↵ ↵
↵↵"If you asked me to sum it up, how do I feel about Tedy Bruschi in five seconds - he's the perfect player," Belichick said, his voice noticeably cracking. "He's the perfect player. He's helped create a tradition here that we're all proud of. The torch has been passed. We'll try to carry it on. It's a high standard. It's a high standard." ↵
↵↵Bruschi, in turn, was no less laudatory of his now former coach, saying "he taught me how to win." And apparently also how to love. ↵
↵↵Bruschi, obviously, along with Tom Brady, Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison and Willie McGinest, was an integral part of the early decade Patriots dynasty. His arrival in 1996 coincided largely with the Patriots ascendency as an organization, so it's understandable that his departure would be, if not exactly the end of an era, a very large milestone nonetheless. ↵
↵This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.