The Quest for 7: Patriots Big Three talk, Brady channels Belichick? Tight Ends aplenty, Links 2.18.20

Morning! Welcome to The Quest for 7, where volunteer writer, Steven Viner, scours the net for seven Patriots related articles from other sites offering different points of view on the six-time champs. Paid subscribers not only get to read all seven, but they also get to check out his always fiery "Steve's Soapbox" at the end.

1. If only he could Jedi mind trick the Hoodie. Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal is the adult in the room as his column explains how the discussion should go down between Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Krafts. Lot of sensible logic here so fingers crossed the Big Three are BSJ members? (Shrug emoji)

2. The Patriots' offensive weapons take most of the heat for last season, but the offensive line slid backward faster than a moonwalking Michael Jackson on ice. MetroWest Daily News' own Mark Daniels reports how New England's Big Boy Blockers hope to have a bounce-back year. David Andrews was clearly the drawstring to this group because without him, the O-line got depantsed.

3. We all join hands and sing Kumbaya as Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report tries to create a perfect world in perfect harmony with his ideal target for every NFL team in free agency. If the player he has the Patriots signing comes at half the cost as Hunter Henry or Austin Hooper, I'd join Sobleski's cult.

4. Thank God for Bill Belichick's stubbornness on this one. Isaiah Houde of Patriots Wire shares the emotional toll Drew Bledsoe's benching took on Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Embarrassingly, I admit at first I wanted Bledsoe to get his job back. Then I attended the Saints game in 2001 and witnessed Tom Brady toy with their defense like a child discovering bubblewrap. My ego recovered.

5. Erik Scalavino and Mike Dussault of Patriots.com square off in their debate on who the most intriguing under-the-radar Patriot is going into next season. Feels to me like Mike went Over-the-Top, and took Erik down in this arm-wrestling bout.

6. It feels like more draftniks are predicting this player to the Patriots than any other. Mark J. Rebilas of Sports Illustrated gives us his 2020 NFL mock draft. Piggy-backing off Marks mock, Jordan Dajani of CBSSports shares his top players at this position who will be available when free agency kicks off, (unless they get franchised.) With four players I wouldn't mind seeing in a blue, red, and gray uniform. Perhaps using a draft pick isn't the way to go at this position.

7. BREAKING NEWS: Coming in late and hot off the press! Alexandra Francisco of NESN lets us know that TB12 used Bill Belichick's slogan in his latest Instagram post. For all of the mystery solvers out there, add this clue to the evidence room as you try to decipher the GOAT's next move.

STEVE'S SOAPBOX

The place where Steve gets to give his take of the day from the perspective of a Patriots fan.

Part 2 of 2. The top dozen all-time Patriots since this dynasty started who aren't named Tom Brady. Here is 7-12 from yesterday

#6 Troy Brown: During the biggest games at the biggest moments, (Usually with a beer or twelve in me) my unimaginative catchphrase for Troy Brown was me shouting, “All he does is make ... plays!” And man did I get to yell this a lot. He was basically Julian Edelman, without the craziness. (Unlike JE11, Troy knew when to go down, instead of fighting 7 guys for an extra few inches.) For those old enough to have watched a young Troy Brown in action, imagine what he could have done with 2007 to 2017 Brady?

#5 Ty Law: Ty was so dominant, so physical, that Belichick believed Law was the reason why the NFL cracked down on illegal contact. Law was Peyton Manning kryptonite. I’m sure The Forehead had a voodoo doll of the HOF cornerback and used it like a pincushion. Ty's Pick-6 in Super Bowl 36 was the play that turned the last of the doubting Patriots fans into believers that they had a chance on that historic night.

#4 Rodney Harrison: In 2002, the year after their first Super Bowl, the Patriots defense took an enormous step back. Then Rodney arrived in 2003 ... and changed everything. His presence morphed the unit into historic status. The Patriots were a sick 58-7 when both Harrison and Brady played a full game together. It's not a perfect comparison, but Harrison was like the Kevin Garnett of the Patriots. He changed the culture the moment he walked into the locker room.

#3 Richard Seymour: Basically Vince Wilfork, but with sacks. Teams barely ran to his side of the field. He accumulated 158 combined sacks and tackles-for-loss, two seasons where he knocked down 8+ passes, and he did most of this against double teams due to the Patriots playing a 3-4 defense while being forced to play gap-control techniques. If he had played in a 4-3 with free reign to use any means necessary to get to the QB, people may have been comparing Aaron Donald to him.

#2 Rob Gronkowski: The GOAT tight end was a physical force and with the exception of Jim Brown and Earl Campbell, he probably was the toughest guy in NFL history to bring down. Unfortunately, this came with a price as defenders constantly targeted his knees and numerous gang tackles beat the snot out of his back. The Patriots probably win Super Bowl 46 if Gronk was healthy. Heck, they might've even won it all in 2012 and 2013 if the Gronkasaurus wasn’t out. He had the biggest catch in Super Bowl 53, and almost single-handedly won Super Bowl 52. The 2015 AFC Championship game against Denver shouldn't be forgotten as he took a beating while giving one of the gutsiest performances in Patriots history. If health wasn't an issue, he'd likely be #1 on this list, and considered a chief rival to Jerry Rice as the most powerful receiving weapon in NFL history.

#1 Julian Edelman: The anti-Welker. Regular season Edelman occasionally gets the dropsies, but playoff Edelman has elephant-sized ones. Not counting the redshirt years, the Patriots are undefeated in Super Bowls when he plays, and 0-1 when he didn't from the torn ACL. He had the game-winning TD in Super Bowl 49, maybe the toughest catch in Super Bowl history against the Falcons, and was the MVP in Super Bowl 53, (and the true MVP of that entire postseason.) He was uncoverable on that run and Brady wisely fed Mighty Mouse for 26 reception for 388 yards before winning their 6th championship. Oh, and Julian's 34 postseason receptions away from passing Jerry Rice, and 25 ahead of the next closest guy. Elephant ... sized!

Side note: Killed me not to get Vinatieri in, and just think about some of the amazing players that didn't make the cut. #CrazyBlessed

Be on the lookout for more The Quest for 7 features. Want extra Salty Tears and Soapbox? Click on my name above and scroll down for previous Quests!