The aftermath of Super Bowl LII was messy for the New England Patriots.
A host of players left in free agency to pursue larger contracts, and several were not shy about what they thought about Bill Belichick and the "Patriot Way."
Moreover, when the Patriots hit rough patches during the 2018 season, several of those players took the opportunity to take shots at their old team, in some cases making the argument that Belichick's frugal ways were the cause of New England's problems.
In a season in which more than a few predicted (again) that the Patriots' dynasty was over, this criticism was par for the course.
But after New England proved the critics wrong and became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win the Super Bowl the year after losing it, let's revisit the trash talk levied at the team by some of its former players.
Former Patriots running back Dion Lewis was very outspoken during the season. After his Tennessee Titans (who failed to qualify for the playoffs) beat the Patriots in Week 10, Lewis said:
"That’s what happens when you go cheap. You get your ass kicked. I didn't have to prove anything. I know I can play. I just had to let our team know that these guys are beatable...I know those guys. I know that you be physical with them & let 'em have it & they'll fold."
Lewis did not stop there. After the game, Lewis laughed at his former team in a pair of tweets:
According to Mike Giardi of NFL Network, Lewis' teammate and former Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, when asked if the win over the Patriots was different than any other knowing who was on the other side, "smiled a little brighter and said, 'most definitely.'"
Danny Amendola, who left the Patriots for the Miami Dolphins in free agency, also didn't hold back in an interview last offseason with Mike Reiss of ESPN.
New England Patriots
"I understand Bill [Belichick] runs a tight ship, and he hasn't been known to pay his players, really. I understood that I gave money back to him so I could play for him and play for my teammates and fulfill my side of the contract, and at the end of the day, I had faith that he was going to give me an opportunity to stay. When free agency broke, I came to the realization that he wasn't going to really come close to any of the other offers I had.
"It's not easy, that's for sure. He's an a--h--- sometimes. There were a lot of things I didn't like about playing for him, but I must say, the things I didn't like were all in regards to getting the team better, and I respected him," he said. "I didn't like practicing in the snow, I didn't like practicing in the rain, but that was going to make us a better football team and that was going to make me a better football player. It wasn't easy, and he'd be the first to admit, at the [Super Bowl] ring ceremony, that it wasn't easy playing for him. The silver lining was that we were at the ring ceremony."
While much has been said about the Patriots since last offseason, Amendola's last point rings most true, and prescient. After yet another Super Bowl victory, Belichick and his team are celebrating another Duck Boat parade, while his detractors once again are watching from home.
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