So here we have a team who has won three out of the last four Super Bowls and is well on the way to possibly their fourth Super Bowl in five years and still, any talk of a Patriots dynasty (outside of New England) is met with howls of derision and laughter.
It's not so much a "respect" thing. It's just that the Patriots don't have the cachet of former great "dynasty" teams such as the 70s Steelers, the 80s 49ers or the Cowboys of the 90s.
I think it's because the Patriots just don't have the "prime-time flash" and the big-name playmakers that were featured on those other teams. To non-fans, the Patriots are just boring. Coach Belichick comes out in a ratty sweatshirt and 95% of Tom Brady's plays are mostly unspectacular screen passes, play-action fakes and such. You just don't see any 70-yard bombs being thrown by Brady. Brady is just an efficient machine who plays it safe and doesn't make many mistakes. This is the key to the Patriot's success. Brady has the discipline to throw the ball away when he doesn't have any open receivers or he'll just take a sack, as opposed to trying to make a spectacular play like what many other quarterbacks will try to do.
The Patriots are more of a team than a collection of a few superstars. Their offensive players will line up on defense if needed. The quarterback will be asked to block on reverses just like any other player. If it makes more sense to pooch punch and pin the opponent deep in their own end zone than to kick a field goal, the kicker will be asked to do that instead. Basically the players are coached to ignore personal statistics and focus on winning the game. You are not going to see Corey Dillon get carries just so he can make some kind of personal milestone. If it fits into the game plan, Dillon will get the carries. If it doesn't, Corey will ride the bench.
Many NFL coaches don't have that kind of power over the players.
Bingo. The intelligent football fans get the Pats but many folks outside of New England just don't understand how the Patriots consistently win without the T.O. like superstars.
The ESPN crew gave the Pats their due on Countdown with the exception of course of...Michael Irvin. This guy has had it out for the Pats all during their run.