The Patriots announced their All-Decade Team for the 2010s Wednesday afternoon.
Most of the 29-member team is made up of automatic lock selections like Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
While not every member is a Pro Football Hall of Famer like those guys, even most of the second- and third-tier options for the squad were pretty obvious picks.
But, who are some of the guys who might have had a strong argument for inclusion on the Patriots All-Decade Team but failed to make the list constructed by the 27-member Patriots Hall of Fame Selection Committee?
Here are a few notable candidates.
Joe Cardona – Pretty much every job on a football team was acknowledged on the Patriots All-Decade squad. Except long snapper. Why is there a fullback, a flex player, 12 defensive players, a returner and special teamer and not a long snapper? Doesn’t seem fair. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski made the list. Punter Ryan Allen too. Cardona helped both guys do their jobs by doing his at a high level in New England from 2015-2019. As Rodney Dangerfield would say, “No respect.”
LeGarrette Blount – The only running back listed on the All-Decade Team, other than unanimous fullback selection James Develin, was James White. While clearly deserving of a spot on the squad, White is almost purely a pass-catcher. There is no true running back represented. If one were to make the cut, either by expansion of the roster or bumping off another player, Blount would likely have had to have been the guy. Blount had an 1,100-yard season with an NFL-best 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016. He had 34 rushing touchdowns, just shy of 3,000 yards and a 4.3-yard average over his 49 games in three-plus seasons with the Patriots.
Shaq Mason – Certainly Logan Mankins was a lock to make the team at guard. And Joe Thuney is a strong candidate, even though both players played the left guard spot. Mason has had some ups and downs at times and dealt with some injury limitations but if the Patriots were going to put a right guard on the team Mason would have been the logical choice.
Jamie Collins – The linebacker played five seasons in New England over two tours through Foxborough. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2015 and easily could have been this past year when he was considered an early-season Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He had more sacks, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries and interceptions than Kyle Van Noy in a Patriots uniform.
Logan Ryan – Certainly Stephon Gilmore’s elite level of play over three seasons in Foxborough, including his 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Award, made him a lock for the All-Decade Team. Most of the rest of the cornerbacks over the last decade had smaller sample sizes with less consistent play. Aqib Talib, Darrelle Revis, Kyle Arrington and other deserve at least mild consideration. Malcolm Butler is a solid choice for his Super Bowl heroics and Pro Bowl efforts as the team’s No. 1 cornerback, even if it didn’t end well for him. Another option would be the steady, consistent work that Ryan presented for all 64 games he played over four seasons with 13 interceptions while serving as one of the best tackling cornerbacks in the game.
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