If in September I had told you the Patriots would be without Rob Gronkowski, Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, Jerod Mayo, and Sebastian Vollmer for most of the season you would have told me they would be lucky to be relevant come the month of December. Had I also thrown in injuries to Danny Amendola, Aqib Talib, Brandon Spikes and Shane Vereen you would have
counted them out a lot sooner than that. However, here we are sitting one victory away from playing in the Superbowl. How did that happen? While the Patriots are calling it "next man up", it really comes down to a combination of excellent mentoring by the veterans on the team and players new to the organization who are willing to learn from them.
While the Patriots are getting some quality play from their rookies this year, they have been getting quality mentoring from their key players for several years. Vince Wilfork has served as a mentor to multiple players over the past seasons and continues to lead by example from the IR. Chandler Jones and Chris Jones have both soaked in advice from the big man. Jerod Mayo has been mentoring Jamie Collins from day one and it shows. Aqib Talib has even gotten into the act of showing the young guys how it's done.
While the Patriots are getting some quality play from their rookies this year, they have been getting quality mentoring from their key players for several years. Vince Wilfork has served as a mentor to multiple players over the past seasons and continues to lead by example from the IR. Chandler Jones and Chris Jones have both soaked in advice from the big man. Jerod Mayo has been mentoring Jamie Collins from day one and it shows. Aqib Talib has even gotten into the act of showing the young guys how it's done.
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