Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuschi!

There was something very different at the season opener against Buffalo. Something was missing. Tedy Bruschi.

This was the 16th season opener for me, Bergs, Shep, and our gang. We sat in Section 311 in the old stadium, not too far from the top but still with a great view of the game. Our four seats at Gillette are in Section 109 on the 45-yard line behind the Pats bench. About 15 rows back. I wouldn't think there are too many seats with a better view of the game -- and of the bench. One of the best parts of sitting so close has been studying the interaction of the players and their head coach.

It's been fascinating to watch as the defensive players huddled with Belichick on the sideline while Brady and the offense are on the field. Belichick would gather the veteran defensive guys around him, sometimes with a dry-erase board in hand, and start going over what the other team is doing and how to stop it. And the players would soak in every word. Bruschi chief among them. He was like having another coach on the sideline. From the moment he joined the team, Bruschi was a player you just loved to root for. And I've rooted for him for 13 years. The fact that he is now a fan favorite is no surprise. And it's no surprise that he was drafted by Bill Parcells. He finished his career as a Belichick guy, but he was a Parcells guy long before anyone knew there would be such a thing as a Belichick guy.

He came to the Pats in the '96 draft with Lawyer Milloy and Terry Glenn as part of Parcells's rebuilding project. Along with Drew Bledsoe, Ted Johnson, and Ty Law they formed the young nucleus that helped turn the franchise around. Bruschi was a defensive lineman for Arizona State, tying the NCAA record for sacks with 52. But he was considered too small to play the line in the NFL. So where to play him? That was a problem Parcells had for a while. Bruschi was moved to linebacker but saw little playing time at first because the Pats had Johnson, Willie McGinest, Todd Collins, and veteran Chris Slade. A pretty solid foursome. When he did get into the game he made an impression. Mostly on special teams. You could see from when he was in the game that he could make things happen. I would yell down from Section 311 to "Get Bruschi in there" but I don't think Parcells heard me.

In 1997 Bruschi became a starter and quickly developed into a clutch playmaker. He made so many great plays that listing them is a timeline of the Patriots run from 2001 till he retired before the season started. There are so many Bruschi highlights that it is difficult to pick out just a few, but here are my top 5 Tedy moments in no particular order:

• The Rhodes "fumble." Second of the great Pats-Colts playoff games. Pats hold a mere 6-0 lead against the high-octane Colt offense in the cold and snow. Manning and the Colts are driving. He hits running back Dominic Rhodes with a pass over the middle and Bruschi arrives a second after the ball doesl. And he came away with the ball, wrestling it from Rhodes with sheer will. It is the Bruschi moment. He just outhustled the other guy. He came to the sideline and raised the ball in the air barking "They're looking for this! They ain't got it! They ain't got it!" The Pats went on to a 20-3 victory.
• Fireworks! The snow game against Miami in 2004. It was snowing so hard that as I sat in my car on Route 1 not moving, the guy on the radio announced "If you aren't at the stadium yet you should turn around and go home." Turn around and go home? I've been in traffic for three hours. I'm a mile away. Screw that. I'm glad I didn't take the advice. Bruschi makes the big play of the game, picking off a pass inside the 10 and returning it for a touchdown, sliding on his knees in the snow as he crossed the goal line. That was followed by those who did make it to the game tossing the snow into the air in celebration. Bruschi started tossing snow too. Winter fireworks.
• Down goes Drew. The sack of Drew Bledsoe in Week 3 of the 2004 season put away a close game as the Pats were driving for their record unbeaten streak. Bruschi sacked Bledsoe, forcing a fumble, and after nailing Drew to the field, got up and threw the block that let Richard Seymour take the fumble in for a TD and the 31-17 victory. One of my all-time favorite Pats' highlights.
• The comeback. After suffering a stroke just a few days after winning his third Super Bowl, Bruschi comes back to play in a home game in Week 7 against the Bills. Nine months after nearly dying. I always felt that he would play again if he recovered fully. He was in the prime of his career and from being in the stands week after week you could see just how much he loved being on the field. I can still remember the ovation when he was introduced. It was just one of those great human moments that sports can give you. He was on he field for more than 70 plays that game and made 10 tackles. And of course the Pats won.
• What the Faulk. The first Super Bowl title. 2002. The underdog Pats pull the upset over the high-powered Rams by playing football the way it was meant to be played. Nasty. Not loud-mouth Ray Lewis style of nasty, but workmanlike Tedy Bruschi hit 'em till it hurts style. Early in the game the Rams superstar RB Marshall Faulk takes the ball and heads right toward a gaping hole. Bruschi steps up from his linebacker spot to take on Faulk -- one-on-one. Faulk goes to deke his way to a big play and Bruschi hits him square in the midsection and takes him down. Hard. He gets up and lets out a roar. That set the tone for the rest of the game.

Bruschi is the Terry O'Reilly of the Patriots. Not the fastest. Not the biggest. Not the most skilled. But the hardest worker and the smartest at how the game is played. O'Reilly was the spiritual leader of those great Bruins teams of the late '70s and early '80s. He was and is my favorite Bruin. You could see how much he loved the game and he set a work ethic that everyone else on the team felt driven to match. When Bill Belichick called Bruschi "the perfect player" he could have been talking about O'Reilly. The word is heart.

I can understand how football fans across the country hate the Pats. I've got no problem with it. It's how I felt about the Cowboys on the '80s and the Steelers in the '70s. After a while you get sick of seeing the same team at the top. But anyone who doesn't love to watch the way Tedy Bruschi played the game isn't really a football fan. You may have tired of his "Patriot Way" talk but he meant it. To him the Patriot Way was all about hustle, effort, and dedication.

Can the Pats replace a guy like Tedy Bruschi? You can never replace a player like him. But what you can do is just enjoy the memories from 13 great seasons. I've been fortunate to have a seat to root for him all those years.

Thanks, Tedy.