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Deflated Dynasty

By bobbyjim45, Section NFL
Posted on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 9:52 AM EST
More on: (all tags)

The New England Patriots have had a great run. Nobody can deny that they have been one of the greatest teams of all time. While they certainly haven't been as talented as teams like the Broncos, Cowboys, 49ers, or Steelers of their time, they've had intangibles that no other team had. Bill Belicheck is the greatest coach of his era and ranks right up there with legends like Vince Lombardi and Bill Walsh. The image of him standing on the sidelines in his Patriots hooded sweatshirt will likely be what people will think of. They also have a man by the name of Tom Brady. Tom Brady has won 3 Super Bowls at age 28. He could retire right now and easily go to the Hall of Fame. New England is broken right now, but the dynasty has not been destroyed.

Although the Patriots are done for the year and will not get the three peat, you can't help but respect and appreciate what they have done. As a Pats fan, I loved every minute of it and it was a shock to the system when I realized in the fourth quarter of the New England-Denver game that Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck were not immortals and were actually capable of losing a big game. The past four years, not including 2002, have been simply magical. From Adam Vinatieri's game winning kick against the greatest show on turf, to his walk off field goal against Carolina, to the deadly Brady-Branch combo against the Eagles, this has been a fun team to cheer on.

While we may be a little disappointed that New England won't be there in the end, we can't be upset at our team because of what they have given us. We also must realize that just because we don't have a three peat under our belts, we aren't finished. As long as we have Bill Belicheck and Tom Brady on our side, we can never be counted out. A new year could make New England even better than they were this year. They will be able to pick up some help in the secondary and maybe a running back to be the heir to Corey Dillon who surely won't be a horse for much longer (the name LenDale White comes to mind, just to throw something out there).

One potential problem would be the loss of defensive coordinator Eric Mangini. The Jets have talked to Mangini about taking their head coaching job. Mangini coached the secondary in 2004 and was promoted when Romeo Crennel went off to coach the Browns. Together, Mangini and Belicheck have done a great job of coaching a very young and inexperienced secondary. The fast maturity of rookie Ellis Hobbs and 25-year-old Asante Samuel helped guide New England to their respectable 10-6 record. Fortunately, the Pats have had some experience with losing assistant coaches after losing Crennel and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis after the 2004 Super Bowl win. Patriots Nation has confidence that Belicheck will continue to find more great assistants like Mangini to fill in for the guys going off on their own.

Because New England lost to Denver, they still remain in the heads of their major rivals in the AFC, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. These two teams have been the major threats to the Pats over this run and it doesn't seem like they will be going away any time soon. New England seems like the only team that really has Ben Roethlisberger's number and although Indianapolis beat New England at their house this year, the Pats still maintain their edge because they have dominated Indy in past playoff match-ups. Who knows what kind of staying power Denver has in the stronger of two conferences, but they have definitely figured out how to attack New England. However, Bill Belicheck will be ready for them if the two teams meet again next season, whether in the regular season or the playoffs.

The New England Patriots may be deflated right now, but they are not defeated. Belicheck and general manager Scott Pioli are going to bring in players to fill weaknesses. They will probably stick to the normal Patriots way of getting smart team players. They will come back next year, putting themselves in position to take home the Lombardi trophy again. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they WILL win, just that they will certainly give themselves another shot at it.

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Deflated Dynasty | 6 comments (6 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

If nothing else... (#1)
by Cellar Dweller on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 2:29 AM EST

If nothing else, the Patriots were the LUCKIEST of the NFL's handful of Super Bowl dynasties. From the tuck play in 01, to Drew Bennet's dropped pass in 03, to Kasay's kick out of bounds in SB 38, the Pats eeked out 3 championships like no other 'dynasty'. They were rarely dominant and won each SB by 3 points.

They were a great team, but definitely not in the class of the Cowboys, 49'ers, Steelers, and back to back Broncos. I'd love to see Brady do something other than get his team into field goal position in a tie game, for once. Those 30 yard drives into field goal position just don't conjure up memories of Elway, Montana, or Staubach to me (The Drive, The Catch, The Hail Mary).

Cellar Dweller (#2)
by BostonMac on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 2:45 PM EST

Your argument is so tired. You can't win three Super Bowls on luck. You just can't. Sounds like sour grapes.

[ Parent ]

What about Joey Porter (#3)
by Editor on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 4:29 PM EST

claiming that the Patriots were handed the championship in 2001 cause of 9/11.

[ Parent ]

I didn't say that (#4)
by Cellar Dweller on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 5:04 PM EST

I didn't say that the Pats won 3 SB on luck. I said they were the luckiest of the SB dynasties. I acknowledged that they were a great team. The point was that the other dynasties were much more dominant, and much less dependent on chance. The tuck ruling - chance. Kasay's kickoff going out of bounds and giving the ball to the Pats at the 40 - chance.

There are no goal line stands (SB 16 49'ers) that define the Pats. There are no blowouts (Cowboys v. Bills) that define the Pats. There is no utter domination (Steelers v. Vikings) that define the Pats.

There are no sour grapes here. I rooted for the Pats in the SB against the Rams. I just acknowledge how much good fortune they had to go along with their excellence. And, without the good fortune, their excellence would not have been enough to win 3 rings. They wouldn't have reached the first SB. They may not have reached the second one either, if Bennett had caught the pass that hit him right in the hands. And, the kickoff out of bounds? That's not excellence on the part of the Pats, that pure luck and a lack of concentration by the opponent.

I'll use a tennis analogy. The Pats were the recipients of a lot of unforced errors in their title runs. That cannot be said of the other dynasties. But, as I said before, they were a great team. Just not as great as the other dynasties.

I watched The Drive, and The Catch on live television. I'm just not as impressed with 30 yard, game winning FIELD GOAL drives.

[ Parent ]

please... (#5)
by JDWC on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 6:03 PM EST

say you are kidding! You are obviously anti-Patriots if you are just going back and recounting how they won because of chance. That happens in every sport in every game. What if the officials had looked at the replay of the Texas lateral touchdown in the Rose Bowl when Vince Young's knee was clearly down? What if Reggie Bush hadn't tryed to lateral the ball on that long run? Does this mean that Texas won the Rose Bowl on chance too?
J.D.
[ Parent ]

: Not kidding, nor anti-Patriots (#6)
by Cellar Dweller on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 9:56 PM EST

I'll say again, and please read carefully. The New England Patriots, who won 3 SB in 4 years, were not only a great team, but one of only a handful of NFL dynasties. However, in comparison to the other dynasties, the Pats were less dominant, and aided with more good fortune during their run.
They won their titles by a total of 9 points, and had at least 3 game altering plays VERY late in three separate games that were more the product of CHANCE than their excellence. If not for this chance, the Pats excellence would not have been enough to win 3 titles in 4 years. Exhibit A is the tuck play against the Raiders. Without that chance occurrence, the Pats don't even get to that first title game.
You are correct about there being chance plays in every game. However, a chance play, or any play early in a game has much less impact than a play late in a game. Why? Because early in a game there is still quite a bit of contest left to determine the outcome. A team can recover from early misfortune because there is time to regroup, and develop a new strategy based on the circumstances. Late in a game, the opportunities to compensate for an error are severely limited, mostly by time.
I don't recall any of the other dynasties being the recipients of UNFORCED errors in the closing minutes of big games. An unforced error in football is an error where the opposition had no direct effect on the player making the error. Such as the tuck play, a fumble that wasn't a fumbe. Or, Drew Bennett dropping a pass on 4th down in a position to win the game. Or, a kicker who kicks the ball out of bounds on the kickoff.
I don't recall any close SB's in other dynasties that had an impactful play that was an unforced error. I don't know of any other dynasty having tuck play in their history. Furthermore, I don't recall any other dynasty being so closely matched, where the outcome was in question until the very end, in all of their SB's, like with the Pats. Every other SB dynasty was DOMINANT. There was never an opportunity for chance because they so thoroughly dominated the opposition that their games were out of reach in the final minutes.
The Patriots were a great team. Not as great as the Joe Greene Steelers. Not as great as the Lott and Montana 49'ers. Not as great as the Smith, Irvin Cowboys. Not as great as the Starr Packers. Not as great as the Greise, Czonka Dolphins. Not as great as the Elway, Terrell Davis Broncos. But, better than the Staubach Cowboys. Better than the Gibbs Redskins. Better than the Plunkett Raiders. Better than the Lawrence Taylor Giants (only slightly, though).
I'm not anti-anything. I'm just analyzing the data.

[ Parent ]

Deflated Dynasty | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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