WEBVTT - Pats from the Past: Episode 26, David Patten 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:09.720 It's time out for another edition of our Pats from 0:00:09.720 --> 0:00:13.119 the Past podcast Matt Smith without Brian Morey. Sorry that 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:15.880 Brian couldn't be here, but we're thrilled to be in Columbia, 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:20.079 South Carolina and the hospitable David Patton as our guest. David, 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:21.880 thank you so much for joining us today and thank 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:22.919 you for letting us be here. 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:25.360 Hey man, the pleasure is all mine. 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:28.480 I'm just excited to be given this opportunity just to 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:31.480 reminisce a little bit and just share where I am today. 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:33.479 Well, so let's start with that, because I think Patriot's 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:37.240 fans want to know. We're here in Columbia, South Carolina 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:44.720 and we are in the A Wall Ministry. So tell 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:46.400 Patriot fans what are you doing today? 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:50.760 Well, A wall is an acronym for a way of life, 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:53.640 and it's a spiritual ministry. 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:56.080 But I focus on. 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:01.960 The art of living or uh not, not so much 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:05.560 as stressing and emphasizing religion because I was I was 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:08.840 always raised to be a strong man of faith, and 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:12.360 just over the years I saw that, you know, it 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:15.720 seems like religion has done more harm than good. So 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:18.759 the premise has kind of been, you know, to focus on, 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:22.680 you know, the expectation that God just wants us all 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:25.040 to have a better way of life. So that's kind 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:27.880 of what the ministry represents. We try to stress and 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:31.400 emphasize that no matter what walk or life, what you're doing, Uh, 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:34.880 just be be all that you can be to the 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:35.800 glory of God. 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:37.840 And that's kind of that's kind of what what the 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:39.160 ministry stands for. 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:41.319 We're gonna get into that in a lot more detail 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:46.760 later on. But why was that something that interested you? 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:49.040 Why was that a path that you decided to choose. 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:52.200 Well, like I said, I was raised in the church. 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:57.000 As from a from a baby, I mean, growing up 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:58.760 growing up in Columbia, South Carolina. 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:02.880 You know it was it was work football in church. 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:06.680 And you know along the way, we all we all 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:07.920 have our wayward days. 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:08.120 Uh. 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:10.760 Throughout my college days, I I turned my back on 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:13.800 God and I believed that early on God shut the 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.919 doors to my dream of planning the NFL. And once 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.200 I got my act together and got back in right 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:22.600 relationship with Christ. Uh, I know for a fact that 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:24.520 God opened the door. And that's how I made it 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:27.320 to the NFL. Because Uh, I actually made it to 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:31.200 the NFL A year out of college, and I had 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:33.919 worked for a coffee being factory and I was working 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:36.200 on that job, which was a streamous job, so I 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:39.239 really couldn't even work out. And I went to the 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:42.400 University of South Carolina's pro timing day and I got 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:43.680 picked up by the New York. 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:45.280 Giants from that workout. 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.600 A year off working in a coffee being factory and 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:51.399 not even training. But what took place over that over 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.760 the course of that year, uh I, I had a come. 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:58.040 To Jesus moment. Uh I, I I got back on track. 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:00.880 I rededicated my life to Christ and and and I 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:05.320 believe that God fulfilled my my lifelong dream. And you know, 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:09.720 once I, once I made it to the NFL, there 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:12.200 were there are so many distractions, and there's so many 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:14.679 things that you can get caught up in. I made 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:16.560 up a commitment to God that if he, if he 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:19.079 kept me an and and blessed me with a ten 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.880 year career, that I would dedicate him when I retired, 0:03:22.360 --> 0:03:24.200 not knowing that I would be called to the ministry 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:27.560 along the way, but I was. And so just when 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:30.920 I retired, man, uh I just felt the calling to 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:32.800 to to get out here on my own and and 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:35.760 start a work from scratch. Uh, as you can see, 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:38.560 you know, we're we're we're at the the bottom level. 0:03:38.680 --> 0:03:41.800 We we're we're establishing the foundation of it. Uh. 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:44.600 It's a it's a long, hard journey. It's it's tough work, 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:49.760 but it's very rewarding because Y I I I think 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:53.280 we find the truth in the places, uh, the secret places, 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:55.760 the places where there's not a lot of notoriety, there's 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:57.280 not a a lot of attention. 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:00.560 So y you tend to find out just to you are. 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:05.080 And although it's been a tough couple last couple of years, 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:09.400 everyone dealing with COVID, just having strong faith in God 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:12.480 and trusting that no matter how how difficult it is, 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:17.440 no matter how difficult it may be, it's it's been 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.720 a blessing and it's been rewarding and God has kept 0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:21.359 us through that. 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.920 So that's what I feel. 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:28.200 Kind of it was the commitment that I made to 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:31.920 Christ to commit to him. But I was called to 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:35.280 the ministry and I just felt like, you know, starting up, 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:37.280 starting a new work, and that's how that's how we 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:38.200 got here. 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:40.560 So I want to go back to what you said, 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:43.880 how you got into the NFL, because I think there's 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.800 this urban myth out there, and maybe it's me, maybe 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:49.280 it's others. You know, they hear the story about Kurt Warner. Oh, 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.599 Kurt was working at a grocery store packing, uh, you know, 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:55.279 bagging groceries and things like that, and somehow he got 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:59.080 his way into into playing football. Let's you were working 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:02.159 on a coffee being truck? Were you hauling beans on 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.520 a coffee bean truck? Was it? What was the job it? 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:06.640 It was a f It was a f a factory, 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:10.160 and and I I think the factory was responsible for, 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:13.359 you know, several different types of foods. But I worked 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:16.360 in the coffee bean section, and the the responsibility of 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:20.159 our job was to load for eighteen wheeler trucks truck 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:24.040 trailers of three hundred and seventy five seventy five pound 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:27.480 coffee bean bags. And it was a lot of basically 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:30.880 like uh uh. I used to equate it to uh 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:34.200 hang cleans, because you you're snatching from the ground and 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:37.359 then your partner throws the bag. You have to control it. 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:40.400 Then the next set you throw the bag. So I 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:44.479 did that for a year's time, and and I think 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:48.640 that that's what kind of increased my explosiveness because I 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:50.760 you know, I was a typical uh you know, I 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:51.880 was generally. 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:54.240 Fast for for for for that point in my life. 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:56.120 You know, when I was in college, I ran like 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:59.280 a four four or five, uh mid four or five range. 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:02.560 But after working in the coffee being factory for that 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:06.520 year and going to the Universe South came out as 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:07.160 pro timing day. 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:09.440 I ran a four to two seven that day, not 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:10.120 even training. 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:13.520 So I think that was a little bit of the 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:16.640 blessing of the law and the work I was doing. 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:18.600 So when you get to New England, do you ever 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:20.800 say to Mike Woysik, who was your strength and conditioning 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.760 coach when you start in New England, Hey, I've got 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:26.120 an exercise program that maybe we should get these guys on. 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.200 We're gonna take seventy five pound coffee bags throw them 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:31.200 to each other. It's a pretty good workout. To just 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:32.120 suggest that to him. 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:34.479 Well, I didn't think about that at the time, But 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:37.520 I will tell you this, I'll never forget this story. 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:39.080 I tell my kids all the time. 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:41.719 One day I felt so good going into work, and 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:43.640 I was one of those players. I never really boasted 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:47.080 about having the greatest skill set or being the most 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:50.479 dominant player. But what I would put up against anybody 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.719 was my work ethic. I really loved to train, I 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:56.360 loved to practice. And one day it was all season 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:59.200 program and I went and I said, Mike, I feel 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:02.600 so good today. I'm gonna make you quit blowing the whistle. 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:06.839 And I ran so many sprints that day. He literally 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:09.159 had to stop blowing the whistle because I never would stop. 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:12.000 And the thing about it, I was an eight year 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:12.680 bet at that. 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:16.120 Time, so the problem was and the reason I believe 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:18.480 he stopped blowing the whistle was because all the young 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:20.320 guys had to keep runn because they weren't gonna let 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:22.880 me outdo them. So you know, it was a little 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:25.240 culmination of how many sprints I ran that day. 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:27.440 And then, you know, looking out for the younger guys. 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:31.640 How do you think you got on the Patriots and 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:35.240 maybe specifically Coach Belichick's radar, because in two thousand and 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:37.559 one he was in the second year of his program 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:39.760 where you were free agent at that time, David, Is 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:43.360 that how you got on their radar? Were you unsigned 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:43.840 at the time? 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:48.760 Well, when I started out, I started out on four 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:54.000 one year free agent contracts and the Patriots were actually 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:57.680 gonna sign me my third my fourth year. But what 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:00.520 happened was, at the time, because I had played on 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:04.200 three one year minimum minimum based contracts, the only team 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.920 that offered me some signing, some signing bonus money was 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:08.960 the Cleveland Browns, which is fifty thousand dollars. So at 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:10.480 that time, I felt there was a lot of money, 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.600 and at the time I needed to make as much 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:15.600 money as I could, so I opted to go to 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.640 the Browns over the pass because the Pats were. 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:20.080 Just gonna bring me in as a free ager. 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:23.440 So uh, throughout the c Over the course of that 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:27.360 next year, the the Browns wanted to sign me to 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:29.360 a three year extension, but I ended up hurting my 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:31.640 toe and my production kind of fell off, so they 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:34.320 took the contract their extension off the table. So the 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:37.079 following year came around, Cleveland was gonna bring me back 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:39.520 as a free ager, but then the Patriots offered me 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:43.200 a fifty thousand signing bonus. Long story short, once I 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:46.480 get into training camp, Bill told me. 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.120 He told me up front, he said, David, you come here, Oh, 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:50.000 we're gonna. 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:52.240 Give you fifty thousand dollars to sign and you're gonna 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:54.720 have a legit chance to play and be a starter. 0:08:55.440 --> 0:08:59.320 So when I get there, they signed Charles Johnson, Torrence 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:03.480 Small Birdie Mammy, So you got you got three ten 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:08.079 year plus high production receivers, and here I am the 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:10.760 fourth year guy and I don't have them any stats. 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:13.840 So I'm like number six or seven on the depth chart. 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:16.440 And when I get there, you know, I'm feeling some 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:18.640 type of way. I'm kind of in the tank. And 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.240 Charlie was like, no, David, we brought you here. We 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:22.960 know you're gonna make the team because you're gonna be 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.160 our kick returner and you're gonna play receiver for us. 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:26.720 I said, but you know, I thought I was gonna 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:29.040 have a chance to be a starter. Well, two weeks 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:33.000 in the camp, I had played so well. Bill called 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:35.480 me out of the meeting. And you know, doing training camp, 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:36.959 you don't want to get caught out of a meeting 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:39.800 because it ain't too many tells. That's a good thing. 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:41.960 But it cast me out of the meeting. I grabbed 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:43.960 my playbook and they told me to grab my playbook. 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:49.120 Some thinking I'm getting ready to get exactly right. And 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:51.680 I go into the meeting and Bill's like well, Dave, 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:53.240 you know we told you we were gonna give you 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.240 an opportunity to be a starter here. Well, you've performed 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:58.880 so well, I just want to know what it would 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:00.000 take to sign you to. 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.200 Three year extension and the rest is history. 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.320 So you're looking around at that scene you're brought in, 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:09.400 you think you're gonna be a starter. You're right. I mean, 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.319 I think Patriot fans looked at that two thousand and 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:14.960 one team and they're going, Okay, Charles Johnson, burn E Manuel, 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:18.160 who's David Patton? Towards Small? They knew who Troy was, 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:20.920 but they really didn't know there was all these other guys. 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:24.440 Were you in competition with them? Did you think in 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:27.040 training camp were you trying to judge yourself based on 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:29.360 what they were doing or were you just saying I'm 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:31.960 gonna worry about me and let the chips fall where 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:33.720 they are because I know what I can do. 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.840 Well, that's kind of always been the mentality. You know, 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:41.040 only where about what you could control. But I knew 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:42.800 what I was told that I would have the opportunity 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:45.199 to be a starter. And by the time we get 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:49.640 the training camp, you've got three you know, pros who've 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:52.839 put in at least ten years, so needless to say, 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:55.200 you're just gonna think that you know, well, maybe they're 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:56.599 gonna get the nod over me. 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.280 But it goes back, it calling back. 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:02.160 It all comes down to what you do when you 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.600 get your opportunity, and every opportunity that I got to 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:09.360 make a play, I did that, and you know I 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:13.280 beat all those guys out, and I believe Troy and 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:15.280 I we ended up being the starterst that year. 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:17.160 I think Charles Johnson ran number three. 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:19.360 Do you remember Freddy Coleman? 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.520 Uh, And Freddy Coleman was like the special team's big 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:24.600 catch against the Jets. 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:26.640 Jets, I think it was the only propetitor. It was 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:28.040 a huge player that set up I think the game 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:28.800 when he kield. 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:30.920 Goals exactly couldn't and they couldn't happen to a better 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:32.520 guy because he was He was like one of those 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:33.760 high personality guys. 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:38.120 So so here you come, new team, new situation. Okay, 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:40.800 they got this entrenched guy quarterback. He's been around for 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:43.480 a long time, big gun, I'm your go root guy. 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:45.560 He's gonna be able to throw it to me when 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:49.360 he goes down. David, what were you thinking? What were 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:50.600 you thinking when Drew went down. 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:56.520 I had played that entire preseason with Tom Brady on 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:58.040 the third team offense. 0:11:58.640 --> 0:11:59.760 So who are we Who. 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:02.640 Are we going up against in training camp? The number 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:07.200 one defense? And I can tell you we gave number one, 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:11.360 the number one defense problems Tom and I. And I'm 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:14.679 telling you, Tom, if you didn't know Drew Brees, I 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:17.480 mean Drew Blet, so what was the one hundred million 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:18.679 dollar quarterback at that time? 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.120 You would have thought Tom was the starter. 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:25.160 Just his leadership style, I mean, his composure to plays, 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:29.400 the throws that he made in practices. So when Drew 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.200 gets knocked out of the game against the Jets and 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:35.319 I see Tom running into the game, It's like, in my. 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:36.760 Mind it was in slow motion. 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:39.160 I was like, Oh, we getting ready to go because 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:42.560 we had already had so much chemistry. And when he 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:46.840 comes in, you know everyone knows the story. Well, I'll 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:49.920 say it like this. He wasn't what he is today. 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:54.720 He wasn't the three hundred and fifty yard four four 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:58.400 hundred yards a game quarterback. But at that time, he 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:00.720 was the big play quarterback when we need a big play, 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:03.120 when we needed a big throw. Because a good game 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.720 for Tom at that time was was, you know, one 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:07.800 hundred and ninety five, hundred and eighty five yards two 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:10.920 hundred and fifteen, because we ran a lot of quick screens, 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:13.520 you know, underneath routes and things like that. But when 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:17.199 he came in, I just I really felt like we 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:19.120 were really getting ready to well. 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:21.280 At the very least, I knew he wasn't going to 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:21.840 fall off in. 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:25.480 And I think you described his first game. So here 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:29.120 come the Indianapolis Colts, Peyton Manning. They're going up and 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.800 down the field, scoring on everybody. I think Brady threw 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:33.800 for one hundred and eighty yards and Twine Smith at 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:38.720 a big game, both otis and tie return touchdowns for 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.200 returning interception for touch On that game, you scored forty 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:43.640 something points and beat the Colts, beat him pretty badly. 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:47.040 That's what your team was, right Like, you're not based. 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:50.160 It's not Tom throwing three fifty. It's getting something out 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:53.640 of special teams, your defense scores. That's certainly gonna help 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:56.199 run the ball, control the clock, don't throw it to 0:13:56.280 --> 0:13:58.520 the other team. And that's what Tom did then, didn't 0:13:58.559 --> 0:13:59.599 he exactly? 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:02.640 I think that you know, when it's all sat and 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:06.360 done and and Tom. Tom is sitting in his chair 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:11.160 and and and he's ruh, reminiscing about his his beginning days. 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:15.240 I think that Tom has a u A great respect for. 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:19.760 That Patriots team that won the first three championships because 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:24.400 he wasn't the the the goat, he wasn't the perinial 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:27.960 three hundred and fifty quarterback. It was total team effort. 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:32.480 It was total team's win. And and a defensively heavy 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:35.560 u uh, a defensive heavily team. 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:37.080 So uh. 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:40.360 I think Tom w when we had the the reunion 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:43.560 for the first three championships. He really showed a lot 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:46.560 of respect for us because it was his younger days 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:48.920 and and we kind of took up the slack. 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:51.200 For him, you know, while he waited to develop. 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:54.280 So so I mentioned quickly about the Indie game at 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:58.040 home three weeks later. It was pretty close back to back. 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:01.040 I can't remember exactly you played Indie there and when 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:05.120 we were talking before, this happened that day and just 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:09.080 to remind fans, you did something that has only happened 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.920 three times in the history of the National Football League. 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.920 You ran for a touchdown, threw for a touchdown, and 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:19.160 caught a touchdown in the same game. Now, other guys 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:21.440 have done that throughout their career and different things like that, 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:24.040 but only three guys have done it in the same game. 0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:27.880 And the company that you keep are two Hall of Famers. 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:30.600 The great Walter Payton did it in nineteen seventy nine. 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:32.800 You became the second player to ever to do it 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.720 in two thousand and one, and then Ladanian Thomlinson did 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:38.280 it in two thousand and five. When you hear your 0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:41.160 name in that company, what do you think? 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:49.320 Well, initially, I'm very home because I wasn't aware of that. 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.440 But when I think about it, and you know, when 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:58.600 I'm teaching my kids and when I'm talking to other 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:04.000 young people, it that's just it. Everyone can't be the 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:07.840 the All American every every player can't get the ACU accolades, 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:10.600 every player can't make it to the Hall of Fame. 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:15.080 But to say that I did something that two Hall 0:16:15.120 --> 0:16:17.280 of famers did you know that? 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:19.120 That r that's really humbling. 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:22.320 And that makes me feel pretty good because that's just it. 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:23.720 When I when I was giving. 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:26.800 My opportunities, I always felt like I could be an 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.440 a eighty catch ninety catch receiver any given season. 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:33.120 But that just wasn't my role, I was a down 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:34.040 the field receiver. 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:36.640 I think, uh, when you look at my status, I 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:42.040 averaged like fourteen point nine nine yards per catch, So 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:44.040 I was the receiver that they counted on to go 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.960 down the field. So Bill didn't wanna put me in 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:49.200 a lot of situations where I was where I was 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:52.840 catching uh, underneath routes, across the middle getting banged up. 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.560 Cause you know, I'm I'm not a big, a big guy. 0:16:55.880 --> 0:17:00.280 But but to to to be mentioned in in in 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:04.160 in that company makes me feel really good because I've 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:05.400 got great respect. 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:09.399 Walter Payton is one of my childhood idols, and. 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:13.320 I played I think I played maybe my last uh 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:18.879 the first three four years with bay Le dame Ley 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:23.800 and thomasin and he was a phenomenal player. So you 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:26.600 know that's something I can I can kind of rest 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:28.880 my laurels on knowing that now. 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:31.040 We're gonna talk more about that game later on. But 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:33.080 I wanted to advance a little bit in the old 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:36.560 one year, I remember talking to Teddy Bruski and Willie 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:40.479 McGinnis and they disagreed. Willie feels pretty strongly. I think 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:43.840 Lawyer said the same thing you lost to the Rams, 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:49.760 like almost at about the three quarter mark of that season. Ironically, 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:51.480 that'd be the last wash you guys had as a 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:56.000 team that year. Lawyer says, he goes, look at nothing 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:58.480 good ever comes from a loss. There's no good that 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:00.919 comes out of a loss. But but you guys felt like, 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:02.840 you know what we went toe to told with these guys, 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:04.640 and if we see them again, we can beat them. 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:06.119 Do you share that same feeling? 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:12.600 No question about it, Because in that game, we like 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:16.080 to say in the NFL, every game can can be lost, 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:18.000 and every game can go either. 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:20.840 Way because you have that that that type of parity. 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:23.520 But in that game, I forget, I forget what the 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:26.360 famous score was, but what I do remember is that 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:30.119 we went score for score. We couldn't stop them and 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:32.560 they couldn't stop us. So by the time we get 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:35.720 to the super Bowl that year, I mean, our confidence 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:39.239 was really high because we remember that week and we 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:41.440 felt like we had just a little bit more time 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:44.119 we would have won that game. So going into the 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:48.040 Super Bowl, when no one else other than our fans 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:50.520 and us believed that we would beat the greatest shown 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:54.679 on turf, we really had a strong confidence that we would. 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:58.240 We were just as much the favorites as as as 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:02.040 the rams, and you see what you see what the 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:02.719 result was. 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:06.359 So, you know, kid who grew up in South Carolina 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:08.479 played it where you went to Western Carolina? Is there 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:11.480 where you went to school? Yes, I can't imagine that 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:13.919 there was much snow in a football season when you 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:16.720 were playing. So here we come to the division around 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:18.200 of the playoffs. The first time you've been in a 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:20.880 playoff game, I would assume you know this is going 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:23.520 to in all likelihood be the final game at Foxborough 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:26.800 Stadium and it's snowing to beat the band. What were 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:28.600 your thoughts when you got to the stadium and so 0:19:28.720 --> 0:19:30.280 uh uh oh, we gotta play in this. 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:36.080 Well, as a receiver, you hate inclement weather because nine 0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:37.879 out of ten times, you know it's probably gonna be 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:42.000