The “Boogeymen” linebackers may be the most famous nickname to come out of New England Patriots locker room this year. But it wasn’t the first.

Long before Kyle Van Noy was soliciting sweatshirt designs on Instagram, another movement had been in the works. It just hadn’t caught on quite as well.

“It was before the Boogeymen," Joe Cardona said. "There was no doubt. It was, I think, the original moniker.”

Welcome to “The Danger Zone.”

That’s what the Patriots long snapper has been campaigning for New England’s special teams to be known as.

“It’s our goal to be dangerous out there,” Cardona says. "It’s a mentality we’re trying to bring.”

Kickoffs, punts, returns, field goals, all of it qualifies as part of the “Danger Zone.” The Patriots long snapper, who is an officer in the U.S. Navy drew from the classic 80s Tom Cruise movie “Top Gun," which centers flight school in the Navy. The movie is also famous for the marquee song off its soundtrack, “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins.

“One of my favorite movies of all time," special teams captain Matthew Slater said. "Great soundtrack. Whenever we have a flyover and they play the ‘Top Gun’ song, I love it. Good movie, good movie.”

When it comes to nicknames, the “Boogeymen” certainly have the spotlight, taking center stage of the Patriots’ top-ranked defense. But the “Danger Zone” isn’t trying to compete for that attention. They’re doing their own thing.

“Obviously, this one, the Boogeymen took off, and well-deserved because they are playing incredible,” Cardona said. "So we’re just trying to bring our own cause to light and make sure people at least see we’re trying to be dangerous out there and we’re uniting behind that, taking a lot of pride in it.”

Slater says that the “Danger Zone” started as a joke in the locker room. But the joking stopped when it became clear that the Patriots were capable of doing some real damage on special teams.

While the field goal kicker situation has been in flux and the Patriots lost starting punt returner Gunner Olszewski, the rest of the special teams units have been spectacular this year.

Against the Cowboys last week, the Patriots tied a franchise record with its third blocked put of the season, with the previous two resulting in touchdowns. Elsewhere, the Patriots feature two of the game’s best kick coverage players in Slater and the recently acquired Justin Bethel. Tookie punter Jake Bailey? He’s been named the AFC Player of the Week twice this season.

The Patriots have burned their opponents on special teams this year -- and Cardona wants people to know it.

“He’ll come in here after the game and say ‘Let’s be dangerous. The Danger Zone,'" Slater said. "Gotta love Joe for that.”

With that said, the name recognition hasn’t quite reached all the way down the locker room.

“I haven’t heard that one," safety Terrence Brooks said. "That’s a new one. I mean, shoot, whatever they wanna call us, I’m just really to play ball.”

Brooks, one of the Patriots’ key special teamers, admits that he has not seen “Top Gun,” but said that he’ll "have to check it out.”

The nickname is a fun way to establish an identity, but Cardona says there’s more to it than getting fired up when Kenny Loggins is playing in the background.

Cardona’s philosophy in establishing the “Danger Zone” draws from his experience in the Navy and his education on how a military squadron is built. It was reinforced even further when the Patriots had the Blue Angels to come in and talk to the team.

Whether it’s maintainers and mechanics or blockers and equipment staff, there are a lot of unseen team effort that goes into an aerial showcase at the end of the day. It’s true when the Blue Angels are flying in a V formation or when Tom Brady throwing out of a shotgun formation.

“For the special teams units, it’s the same thing. It’s not always everybody who gets the glory and the attention," Cardona said. "But for a large part of it, we can share in that. We can at least get behind a common theme and that’s ‘Hey, Danger Zone affects all of us.’ It gives us a chance to bring a little bit of that Top Gun mentality, that squadron mentality to the team.”

There are no plans to cross over into merchandise like the Boogeymen have. For now, the “Danger Zone” doesn’t have any plans to market outside of the locker room.

“I was thinking about getting mugs or something,” Cardona said. "But that’s to be determined. We’ve got to finish the season first.”

There’s a little to all the “Top Gun” talk. For starters, there’s no “Maverick” in the Patriots locker room -- no “Goose” or Iceman," either. Instead, Cardona says the Patriots are trying to carve out their own identity, so it’s not a 1-for-1. He says they’re still working on coming up with call signs.

The names may not carry over, but the attitude is still something that Val Kilmer’s character would approve of.

“They’re dangerous," Cardona said of his teammates. "But they can be my wingman any time.”