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New England Patriots Links 3/18/10 - David Patten Feels Like He's 'Coming Back Home'

By Marima
<em>David Patten used to tease Drew Brees that he was the 'girlfriend'; Tom Brady was that 'first love'.</em>
David Patten used to tease Drew Brees that he was the 'girlfriend'; Tom Brady was that 'first love'.

Karen Guregian reports that after watching the Patriots get croaked by the New Orleans Saints, David Patten knew if there was any team he could still help at age 35, it was the Pats.

"I texted Tom after the game, not thinking he would get the text because it was right after the game," Patten said yesterday, recalling what prompted him to plant the seed for a return to the Patriots. "I said, ‘Hey man, tell coach (Belichick) I think I still have some more left if y’all need some help.’ And he texted me back . . . and he was like, ‘Chief, you know if it was up to me, you would be back.’ So lo and behold, I don’t know if that sparked a little interest or what have you, but here I am, so let’s hope for the best."

Mike Reiss really enjoyed listening as David Patten reminisced about some of his best memories with the Patriots.
Three Super Bowl rings ... The touchdown catch in the Super Bowl upset over the Rams ... Getting knocked out in Buffalo, losing the ball, but being ruled out of bounds ... The "Triple Play" game against the Colts when he threw for a touchdown, rushed for a touchdown and caught a touchdown.

"It was just the camaraderie, the family," Patten reminisced. "Many times, especially over the past year when I didn't have the opportunity to play and was going around speaking to various groups of kids and companies, one thing I reflected on and remember vividly was the family atmosphere.

"We would get out of practice at 3:30, 4 o'clock. You would have an afternoon meeting for about 30 minutes to an hour, but we would spend two to three hours just hanging out in the locker room. I'm absolutely convinced that's what gave us the edge on Sundays.

"They didn't say we were the best; we didn't have the most talent. But the one thing you couldn't argue with was the fact that we had one of the best teams. I think that was because we genuinely enjoyed being around each other. That's what I remember most."

Albert Breer remembers a Thanksgiving Day milestone for the Patriots back in 2000, with Tom Brady getting his first regular season action as a professional.

Brady played in mop-up duty as the Detroit Lions -- led, interestingly enough, by interim coach Gary Moeller, one of the men responsible for recruiting Brady to Michigan -- blew the Patriots out 34-9. He came in after Drew Bledsoe threw a back-breaking interception to Bryant Westbrook for a 100-yard pick-six, and completed one of his three passing attempts for 6 yards.

That one completion, to J.R. Redmond, was his only completion of the 2000 season. Yet somehow, 14 months later, he'd be raising the Lombardi Trophy. So many years later, all of that's pretty amazing.

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