Matthew Slater: Patriots’ Standards Don’t Change Without Brady

New England special teamer Matthew Slater says that the Patriots are still the Patriots, with or without Tom Brady.

Matthew Slater rejoined New England this offseason, and says that while the team must find a new identity, their standards won’t drop because Tom Brady is no longer under center.

“I don’t think the goals change at all,” Slater said.

“The standard doesn’t change at all. The pillars that we stand upon, they don’t change at all.”

Want $250 to bet on NFL futures?

It’s a rallying cry for Patriots players, officials and fans, who are unsure what the franchise is going to look like without Tom Brady.

“If you go into the season with a defeatist mindset, then you can’t expect to be successful. We have a great opportunity, we have a lot of good football players, we have a tremendous coaching staff. … We’ve got to go into the season expecting more from ourselves than anyone outside the building expects from us. We have to go in with the same drive, the same focus, the same determination. If we don’t, you shouldn’t even step foot in the building, because we’re already going to be beat.”

However, New England’s 20 years of dominance has stood upon the twin pillars of Brady and Bill Belichick. With one half of that foundation gone, the Patriots are going to have to find new ways to win.

Read: Randall Cobb Embracing Challenge of Replacing DeAndre Hopkins

According to Matthew Slater, though, it will still be done the Patriots way.

“We’re going to have to be able to find a new identity for ourselves,” Slater said. 

“I think part of that identity is going to be built upon things we’ve always stood for and will continue to stand for as long as this organization is led by the people it’s led by. That’s going to be selflessness, hard work, doing what’s best for the football team, serving one another, not having any level of expectation that things are going to be handed to us.”