By Tom E. Curran
FOXBORO - When punishment was handed down in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, a fairly quiet player stepped up and helped set the team's agenda.
Dave Thomas, a tight end with the Patriots from 2006 through 2009, told his teammates that, when the Patriots were pinched for videotaping from the sidelines against the Jets in 2007, they had a simple mindset.
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"Dave Thomas came in (to a meeting during offseason workouts) and said, 'It will only be a distraction if you let it be a distraction,' " recalled Harper. "That was the motto that (the Patriots) took in that locker room and we kinda took the same thing. As long as we stick together in our locker room; we don't let outsiders get in and continue to be a distraction it won't distract us."
While each transgression generated (and continues to generate) conversation, the Patriots' submissive response to the NFL's sanctions is starkly different than the Saints combative response.
Perhaps that's because the Saints were dealt with more harshly (no surprise given the "morality clause" every team had to sign after the Patriots' infraction and the cover-up the NFL alleges).
While the Patriots were certainly prickly for the rest of 2007 (and 2008, 2009...) they were quietly so. The Saints have been putting their anger right out there.
"In New Orleans it is always an 'Us vs The World' mentality and the city's always like that," said Harper. "They always think somebody's out to get 'em. It's good though, I'm glad we have a little chip on our shoulders and some of the young guys can jump right in. It will be fun this year to see how we do."
The chip might be nice. The Saints would probably prefer that it never got there in the first place, though.