One key to Patriots' success? Recruiting players from AFC East foes
The New England Patriots have dominated the NFL in the 21st century for a plethora of reasons. But there's one tactic they deftly employ perhaps better than anyone else in the league: using free agency to poach key players from their division rivals.
“Oh, there’s no question they do that,” former Patriots tackle and current ESPN analyst Damien Woody told USA TODAY Sports.
“What they do is try to see if there are players who can fit a role on their team. And then they’ll scan the league with their player personnel department. If there’s a match, then they’ll explore if they’ll fit in the building and in the locker room. If the price is right, they’re in business.
“But the Patriots? They know that by taking some of their division rivals’ best players they’re doing two things: they’re helping them(selves), and they’re hurting you.”
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The Patriots are 76-22 (.776) in the regular season since 2001 against their AFC East foes. That’s the top mark in the NFL in that span. Since Bill Belichick became head coach in 2000, the franchise has won five Super Bowls and appeared in seven. They have won 14 division titles, including the last eight in a row (an NFL record).
A big reason for their dominance is shrewd roster development, which includes fostering intradivision defections. The latest player is former Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore, widely considered to be one of the top two players at his position available in free agency along with A.J. Bouye.
“It’s an honor to play under Coach Belichick,” Gilmore, a veteran of five seasons, said after joining the Patriots. "Watching from afar, obviously I’ve played against them a lot. They find a way to win, so that’s one thing you’ve got to respect about them.”
Gilmore joins current and former players like Danny Woodhead, Chris Hogan, Wes Welker, Sammy Morris, Scott Chandler, Shaun Ellis, Alan Branch and Vinny Testaverde to play for either the Bills, Miami Dolphins or New York Jets one year, only to join New England the following season via free agency or a trade.
Woody, a Patriot and two-time Super Bowl champion from 1999 to 2003, was actually one of Woodhead’s teammates in 2010 with the Jets, who tried to stash the running back on their practice squad. New York had signed Woodhead to the active roster early in the season but released him and then re-assigned him to their practice squad to make room for another player. The Patriots were set to play the Jets on Sept. 19, 2010, and signed Woodhead to their 53-man roster the night before the game.
The next day, New England third-down back Kevin Faulk tore an anterior cruciate ligament, opening the door for Woodhead to become an instant fixture for the offense (he finished with 926 yards from scrimmage, second on the team, in just 14 games that season).
The Patriots aren't alone in signing practice squad players from a future opponent's roster before the team's meet. Arguably no team, though, uses the strategy more effectively.
“It’s more so than getting any intel the day before the game,” Woody said. “The Patriots are just a step ahead of everyone else. They see talent where others don’t.”
Gilmore’s addition, however, is much more than just a way to needle the Bills, who have beaten New England three times since the start of the 2004 season. With Patriots star corner Malcolm Butler receiving a first-round tender as a restricted free agent, there’s the chance another team could pry him away. Butler spent part of last week visiting the New Orleans Saints, who are reportedly interesting in either signing him to an offer sheet or working out a sign-and-trade with New England.
But even if Butler departs, Gilmore leaves the Patriots secondary in good shape. (There are even reports that former Jets corner Darrelle Revis could return for a second stint under Belichick.)
“I don’t know why other teams don’t do this more often,” Woody said. “Although, with a lot of things the Patriots do, so many people try to copy them but fail.
"It just makes you wonder what other teams, especially in that division, have been missing all along.”
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Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes
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