Patriots RB Kevin Faulk Retires as Winner

By Alex Carr on October 13, 2012

When you think about the type of player who defines the New England Patriots during the Bill Belichck era, there is one player that always comes to mind, and that is Kevin Faulk. Faulk, who officially retired Tuesday, October 9, at the age of 36, was a New England Patriot for his whole career after being drafted by the Pats in 1999. One of the things that characterizes Belichick’s team the most is having players who know how to play their role, and nobody did this better than Kevin Faulk. Whether it was catching screens as a third down back, picking up blitzes in run protection, returning punts, or any of the countless other jobs that Faulk did for the Pats. Never in his career was Faulk an every-down type of back, which makes it even more impressive that he was able to remain as such an important piece of the system for so many great teams over his 13 year career with the Patriots.

Faulk retires as the Patriots all-time career leader in all purpose yards with (12,349), as well as the all-time leader in career return yards with (5,041). He leaves with three Super Bowl rings, and numerous AFC League and Divisional championships as well. But it was clearly not the statistics that made Faulk so important to this organization. Faulk was a leader on and off the field, the rare type of player who actually is willing to put the team before himself and do whatever it takes to win football games. Nobody notices the third down blitz pick-ups that allowed Tom Brady to complete passes, or the quick two yard draw on third down to keep a drive alive but these are the things that Faulk did season after season without fail.

Even Belichick who is notorious for never having much to say to the media and for being emotionless almost all the time, clearly showed his heartfelt appreciation for everything that Faulk has done for the Patriots over his career. His head coach had nothing but praise for Faulk, “He was the ultimate team player. What a pleasure to coach. He always put the team first. He always worked hard. He always knew what to do and the bigger the situation, the more critical the play, the better he played and the more you could count on him”. You know you have done something right in your career when you are getting those kinds of things out of Belichick. He also went on to say that Faulk and Troy Brown were the two most unselfish players he has ever coached and two of the best leaders as well.

Faulk will be remembered as one of the greatest third down backs in NFL history, and as a guy who could just do it all , year in and year out. His leadership will be undoubtedly be missed in the Patriots locker room, and I can only hope that he has passed it on to some of the younger players who looked up to him for so many years. Needless to say, players like Kevin Faulk are a rarity in today’s NFL and Pats fans everywhere are going to miss number 33 without a doubt.