By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com Patriots InsiderFollow @tomecurran
Those dark blue jerseys have faded now. The big white numbers on the front and back have started to peel and so have the white letters in the surnames names on the back. Most were bought more than a decade ago in the mad consumerist rush to grab something Patriot-ic as the local NFL entry transformed from star-crossed to star-kissed. Appreciating the Patriots wasn't hard. Finding the right guy to represent your sensibilities? Important. There were never as many Vrabel jerseys in circulation as there were Brady jerseys. Bruschi and Seymour probably outpaced No. 50 too. But a Vrabel jersey carried a different connotation than the rest. Outwardly, he represented versatility, smarts and selflessness. But there was a whole different level of Vrabel that the public didn't get to see. As a result, that guy wearing his "VRABEL" jersey was unwittinglyshowing support for a true smartass. And, really, much as you hear people say, "Nobody likes a smartass..." no region is more well-stocked with them than ours. He announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday after 14 seasons. He's going to coach at Ohio State under his college roommate Luke Fickell who told the Boston Globe's Charlie Pierce in a terrific Vrabel feature back in 2004, "Some of the things he did ... he said things that some people thought shouldn't be said. They helped the team, but they weren't the kind of things that get you elected captain."Vrabel often availed himself to the media in a Patriots locker room where many players didn't. Sometimes it came with a price. There were days he was ornery and condescending. On those days, he autopsied every question as it was posed looking for a reason to lampoon it or - if it was trite - dismiss it. After a few minutes of being a pr, he'd soften and deliver exactly the right mix of analysis and context needed. He was in a line on the front wall of the Patriots locker room along with Ted Johnson, Larry Izzo and Tedy Bruschi. Sidle up to someone else to talk and you could be sure Vrabel would irritatingly eavesdrop and bust balls. I remember trying to soften up Bruschi - who in the middle of the decade was more prickly than Vrabel - by asking about his sons. I knew they liked Thomas The Tank Engine so I launched into some inanity about Gordon the Big Engine or something. Vrabel chirped up wondering why I was asking about toy trains. Good point. Also an opening for me to ask Vrabel if he thought I enjoyed walking around a locker room trying to draw players out with such stupidity. He just smirked. There was another time when I watched Vrabel walk up to a newly-signed practice squad player in the locker room. I can't remember who it was, but he looked a little lost. Before he'd found his locker, Vrabel was upon him, thrusting his hand out and saying, "Mike Vrabel. Good to have you. Let me know if you need anything."And then there was the time when I was walking with one of his teammate toward the curtain that separates the locker room from the shower area. As I tried to extend the conversation with the player as he stepped behind the curtain, Vrabel - in front of a packed locker room full of teammates and media - accused me of being, in essence, a peeping Tom. Loudly. Repeatedly. Fairly politically incorrect. But not something he'ddo to someone who couldn't take the joke. Nobody was sacred. When Bill Belichick launched into odes to the 1980s Giants during team stretching, Vrabel would deride them as having played against a bunch of truck drivers (an illusion to the replacement games in 1987). There was an anecdote about Vrabel being in Ohio State coach John Cooper's office, feet on the coach's desk, discussing football. In a 2008 Boston Herald story, Vrabel openly wondered why Patriot Place - a mall built by the Kraft family on the backs of their football team - was excluded from being part of the revenue the owners shared with the players. (That Patriot Place may not make money is moot to this point; Vrabel had the stones to talk about it.) "He was just a great mentor," PatriotsAll-Pro linebacker Jerod Mayo told me Monday. "Hetaught me how to be a pro on and off the field - how to study film, prepare for games. Great mentor."As for his style?"He'll tell you whats on his mind," said Mayo. "Whether it's the right thing to say or not, he's going to say it. People love him or hate him. I love him."The guy in Carolina who thought he was going to be handed the ball in September 2005 after Vrabel scored on a 24-yard INTreturn only to have Vrabel yank the ball back? Hates him. Eagles fans who watched Vrabel flap his wings after a pick? Also hate him. Rams fans who saw him club and crush Kurt Warner in Super Bowl XXXVI to set up the Ty Law INT return? Hate. All the other Panthers fans that saw him break open Super Bowl XXXVIII with a strip sack of Jake Delhomme and a touchdown catch later in the game? Hate. And Patriots fans pre-2001 who onlyknew the name "Vrabel" because he strip-sacked Drew Bledsoe from behind in the 1997 playoffs in Pittsburgh? Also hate. But not for long. Even though he only made one Pro Bowl, Vrabel was one of the best at his position from 2003 through 2006. An incredible athlete - 10 touchdowns on 10 NFL receptions - he could run, jump and explode. And he did this shifting from defensive end at Ohio State to outside linebacker with the Steelers and then the Patriots. The only son of a pair of Ohio high school principals, Vrabel began at OSU as a pre-med major. He was about the smartest linebacker in the NFL. Belichick said in 2002 that, after studying the film of the 2001 season, it was determined Vrabel didn't make a single mental mistake all year. In a statement released by Ohio State, Belichick said, "During his Patriots career, there was no player more respected for his football intellect and revered for his leadership by his teammates than Mike. He was elected a team captain by his peers and is a player who I think everyone knew was destined to become a coach after his NFL playing career was over."Mike Vrabel is as well-suited for coaching as any player I have ever coached. He has a tremendous feel for people, players, coaches and what his team needs regardless of the situation. He is outstanding in his knowledge of the game, which contributed to his excellence as a player. I have no doubt Mike will develop tough, intelligent, fundamentally sound winners." The only thing he won't be able to produce for Ohio State will be another Mike Vrabel. Production of that model stopped at one. Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Tom on Twitter at http:twitter.comtomecurran