E-Mail This Article to a Friend How do the Patriots do it? A new book provides answers

More than likely you’re aware that this weekend is a big deal for the New England Patriots football franchise. The team is on the brink of true greatness and historical significance. Should they defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX this Sunday, it will mark the organization’s third championship in the last four years — this bounty after 42 years of title droughts.

If you’re a long-time follower of the Patriots, or even if you’re a bandwagon-jumper, you probably have some ideas about how they’ve managed to flourish on the field. Whatever the winning stratagem — be it the air-tight defense, Tom Brady’s methodical engineering of the Charlie Weis–inspired offense, or the intellectual game plans and disciplined preparation implemented by head coach Bill Belichick and the rest of his staff — it has collectively led to one of the greatest runs in NFL history. The team and its way of doing business have become the hallmark of how a football team should be run, but until now, regular fans have been able only to surmise how the Patriots organization has turned things around so dramatically.

We haven’t been in coaches’ meetings, we haven’t been breaking down film, and we certainly aren’t privy to the behind-the-scene machinations that have driven the team’s engine in recent years. But thanks to James Lavin’s new book, Management Secrets of the New England Patriots (Pointer Press), we have a little better idea of what it takes to mold a champion and then keep it atop the sport’s hierarchy.

The title makes it sound like it’s probably written by some Harvard Business School professor in business-strategy jargon. Well, Lavin does have impressive credentials (a PhD in economics from Stanford, along with a political-science degree from Harvard), but he doesn’t bore us to death like some policy wonk might. Instead, he writes from a fan’s perspective — which, fortunately, he is, having grown up loving the Pats in nearby Wayland; he now lives in Stamford, Connecticut — without using too many big words or complicated analyses. According to the Web site where the book can be purchased, www.Patriotsbook.com, Lavin had no inside access to the team. Instead, he relied on thousands of published references and books to formulate a well-constructed outline of the Patriots organization’s modus operandi. As a result, the book is heavily footnoted, but his sources bridge the spectrum of relevant contributors. From sources such as Belichick’s press-conference transcripts, local newspaper accounts, and even recently published books, Lavin has melded together fascinating quotes, statistics, and revelations that keep the reader entranced throughout the 350-page tome (which is only the first volume of a two-parter; the second volume will likely be released later this spring or summer).

Lavin’s background in business and economics makes him well-suited to write a book like this, but he doesn’t fall into the trap of just analyzing and hypothesizing like some bow-tied dweeb. Instead, he interweaves player profiles, intriguing quotes and intimate portraits, and background data and numbers to back up his arguments. He not only helps you get to know the individual characters who make up the team’s roster and front office, but actually tells the story of how unstable things were when Belichick took over the team in 2000, and how the team progressed to where it is now. Some of the countless fascinating tidbits:

• Of the 53 players Belichick inherited when he was hired, only 15 were still around for the Super Bowl victory over the Rams less than two years later.

• Forty-five percent of NFL players say Belichick is the best coach in the NFL, yet only 10 percent say they’d want to play for him.

• The 2001 Patriots ranked second in the league in compensation paid to injured players, yet still won the title.

• Since the NFC/AFC merger, the average Super Bowl champ has placed seven players on the Pro Bowl roster; the ’01 and ’03 Pats teams had only two each.

• While Brady is the two-time Super Bowl MVP and the catalyst for the team’s on-field success, it is fiery linebacker Tedy Bruschi’s #54 that is the team’s pro shop’s biggest seller.

• In last year’s Super Bowl, neither the Pats nor Panthers had a QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DL, LB, CB, or safety with a top-five salary in the league at his position (except for Ty Law).

• One NFL team ranking says the Pats have only two of the NFL’s premier players (Brady and Richard Seymour), but lead the league in second-tier talent.

• Only 10 of the 22 Patriots starters in last year’s Super Bowl against Carolina were on the team for the ’01 title, and of 23 non-starters, 15 were different. So over just a two-year period, only 20 Patriots have played in both of the team’s championships.

• Brady’s career QB rating (85.9) is already 11th all-time.

• The Patriots’ $49.6 million payroll at the beginning of the 2001 season was second-lowest in the league and $14 million below the league average (yet they still won the Super Bowl).

• Only one other team has successfully defended its Super Bowl title since 1994, and that was the Denver Broncos, who were later found to have blatantly cheated on the salary cap when they won their back-to-backers in ’98 and ’99.

So how exactly do the Patriots do it? Well, I could go on for another page and a half, or you can pick up the book yourself and find out. Some of the concepts seem obvious enough, while others are so intriguing that you wonder why every team doesn’t adopt this strategy and turn themselves into champions practically overnight.

What you will get, in addition to the organization’s strategy and "secrets," is a wonderful opportunity to get to know some of the players, characters, and team history that much better. That should give you a better appreciation of the guys you’re rooting for when they take to the Alltel Stadium turf this Sunday in Jacksonville.

One of the keys to the Patriots’ success is getting the right kind of player and acclimating him into the "system" — the "Patriots’ Way." He doesn’t have to be the "best" player or the one who’s received the most accolades; he simply has to be a "character" guy to start with, and to possess a hunger and passion to succeed. Above all, no one is indispensable, and no one player supersedes the team itself; it is that mantra that has led New England back to the Super Bowl, and will likely keep it atop the pro football world for years to come.

The Patriots players have bought into it, and you will, too. Lavin’s remarkable story provides the recipe for championship stew. And by following the directions to the letter, and saving some room for some humble pie for dessert, there’ll be more good eatin’ this Sunday for certain when the Patriots bring out their Sunday best.

"Sporting Eye" runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com