Nitpicks & Nitwits: Remembering David Patten; Patriots Vaccination Status

Once the regular season finds its’ way into our fall viewing habits, each week we’ll take a closer look at the “how’s” and the “why’s” of what happened.

We’ll also point out the ‘between the lines’ stars and the knuckleheads along the way – in case you missed them – and explain why things didn’t turn out the way they probably should have.

That’s the thing about being a fan or a follower…we always know how things should have turned out.  But often enough, we’re unaware of the reasons behind the ‘how’ and the ‘why.’  Hopefully, we’ll provide some context and explanation to help it make sense.

Or not.

Patten’s Army

It was hard not to be a fan of David Patten, no matter who you rooted for.

He represented so much of what the Patriots were about in the early 2000’s – he was undersized but gave maximum effort.  He was underappreciated but was a three-time Super Bowl champ.  And when it came to delivering, David Patten became one of Tom Brady’s earliest go-to guys…and is there any greater football epitaph that could be written?

“He was one of the most respected players I’ve been around,” was what Bill Belichick said about Patten when he opened his comments this week. If you’ve got the respect of the head coach, at any level, chances are you’ve produced at the highest level.

Patten played with a chip on his shoulder because he knew others doubted his ability.  He had tremendous confidence in himself and what he could accomplish. His attitude rubbed off on the entire team as the two-decades-long dynastic Patriots began to exude what we all know as “The Patriot Way.”

David Patten embodied that Patriot Way, in every way.

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To Vax, or Not to Vax

We’ve all made our personal choices.  And, we can hope that some will decide to ‘take one for the team,’ or at least consider the common, greater good when it comes to vaccination against COVID-19.

But it remains a personal choice, as it should.  ‘Merica, amiright?

Bill Belichick reiterated as much this week, after weekend comments last week appeared to muddy the waters of the message the NFL has been trying to get across.

Vaccines, good.  COVID, bad.  Playing games, good.  COVID list, bad.  Get the shot, play games, good.

Be unvaccinated, test positive, don’t play and possibly get sick and infect others – bad.

“My comment relative to the vaccinations is that’s an individual decision for each person to make.  As a team, we’re better off if everyone is vaccinated and that being said, even if everyone is vaccinated, that doesn’t solve all our problems as we’ve seen,” Belichick told the assembled media Monday.

Right.  It’s a personal choice.

But let’s read between the lines for a moment:  If you want to play football here, continue to earn a pretty darn good paycheck, AND have a little consideration for your friends, family, and fellow teammates…it’d be good if you vaxxed up.

Let’s remember – football isn’t a personal sport.  It’s a team sport.  Personal decisions can be made in golf or tennis.

But decisions DO affect others within a locker room…at the very least.  And that’s getting very personal.