I miss Tedy Bruschi...

... I knew there was a reason I didn't know the names of anyone in the Patriots secondary this season -- and it wasn't because I wasn't following the team. It was because...

I miss this guy (Mike Vrabel)...

... this guy (Rodney Harrison)...

... this guy (Richard Seymour)...

... and even this guy (Troy Brown)... The Patriots secondary is missing these guys. There's no one on there now WORTH knowing. They haven't stepped up. These guys stepped up. They rallied. They threw their hearts on the 50-yard-line and didn't pick them up until 60 minutes of football was over.

Today's Patriots game was EMBARRASSING. It was SAD. It was PITIFUL. It was a DISASTER. C'mon guys, what the hell is going on????

I'll tell you what's going on. What's going on is the Patriots are missing leaders. They are missing guys who will stand up and let these rookies know what's going on: no goofy ish, no baby act, no excuses. These guys let the rest of their teammates know they were accepting nothing less than THE BEST. If you didn't put your heart, your soul and your first-born son on that field every time you stepped on it, you bet they'd bust your a$$ in the locker room afterwards. They were leaders. They were disciplined. They were hard-working. They were ruthless. They were inspiring. They were dedicated.

This 2009-(barely)2010 Patriots team has none of that -- with the exception of my boy Brady, of course, but he isn't leading the defense; he has his hands more than full with that God-awful receiving corps he got stuck with (minus maybe Wes Welker who has really stood up this year). {Yeah, I know Wes Welker's name, how 'bout that?}

I'm depressed. Not because my team lost the game. Oh no, I can handle an L in the record column. I'm depressed because my team lost their spirit. They lost what they stood for. They lost who they are.

They just don't make 'em like this anymore...

Here's hoping my boys can rebuild, rally and come back as true Patriots next year.

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