, kind of
03:33just professional, but always just willing to, you know, talk and just share stories.
03:38I mean, everybody was – basically hadn't really changed that much.
03:43Yeah.
03:43And I give it up.
03:45These guys kept themselves in good shape, man.
03:46Yeah.
03:46Look, I think the 2001 team could go out there for a series, maybe, and then not look too
03:52embarrassed, you know.
03:53Yeah, yeah.
03:53It was against the Jets this weekend.
03:55That's an easy mark.
03:56Yeah, yeah.
03:57Right, right, right.
03:58How about Vinatieri real quick?
03:59I mean, the fact that he's cracking jokes again at halftime.
04:02This guy has become like a stand-up comment.
04:04Yeah.
04:04And he was in the Kraft box.
04:06I know there's been some, like, talk about how maybe the Krafts and Adam didn't get along
04:10so well.
04:10I think the Krafts would love more than anything for there to be at least a – I don't want
04:16to say illusion.
04:17That's not fair.
04:18At least there be to an appearance that they are tight.
04:21Yeah.
04:21Oh, they called the camera guy and was like, hey, make sure you zoom in on this.
04:23Well, they did a good job, and Adam, you know, took them up on their offer and sat right
04:26next to them.
04:27I give it up.
04:28I thought the Patriots did a terrific job, just the way they hosted us, the way they
04:32took care of us, just all the little things.
04:35We had rides everywhere.
04:36It was really next-level kind of hospitality, so I give it up to them.
04:41And I – you know what?
04:42We loved it, and I think I told you guys yesterday, one of the funner parts for me was, like,
04:47in the tunnel.
04:48Yeah.
04:48We're waiting to go out on the field to be introduced before the game.
04:52I mean, the BS, the yucking, the – you guys were video camming, and we were hyped.
04:59We were, like, getting hyped like we were about to play a game.
05:01That's awesome, man.
05:01And, you know, so it had that kind of energy, and then I loved – I absolutely loved, and
05:07it made the most sense to be introduced with Pat Summerall's voice doing the same introduction
05:12that he gave at that Super Bowl because when we ran out after being introduced as a team,
05:18I looked over at the Rams sideline, and I was like, oh, yeah, this is having an impact on
05:23them.
05:23And you remember, we got to a hot start in that game.
05:25Yeah, yeah.
05:26You know?
05:26Yeah.
05:26So that impacted them, and so I loved that we did that.
05:29It was just – that made the most sense for us to be introduced as a team.
05:32There was a pretty interesting story that came out after this weekend.
05:36It was actually before this weekend, but people just discovered it this week, and that was – you
05:41know, you said yesterday that you're glad that despite, you know, Tom and Bill being,
05:46you know, obviously part of the 2001 team, that neither one was there because – and
05:51I agree with you.
05:52If Tom was there, it would be all about Tom.
05:54Like, the whole weekend would have been about Tom Brady's back, and people would have not
05:57given the proper accolades to the 2001 team as a whole.
06:01Same thing with Bill.
06:02That would have been the case.
06:03So I'm glad they both weren't there.
06:05But there were a lot of people just like, why didn't they show up?
06:07And yesterday, I was kind of defending both of them.
06:09I was like, you know, listen, Brady's making millions of dollars calling these games.
06:12There's no way he would be there.
06:13Like, why didn't he make a video?
06:14I don't know why he didn't make a video, but either way, he wasn't there.
06:17Bill Belichick, why wasn't he there?
06:18I don't know.
06:19Maybe the schedule was tough.
06:20You can't, like, coach a game on Saturday and then be at this thing on Sunday.
06:23Yeah, the game was in Pittsburgh, by the way.
06:25A real far flight from Boston.
06:29That's 90 minutes.
06:29And then this story started making the rounds, and that was Bill Belichick joins Giants'
06:351986 reunion following North Carolina's loss to Notre Dame.
06:38That's absolutely not true.
06:39Last year, you mean?
06:40No, no, no, no.
06:41This year.
06:42Last week, as a matter of fact.
06:44Members of the 1986 New York Giants gathered Saturday night for a dinner celebrating the
06:4840th anniversary of the franchise's first Super Bowl win.
06:51The gathering included Bill Belichick, who arrived in New Jersey shortly after North Carolina's
06:56loss to Notre Dame.
06:58So Belichick, immediately after the game, got on a plane and ended up making it in time for
07:06this reunion dinner on Saturday night, not even Sunday.
07:10Well, it's easier in New York.
07:11That's the hub.
07:11I mean, it's probably easier to get a flight.
07:13Oh, sure.
07:13Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:14Is that where you flew into New York for that?
07:15He said New Jersey.
07:17New Jersey?
07:17Yes.
07:18We arrived in New Jersey shortly after North Carolina's loss to Notre Dame.
07:21The Belichick's evening included a picture with former Giant defenders Lawrence Taylor and
07:25Leonard Marshall.
07:25Basically, he found a way to make it to the reunion of the Giants team the week before,
07:31but did not, even though he was invited, make it to the 2001, the one that started a dynasty.
07:37What did you think of when you heard that?
07:39Just, that's Bill, man.
07:40That's Bill.
07:41I'm not, nothing really surprises me with Bill.
07:43If you've ever been around people that have his, I don't know what to call it, just,
07:49you know, his issues, if you will.
07:52It's not surprising that he would do that.
07:54He's, he's never, for some reason, really, really given the, the proper, I think, praise
08:02to the one team.
08:03There were still some, you know, a few pillars here that we could build with.
08:07Yeah.
08:07He's basically, he's telling you that from that 96 championship team, there were still
08:11just a few pillars on that 01 team.
08:14Well, dude, there was more than just a few.
08:15I mean, I've already counted them out a million times.
08:17So he dismisses the success of that team, which is odd to me.
08:21That would be one of my, if I was the coach, if I was Bill, I'd feel like that was
08:25one
08:25of my greatest accomplishments.
08:26Yeah.
08:27But he, he doesn't see it that way for whatever reason.
08:29I think he still thinks that the guys that were there previously, he couldn't flush out
08:33the whole team.
08:34So it's not really his team.
08:35Yeah.
08:36So, um, very odd.
08:38That's, it's unfortunate, man, because I just, dude, he was the man here.
08:44He, he built his legacy as a coach here, not as a defensive coordinator for the giants,
08:51but as a head coach for six championships here.
08:54Well, that was the 40th anniversary.
08:56Maybe he's waiting for the 2001 30th anniversary.
08:59Sometimes you want to be decades.
09:00You want to cut it.
09:01I hope they have a 40th.
09:02I mean, we, I don't know how many of us will be around for 50.
09:05So I would be great if we got together one more time, man.
09:09What did the, what did the guys in the team think about that?
09:12Nobody was talking about Bill or Tom the whole time.
09:15That's awesome.
09:16Dude.
09:16Nobody's we didn't care.
09:18Like, dude, that team was, it was almost more about the defense.
09:23If you, you know, and one team, and then certain role players on offense and special teams,
09:30clearly with Lonnie and Adam, you know, and then, and then even Ken Walter, who was our
09:35punter, he was, he was the holder.
09:37And of all those, though, the five game winning kicks that Adam had, those three guys were
09:42involved in all of them.
09:43So it's more about those role players and the defense than it is.
09:47And it is about Bill and Tom.
09:51As much success as Bill's had here, Ted, I feel like sometimes I just feel like there's
09:55something about that Giants team that just holds a more special place in his heart than
09:59New England.
10:00And I don't know if it's LT, maybe Lawrence Taylor, but he loves LT.
10:03He just loves that Giants team.
10:05Yeah.
10:05Yeah.
10:05That's, that's Bill, man.
10:07That's just, that's, he's always, you know, he loves just, if you weren't a role player,
10:12he doesn't, you know, he doesn't care as much about you, but if you're like the superstar,
10:16that's who he wants to buddy up with.
10:18You know, that's, that's, that's Bill.
10:19That's always the way Bill is.
10:21And I, I would be remiss if I didn't mention, uh, some of the coaches that were there, uh,
10:26Dante, Dante Skarniecki, who should be in my mind, he should be considered for a hall
10:31of fame.
10:32Yeah.
10:32I don't think they give it to assistant coaches, but dude, 25, 30 years, however long he coached,
10:39uh, if he's listening, I know he listens cause he told me, uh, awesome.
10:42He, he, he's maybe more than that, but you know, Ivan fears, I think made an appearance.
10:47Um, you know, it was, it was just, it was just a lot of fun to have those guys there
10:52as
10:52well.
10:52Brad Seeley was there, our special teams coach.
10:55So, um, just to, to me, the guys that showed up, it was perfect.
10:59We didn't need anybody else to have a good time and to reminisce.
11:02It was perfect the way it was.
11:03When I saw that video of you guys up at the light, the light tower, the lighthouse, I
11:08was like, I know that guy.
11:09No, what was great about it was, it was just like, all right, awesome.
11:12I'm glad that you guys got your due.
11:13Cause it would have been all about Brady and it would have been all about Belichick.
11:16It really seemed to be perfect.
11:17The one regret, I can't believe we don't distinguish this.
11:21It kind of is weird because I think it's special and I did, I should have got a picture.
11:26I think it'd be cool if we were the ones that did the, the lighthouse, but the guys that
11:32were there on the old one Superbowl team that were still there on that 96 Superbowl team
11:38that lost.
11:38Oh yeah.
11:39Cause it's to me, McGinnis, Brewski, Ty Law, lawyer, Malloy, Troy Brown, you know, Drew Bledsoe.
11:50Those were Adam Vinatieri.
11:52Those were, that was the glue to that, those teams and you and me, right?
11:57The pillars.
11:57Yeah.
11:58Yeah.
11:58We had a few pillars.
11:59Go back.
12:00So you didn't mean like that to me, that's a unique group.
12:04Yeah.
12:04And, and those guys were, except for lawyer and for Drew were on all three Superbowl teams.
12:10So we all went to four, but we're one three.
12:13And so to me, that's a, that's a group within the group that I think is a special unit.
12:17Yeah.
12:18And you've also tasted, you were so close to winning.
12:20So, you know, you were there and you didn't win it.
12:22And then you finally did.
12:23So that makes it all the more worth it in 2001.
12:25Yep.
12:26Uh, I thought it was awesome.
12:27And as I said, you know, in the end, I'm glad they weren't there.
12:29I just saw that story about Bill the week before going to the other reunion.
12:33I was just, I roll.
12:34Yeah.
12:34Right.
12:34It's, it's, it's not, it's not like I'm, I'm mad at the guy or anything.
12:37I'm just like, of course, but I don't know what that means.
12:40But of all the Superbowl winning teams, doesn't, does the old one kind of feel like the most
12:45special if you're a fan of the team?
12:47Oh, cause somebody said it best.
12:50It kicked off like a deck, two decades of winning.
12:53Like, I mean, 2001 in Boston sports, I know a lot of people look at the old four Red Sox
12:58and it was super special and I totally get it.
13:00But for some reason, Oh, one was the thing that launched like title town.
13:04Yeah.
13:04And, uh, and we wanted to know three too.
13:06It's like, I feel like the old three team's going to get kind of not right.
13:10You'll be there in two years.
13:11Okay.
13:11Yeah.
13:12Right.
13:12Absolutely.
13:13I wonder if they burn me at the old three team.
13:15Yeah, they should.
13:15Why wouldn't you?
13:17And then I have to come back to next year.
13:18Yeah.
13:19Yeah.
13:19Yeah.
13:20Jeez.