I've been sooooo caught up in the draft.  Mayo this.  O'Connell that.  Will Crable be effective right out of the gate?  Will Wheatley come up to speed fast enough and can Hobbs step in for the departed Samuel?  I've been so caught up in the draft, I've forgotten about the guys that have brought us this far.  The guys who were grinding it out when the New England Patriots were struggling to form themselves into the juggernaut they are today.

Guys like Tedy Bruschi.  His player bio says it all.  Over his 13 years with the Patriots, he's pretty much broken all of the teams's tackling and defensive records.  He's a force to be reckoned with on the field both from a physical standpoint and as the brains of the defense.

But there's more.  In February, 2005 Bruschi suffered a stroke .  Many rival fanbases immediately heralded this as proof he was using steroids.  They were later completely and utterly SILENCED when it was discovered Bruschi had a hole in his heart.  After surgery to repair this hole, it was questionable whether or not he would return to the gridiron.  But he did.  Courage...defined.

I am waxing nostalgic because the new guard is upon us.  Tedy has been such an iconic figure on the Patriots's defense that it's hard to imagine him not being there.  It's hard to imagine not having Tedy whipping his teammates into a frenzy.  It's hard to imagine no Tedy to throw snow into the crowd during a classic New England snow storm.  It's hard to imagine the absence of number 54 in the locker room.

"Who loves Tedy Bruschi?"  AAAWWWHHH YEAH!!!