GLENDALE, Ariz. - And then there were 10.
That's how many Patriots will be making their fourth trip to the Super Bowl in the past seven seasons, and that includes Stephen Neal, who was on the 2001 squad but did not appear in a game, and Troy Brown, who has played once during this season.
Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, Matt Light, Tedy Bruschi, Kevin Faulk, Larry Izzo, and Lonie Paxton round out this select group.
Attrition is a part of any football team. The Patriots have been susceptible to turnover because of their success and the desire of other teams to upgrade their clubs with championship players. That's how Damien Woody, David Givens, and Adam Vinatieri scored big free agent contracts. Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, and Deion Branch left town after clashing with management over how much they should be compensated for their role in New England's success. Players on the downside of their careers, such as Willie McGinest, Joe Andruzzi, and Christian Fauria, were appealing to teams looking for sage veterans who knew how to win, and were willing to overpay for it.
And, yet, out of all those players, only one - Vinatieri - parlayed his experiences in New England into both financial success and continued football supremacy.
Meanwhile, the misfortunate that has dogged others who moved on to greener (i.e. more lucrative) pastures has left those who remained wondering if there is some kind of curse on the former Patriots.
"Don't leave us," said special teams coach Brad Seely. "Bad things will happen."
Ask former receiver Givens, who signed with Tennessee after New England's Super Bowl victory over Philadelphia in the 2004 season. Givens suffered a devastating knee injury that has limited him to five games the past two seasons and his career is in jeopardy.
Then there's Branch, Brady's favorite receiver BR (before Randy), who wanted more money, held out, then was shipped to Seattle for first- and fourth-round picks. In Branch's final year in New England, he was 2 yards shy of 1,000 receiving yards, but he has averaged 51 catches, 693 yards, and 4 touchdowns in two years with the Seahawks, and tore his anterior cruciate ligament this season in the playoffs.
Woody, who signed for $30 million in March 2004, has had a fine career in Detroit, but he has not been to the Pro Bowl since he wore New England's uniform. He's also toiled for a team that has gone 21-43 since he got there.
"I'd be sitting here lying if I didn't tell you that once in a while I say, 'What if?' " Woody said. "But I still stand by my decision 100 percent. I did what was best for my family. I got them the financial security I couldn't get in New England.
"Now, from the football side, it wasn't the best decision. But you know what? It's made me a better person. I've grown in Detroit in ways I never would have in New England. The lessons I've learned here are invaluable.
"When is the last time New England went through any true adversity? When things are going well on the football field, everything in life is better. And when it's not going well, you learn to deal with all sorts of things. I feel fortunate to have experienced that and come out the other side a better man."
Woody said he has noted the mixed results of Law and Milloy, who were high-profile stars for New England, but have not found that level elsewhere.
"And then there's all the crazy stuff," Woody said. "I'm watching Seattle's playoff game, and I see Deion take one little step, and he blows out his ACL. I was thinking to myself, 'That guy was the Super Bowl MVP three years ago.'
"But you can't blame guys for moving on."
When New England didn't offer him a new deal, Fauria, who won two Super Bowls with the Patriots, signed with the Washington Redskins in 2006.
"My biggest, biggest problem in Washington was comparing how they did things to New England," Fauria said. "Every time they told me something, I'd say, 'Well, that's wrong,' or 'Why are they doing it that way?' or 'Don't they know about this?' It hindered my experience.
"I wasn't able to realize there was more than one way to skin a cat. Everything from how they worked out to how they trained to the halftime speech to what time we got on the bus seemed off to me."
Fauria was limited to nine games in 2006 because of a high ankle sprain that got progressively worse as he tried to play on it. He ultimately landed on injured reserve.
"If I was in New England, they would have known me, and they would have said, 'Get healthy, we know what you can do,' " Fauria explained. "But because the Redskins didn't know me, I was trying to fight through it. I got shot up every week, but I couldn't run, and I couldn't block. I kept thinking, 'Every time I go out there, I'm making myself look like an idiot. This is stupid.' "
Not all ex-Patriots ended up unhappy. Vinatieri won a Super Bowl with the Colts last season and plays in an indoor facility he expects will prolong his career. McGinest, who was reunited with former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, was a valued member of a young team that narrowly missed the playoffs this season.
Fauria also ultimately found happiness elsewhere with the Carolina Panthers.
"I was smart enough to go there and say, 'This is a clean slate, I can't be living in the past,' " said Fauria. "[Coach] John Fox is the first coach I've had in 13 years that came over and sat down with me, and actually talked with me. I mean, Bill [Belichick] isn't going to sit down with you at the lunch table.
"I really liked the Panthers. They are a good team. The only difference is we don't have Tom Brady. If we ran the exact same offense with Tom, we'd be in the playoffs."
Woody is hoping the Lions will find their way back to the postseason in the years ahead. In the meantime, he's happily raising his six children (he and his wife recently adopted two boys), and was glad to accept an invitation to visit with his old Patriots teammates at the AFC Championship game last month.
"I loved every minute of my time in New England," he said. "People in the area seemed so angry when I left. But they don't understand, it's life after football that counts."
Fauria is in Arizona to watch the Patriots chase history, and has caught up with a number of his friends who are gunning for that fourth ring.
"People ask me, 'Hey, don't you wish you were still on that team?' " Fauria said. "I tell them, 'No. I wish the Carolina Panthers were in the Super Bowl.' That's my team now."
Jackie MacMullan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at macmullan@globe.com.
