David Patten, 3-time Super Bowl winner with Patriots, passes away at 47

The second half of the New England Patriots' football dynasty was absolutely built on Tom Brady.

But those first three championships? Guys like David Patten, character guys, laid that foundation, powered by character and sweat.

Patten, a three-time Super Bowl champion here and a cornerstone of arguably the greatest free-agent haul by any team in NFL history, was killed tragically on Thursday night in a motorcycle accident in his home state of South Carolina, according to “The State.” He was 47.

Patten was a self-made veteran of 12 NFL seasons. Let’s just say when the Patriots met the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, Rams quarterback Kurt Warner wasn’t the only Arena Football League veteran on the Superdome turf that night.

From modest beginnings, Patten turned on his trademark speed enough at Lower Richland High School in Hopkins, S.C., into a scholarship at Western Carolina.

Undrafted by the NFL in 1996, he bounced from job to job – not just in football but in life. I can distinctly remember one hot August afternoon in ’01 on the Bryant College campus, outside of the cafeteria, meeting Patten for the first time in training camp and talking about his road to New England.

We didn’t speak of stops, first in Cleveland then New York with the Giants. Patten proudly spoke of his manual labor, stocking store shelves or out in the South Carolina heat working with his hands.

It drove him to strive for greatness in the NFL. It drove him to Foxborough, and it drove him to Bill Belichick’s Patriots.

After a disastrous 2000 season, in which Belichick saw his star-studded but very thin Patriots sink to 5-11, the coach knew an injection of character was the only way to spin things in a different direction.

He delivered a free-agent class that oozed heart and will, guys like Roman Phifer and Anthony Pleasant, Mike Vrabel and Larry Izzo, and veteran winners like Bryan Cox and Terrell Buckley.

Patten may not have been the most-heralded name in the bunch. But his influence was immediate in the wide receiver room. He went on to catch 51 passes for 794 yards and four TDs in 2001.

It’s funny. He played only that one season in the old Foxboro Stadium – Gillette opened in 2002 – but as I think back to those days, I only see Patten in his cramped space in that old basement dungeon of a home locker-room in the old building.

Maybe, it’s because he accomplished so much in that short time.

Prior to ’01, his career-best was 38 catches, and he had totaled four TDs in four seasons. Don’t try to undersell what he did in 2001 to help spark this whole, amazing run.

New England was 2-2 through four games that year, with an untested, second-year QB named Brady trying to hold things together as Drew Bledsoe convalesced after Mo Lewis’ lung-puncturing hit in Week 2.

Adam Vinatieri provided a harbinger of things to come, booting an overtime game-winner to beat San Diego in the Foxborough fog in Week 5. Patten caught seven balls that night for 73 yards.

A week later in Indianapolis, Patten was the best player in the field, catching a pair of TD passes, running 29 yards for a third score, and yes, tossing a 60-yard TD to Troy Brown. The Patriots moved to 4-2 and were on their way.

The following Wednesday, Patten, of course, was there to meet the media – he was always a stand-up guy – but the conversation that day had little to do with the Indy game. It was about life and faith and, again, his passion for life and for God.

Those highlights, in the locker room, are as vivid as the performances on the field that forever etched him in Patriots’ lore.

Jermaine Wiggins and Vinatieri, rightfully so, gained instant legend status for their work in the “Snow Bowl” playoff win over Oakland. Patten caught 8 balls that night for 107 yards.

At Pittsburgh a week later, New England stunned the Steelers. Remember, Antwan Harris and the blocked field goal “scoop and score?” I will note that Patten had the only TD catch by either team that day – the final playoff touchdown pass of Bledsoe’s career.

In the Super Bowl win over Warner’s Rams, Patten had just one catch, an 8-yard circus grab in the back corner of the end zone from Brady.

He was grit. He was glue. And at the time few had known how impactful that ’01 group would be.

Patten went on to play on the ’03 and ’04 title games, earning two more rings despite suffering some injuries that would eventually end his time in New England. He went on with stops in Washington, New Orleans and Cleveland before retiring with the Pats in the offseason of 2010.

His former Patriots mates, guys like Richard Seymour – like Patten a Lower Richland alum – and Deion Branch took to social media to mourn the loss of a great man, their teammate Patten on Friday.

The sadness is undeniable, just as his impact here as a three-time champion with the New England Patriots always will be.

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Robert Kraft

“I am heartbroken by the news of David’s passing. He was a devout Christian who followed his passion following his football career and founded his own ministry. David transitioned from an undersized and understated wide receiver to a powerful and passionate preacher. In New England, he will always be remembered as a three-time Super Bowl Champion. His touchdown reception in the AFC Championship game at Pittsburgh propelled the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXVI and I’ll never forget his remarkable catch in the back of the end zone in that game. It was our only offensive touchdown in the Super Bowl and secured our first championship in franchise history. Our sincerest sympathies are with his wife, Galiena, his family and all who are mourning David’s tragic and untimely death.”

Bill Belichick

“It breaks my heart to hear of David’s tragic passing at such a young age. I am grateful to have coached David.  He is an essential person and player in Patriots history, without whom we would not have been Super Bowl champions.  I especially appreciate David for his professional journey.  As much as anyone, David epitomized the unheralded, self-made player who defied enormous odds to not only earn a job in the NFL but to become a key player on multiple championship teams. I can speak for anyone who had the pleasure to be around David that his work ethic, positive energy and character were elite. My deepest condolences are with his family and loved ones.”

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