Ted Johnson doesn’t need to be told that it isn’t there, because if it were, he would see it plainly.
And right now, with these Patriots, Johnson simply doesn’t, at all.
“That sense of trust, and team, and it’s by far the most important thing on a football team. You can’t fake it,’’ said the former linebacker. “That’s what I think is the No. 1 problem with this defense. You don’t see them celebrating plays together as a unit. You don’t see energy or camaraderie or passion.
“Back then, it wasn’t one guy. It was everyone.’’
Most of the final links in Foxborough to “back then’’ were cut in a tumultuous offseason. Mike Vrabel was dealt at the outset of free agency. Rodney Harrison retired in June. Tedy Bruschi retired during training camp. And soon Richard Seymour was traded to Oakland.
Only three defensive players (Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Jarvis Green) remain from the teams that were on the field for any of the three Super Bowl victories, let alone all of them. Four players, period, are still around from the first champion, and one of them, Stephen Neal, was on the practice squad then.
This was coming, no matter which way you slice it. Vrabel, Bruschi, and Harrison were all in their mid 30s, and Seymour was in a contract year.
But that doesn’t mean there’s no price to pay for the quartet exiting together.
And we’ll now find out just how costly it is. The Patriots have lost three of four; they haven’t endured a month-long stretch like this in seven years, have yet to win a game in someone else’s home stadium, and are working through problems finishing games.
“I’m not saying we don’t have leadership here,’’ said fourth-year tailback Laurence Maroney, “but you knew in times like this, Rodney was going to say something, Bruschi would say something, Vrabel would definitely talk and say something.
“We have a lot of leaders now that are leaders by example. And don’t get me wrong, a lot of young guys like myself like that leadership by example, because you don’t need all the hoo-rah all the time, but that vocal leadership helps out, too.’’
Green, who now qualifies as a greybeard, disputes that there’s any kind of maturity issue - “We have one of the oldest teams in the league’’ - but allows that “it’s about communication. We need everyone on the same page.’’
That’s another area where the losses sting.
Johnson remembers being thrust into such a role when he was in college, and, “I screwed it up, but I learned, and finally my senior year, I got it.’’ And the experience helped to the point where, prior to his second year with the Patriots, Bill Parcells & Co. felt comfortable enough with Johnson as signal-caller to cut veteran Vincent Brown.
