It has been a long summer thanks to the miserable Red Sox, so even though the heat has surprisingly returned to start out September, we are thrilled that football season is officially here. New England opens its much-anticipated 2014 campaign on Sunday (1, CBS) in Miami against their AFC East foe (and likely biggest threat in the division). Today, the Pats named their six captains for the club with five holdovers from past seasons and one random new one.
On offense, quarterback Tom Brady and offensive lineman Dan Connolly are the leaders while nose tackle Vince Wilfork, linebacker Jerod Mayo, safety Devin McCourty and special teams star Matthew Slater are also in charge. Brady, Wilfork, Mayo, McCourty and Slater have all been captains for years while Connolly is the lone change. He's been in the NFL for nine years and this will be his seventh in Foxborough after starting out in Jacksonville. It makes sense that the oldest offensive lineman gets the nod since he started every game last season (for the first time) and Logan Mankins was dealt to Tampa Bay.
Captains (if they have them) in baseball or basketball are mostly a useless title (looking at you Rajon Rondo) but in hockey and football, I think it's the complete opposite. Such physically demanding sports require capable leaders that are the most respected members of a given team and also some of their best players. We all think it should be a long, fruitful season for the Pats and judging by these solid guys, they are starting out from a good place.
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