New England Patriots Mt. Rushmore
Nov 11, 2019 13:27:48 GMT
klawrencio79 and Beardy McJewsenheimer ESQ like this
Post by Rey Kahuka on Nov 11, 2019 13:27:48 GMT
I find this an impossible exercise. First of all there's a pre-dynasty Rushmore that's pretty tough to decide:
Hannah
Tippet
Cappaletti
Armstrong
Then there are players like Bledsoe, Bruschi, McGinnest, Law who connected pre-dynasty and dynasty era Patriots.
Dynasty era? Where do we start? I don't even know who I'd start at kicker. The guy with the most clutch kick in the history of the NFL (and I don't mean the two Super Bowl winners!), or the guy with the most points in team history. Actually, it's an easy choice, I have to go with Vinatieri over Gostkowski.
Brady
Troy Brown (Go back and watch the first three championships, that guy is everywhere. Offense, defense, special teams. Everywhere, making championship plays)
Fuck it, I just can't decide. I could do a Rushmore for linebackers (Hightower/Bruschi/McGinest/Mayo) and have deserving candidates left out (Vrabel, Ninkovich).
Surely Gronk would be up there. But who was more important to the team's success at WR? Welker's numbers are actually better than Edelman's, but he never won a ring here. All Edelman has done is score the GW TD in Super Bowl 49, make one of the iconic catches in NFL history in SB 51, and win SB MVP in SB 53. When a team has done this much winning, it's hard to decide which players at any given position have contributed the most, let alone four players overall.
Belichick deserves mention, but so does Parcells. If you're using non-players though, wouldn't you have to put Bob Kraft up there? This franchise was an absolute joke before he bought it.
I can't stress enough the importance of Drew Bledsoe when talking about Patriots history. A #1 overall pick who absolutely lived up to the hype and led the team to a Super Bowl appearance before Brady arrived, and a few years later was the ultimate class act when he was replaced and eventually shipped out in favor of the GOAT. Great gets thrown around too much, but it's certainly fair to say Bledsoe was a very good NFL Quarterback for a long time, and during his tenure here he helped drag this franchise from the ranks of league laughing stock to respectability. Brady outshines Bledsoe as he does most (if not all, depends on your preference) QBs in history, but Bledsoe's contributions to the Patriots legacy should never be forgotten.
Hannah
Tippet
Cappaletti
Armstrong
Then there are players like Bledsoe, Bruschi, McGinnest, Law who connected pre-dynasty and dynasty era Patriots.
Dynasty era? Where do we start? I don't even know who I'd start at kicker. The guy with the most clutch kick in the history of the NFL (and I don't mean the two Super Bowl winners!), or the guy with the most points in team history. Actually, it's an easy choice, I have to go with Vinatieri over Gostkowski.
Brady
Troy Brown (Go back and watch the first three championships, that guy is everywhere. Offense, defense, special teams. Everywhere, making championship plays)
Fuck it, I just can't decide. I could do a Rushmore for linebackers (Hightower/Bruschi/McGinest/Mayo) and have deserving candidates left out (Vrabel, Ninkovich).
Surely Gronk would be up there. But who was more important to the team's success at WR? Welker's numbers are actually better than Edelman's, but he never won a ring here. All Edelman has done is score the GW TD in Super Bowl 49, make one of the iconic catches in NFL history in SB 51, and win SB MVP in SB 53. When a team has done this much winning, it's hard to decide which players at any given position have contributed the most, let alone four players overall.
Belichick deserves mention, but so does Parcells. If you're using non-players though, wouldn't you have to put Bob Kraft up there? This franchise was an absolute joke before he bought it.
I can't stress enough the importance of Drew Bledsoe when talking about Patriots history. A #1 overall pick who absolutely lived up to the hype and led the team to a Super Bowl appearance before Brady arrived, and a few years later was the ultimate class act when he was replaced and eventually shipped out in favor of the GOAT. Great gets thrown around too much, but it's certainly fair to say Bledsoe was a very good NFL Quarterback for a long time, and during his tenure here he helped drag this franchise from the ranks of league laughing stock to respectability. Brady outshines Bledsoe as he does most (if not all, depends on your preference) QBs in history, but Bledsoe's contributions to the Patriots legacy should never be forgotten.