David Andrews channels inner Dante Scarnecchia trying to motivate Patriots amid skid

Dante Scarnecchia was someone who was well-respected during his time with the Patriots, and he provided a calming presence when things weren’t going New England’s way.

For David Andrews, he tries to mirror some of what Scarnecchia did while he was with the Patriots. And being a leader on the team, along with being one of the longest-tenured players and a captain, Andrews knows it’s part of his responsibilities to help keep the Patriots motivated. It’s something he takes great pride in because he doesn’t know how to “lay down and quit” even when times are tough.

On the latest episode of “Eye On Foxborough,” Andrews joined MassLive Patriots reporter Karen Guregian to discuss the impact Scarnecchia had on the Patriots during his time with the organization, and how Andrews uses what he learned from Scarnecchia to try to help his team get motivated despite being 1-5.

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“I think so,” Andrews said when asked if he tries to channel his inner Scarnecchia to deliver the right message. “I think as a leader, you try to learn all those things, right? And learn what gets guys motivated and how to help guys. And I think there’s obviously some things I can do better. I don’t think I’m exempt from anything — anybody’s really exempt from anything. Like I said I’ve been here and I’ve been a representation of that room. I take a lot of pride in it. Take a lot of pride in how we need to do things. I think I try to be that voice at times and try to be consistent. Try to be out there and practicing and playing and trying to be available and helping these guys as much as I can. Because that’s the only thing I know to do is to keep bringing guys along, keep pushing guys keep pushing myself. And I’m gonna try to keep doing that as long as I can and keep fighting and get back to work tomorrow.

“You get knocked down in life, you get down in life. It’s kind of more about how you respond than anything. It is what it is. You either lay down and quit or you pick yourself up and go,” he added. “I don’t know how to lay down and quit. I don’t. This game — you don’t know when it’ll be taken from you, and don’t know how many opportunities you get to keep playing it. So for me, I go out there each week and try to be the best player I can be for this football team, for myself and represent our team and our community as best as we can.”

The Patriots haven’t won since Week 3 against the New York Jets and suffered back-to-back blowout losses — including a shutout against the New Orleans Saints. There’s a lot of blame to go around and it will be an uphill climb if New England wants to turn its season around.

It’s clear Andrews isn’t ready to throw in the towel on the 2023 season, and it appears he’s ready to keep fighting until the very end.