Guys like linebacker Jerod Mayo and left guard Logan Mankins have led a younger generation of homegrown players who have yet to win a Super Bowl, and a ring would elevate their place in Patriots lore.
And while they're still in their prime, they'd have a chance to add to that jewelry department and attempt be mentioned in the same sentence as New England legends such as Tedy Bruschi, Troy Brown, Ty Law and Willie McGinest, as well as Kevin Faulk and Matt Light, who are still with the team.
"It would be great," Mankins said. "That's why we play the game, to win the Super Bowl. Getting that first one is pretty tough. We want to win one. That would mean a ton to us, and it would mean everything to our careers."
Of course, it starts up top with head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, but they've enlisted the help of some spectacular players in their push to be known as the greatest of all time in their respective professions.
There are legacies on the line for every member of the Patriots, and they differ to varying degrees, but the younger generation of leaders and high-profile players — which also includes the likes of cornerback Devin McCourty, safety Patrick Chung, tight end Rob Gronkowski, tight end Aaron Hernandez and special teams captain Matthew Slater — have begun to emerge as the foundation behind Brady. And they need a ring to legitimize their place within the franchise's championship era.
"It would feel awesome," Chung said. "That will be tagged on your name for the rest of your life. It's just a blessing to be here, but to win it, that's going to be crazy. I'm getting chills just talking about it, but we've got to play hard. We can't just talk about winning. We have to beat a very good team."
While the Patriots discussed the franchise's tradition and their chances to carve their names alongside some of those recent greats, a majority of them also pointed toward defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, who won the Super Bowl as a rookie in 2004. At that point, Wilfork was a good player on a team with a strong identity across the board on defense, but now, he has become their most dominant defensive player and that unit's integral piece.
While the younger, ringless generation wants to be welcomed to the Patriots' championship club, they're also eager for Wilfork to claim his second Super Bowl and further legitimize his place as one of the franchise's greatest players.
"I think it would be huge, to be honest with you," Mayo said of what a Super Bowl would do for his legacy within the franchise. "We still have a young team across the board, and I think it would be huge for Vince as well. When Vince won his Super Bowl, he was a puppy on the team. He was a rookie. For him to be a leader now and to win a Super Bowl, I think it would be huge for the organization."
To get there, as Chung said, the Patriots will have to beat a very good Giants team. As former Patriots, including Brown, have said, they're rooting hard for their team to beat the Giants and get a bit of revenge for Super Bowl XLII. That would help the current crop gain even more acceptance from the older crowd that truly helped define this Patriots era.
It's something they've been craving all week, and come game time, the Patriots know what's on the line from the top down.
"I think it's big because we're realizing how great that time was for this organization," McCourty said. "We weren't a part of that, so for us, we want to take advantage of the here and now. We want to add to this organization's great tradition, especially with this being a special year, and we want to do this for Mr. [Robert] Kraft. He's been through a lot this year, and to win one for him would be great."
"You've just got to keep winning, just try to keep the legacy," Chung said. "That's as much as I can say. The legacy has been going on for a while. I just got here. We, the guys coming in, the new legacy, we have to try to keep that going, keep the New England area proud."
Have a question for Jeff Howe? Send it to him via Twitter at @jeffphowe or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
