FOXBORO - The Patriots are turning Week 5 into a full-on tribute to the team that started it all.
Ahead of New England’s home game against the Las Vegas Raiders, the organization is planning a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of its first Super Bowl championship. The day will also include Adam Vinatieri receiving his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring at halftime, while the Patriots roll out the Pat Patriot red throwback uniforms for the occasion.
It’s a nostalgia-heavy setup, and the current roster is far removed from the group that beat the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in the Super Bowl.
None of today’s Patriots were in the league then, though some have their own childhood memories of that run. Kevin Byard was young enough to remember it only in flashes, watching Tom Brady step in for the injured Drew Bledsoe and guide the team through the playoffs.
Andy Borregales grew up admiring Vinatieri and his clutch kicking. Hunter Henry and Marcus Jones did play for Bill Belichick in New England, but even they were still years away from entering the NFL when that title team was made.
Mike Vrabel hasn’t been digging out old highlight clips for his players, so the coaching staff has taken on the role of remembering what made that team special.
Vrabel knows that group well. He was a free-agent linebacker on that roster, finishing the season with three sacks and nine pass breakups, and his photo still hangs just outside the Patriots locker room. Josh McDaniels was also around, but in a very different role, working as a first-time NFL coach as a personnel assistant.
The two are still tied to that championship in different ways, and both expect to see familiar faces around Foxboro this week. Vrabel said, "I’ll see those guys on Saturday. I’ll see those guys for a quick dinner," before adding, "But it’s exciting that there are so many guys that want to come back, and it was a special year for everybody involved."
McDaniels said the anniversary has him reflecting on how young he was at the time and what he learned from that group.
"Boy I was young, and I just think that team embodied all the right things," McDaniels said. "Kind of fought through some early season adversity with the Drew situation and in the injury, and had a lot of new players getting used to each other and familiar with one another, and how to play together. ... 5-5 after 10 games, and then, as happens often in this league, kind of figure out how we had to win.
"...Just super fond memories for me to start my career in the NFL, just watching that happen and being a little fly on the wall and seeing how it operate and how those guys ended up buying into the way we had to win. And then watching them complete the mission down in New Orleans was really cool."
A few of the old Patriots are set to return to Foxboro for the game. Matt Chatham, Bobby Hamilton, Marty Moore, Otis Smith and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia are scheduled to take part in a youth football clinic on Friday. The team’s social account also posted an old video of the Patriots celebrating the AFC Divisional game, the Tuck Rule game in the snow against the Raiders, as part of the week’s buildup.
The throwback theme has spread beyond the field, too.
Special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said he was a Cowboys fan growing up and wasn’t exactly rooting for New England back then. Still, he remembers the game clearly.
"It was a hell of a game, and I do remember watching it and it was fun to watch," Springer said. "And that kind of started the reign of the wins and me hating the Patriots at the time."
Doug Marrone, who has coached at Coast Guard, Northeastern and Boston College, said he has long respected what New England built. He also shared personal memories about Patriots Hall of Fame lineman John Hannah.
"I've always had a great deal of respect," Marrone said, "We've studied New England in almost every place where I've been. Respect and acknowledging how hard it is to do what they did, having been in this profession is probably the thing that sticks with me the most."
For McDaniels, the anniversary brings the lesson back into focus: the Patriots found their own formula, and it worked.
"There's a way to win and everybody can't do it the same way," he said. "I think if you're not too proud to acknowledge what your strengths and weaknesses are, you can figure that out eventually. ... That was a great example of a team that really understand what the phrase complementary football meant."
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