Posted on 01/18/2019 9:52:52 AM PST by Rummyfan
We are 18 years into the New England Patriots dynasty. A run that started during the 2001 regular season is likely going to stretch into its third decade, which would be unprecedented in most sports and seems downright unfathomable in the modern NFL, where attrition and the salary cap conspire to strike down promising teams before they grow comfortable atop their divisions. There might never be a team like the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick Patriots again.
By virtue of that 18-year reign, though, the Patriots have amassed what amounts to a popular folklore. There are stories and arguments about how the Patriots perform and what they do to win games, and while some of them are true, plenty aren't. Some of the ideas might have been true at one time but haven't been the case in years. Others were built upon an insufficient sample, with one play or one game used to tell a broader story without any tests or support.
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I wrote about myths for all of last week's eight playoff teams. With the Patriots, I found that a common claim held up with regard to New England simply isn't accurate. Despite what you might hear during Pats games, there's no evidence that the Patriots consistently sport a bend-but-don't-break defense. Belichick doesn't tell his defense to suddenly figure things out in the red zone because that doesn't make any sense. Great defenses are great all over the field.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
The difference between the Steelers run and the Patriots run is that the league changed the rules in the ‘70’s to hinder the Steelers (Mel Blount Rule), but changed the rules in the 2000’s to help the Patriots (Brady Rule).
I suspect that the Patriots will lose on Sunday.
Their dynasty is over.
Where’s your savior now, Krafty?
I don’t have a dog in this fight as a Giants fan. I could care less who wins.....as long as the Pats lose :)
“I don’t have a dog in this fight as a Giants fan. I could care less who wins.....as long as the Pats lose :)”
—
Then you DO have a dog in this fight——a pit bull.:-)
Go Pats!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
The modern day Patriots would beat those 70’s Steeler teams by 50 points. Terry Bradshaw would even admit that.
Here’s one simple reason for example. The Steelers starting Left Tackle in 1975 (they won the Superbowl that year) was
Jon Kolb: 6’ 2”, 262 Lbs.
The Patriots starting left tackle this year:
Trent Brown: 6’ 8”, 380 Lbs.
The players are so much bigger, so much faster, in far superior condition compared to that era. It would be a slaughter.
It always amuses me how people think the teams from 40 years ago could compete today. Watch ‘80s NBA on YouTube with Domonique Wilkins waltzing to the basket without anyone even trying to get in his way.
ESPN is a myth.
Look, anyone that is 6" taller, 120 pounds heavier and is faster and quicker will beat the hell out of the smaller person if both are well trained professional football players.
I never made the claim that the Steelers of the 70s could beat even an average team of today, using today's rules.
The Steelers played 9 games, won them all, had 5 shutouts, and all of the other teams averaged 2.6 points per game.
Could not happen today.
If the Steelers of 76 played the Pats of 2018, using the rules of 76, Tom, don't hit me, pussy boi Brady wouldn't last for 2 offensive series, even with the size disadvantage.
When Joe Greene, with his arm in a cast, hit any offensive lineman in the earhole, and the lineman couldn't use his hands for defense, the Patriots would be running for the showers.
You've got to remember the rules from the 70s, the offensive linemen had to keep their hands on their chest, and the defensive players could and {did} ring their bell up and down the line.
They were allowed to head slap, fore arm to the head of the QB: there were very few 'roughing the QB' calls.
We would punt on every series on first down, and our defense would just have fun.
I think the Patriots were banned from Monday Night football for a decade or so due to the heavy drinking and rowdiness of the fans.
Trivia: The Patriots played one of their last MNF games (before the ban) on December 8, 1980 - the night that John Lennon was shot. Much of America learned of the assassination through Howard Cosell as that game was in progress.
I also remember when Drew Bledsoe got injured in one of the first games of the 2001 season (right after 9/11). I figured the season was lost for the Patriots, especially as they were relying on some unknown backup QB who was drafted in the sixth round to carry them through. That of course, was Tom Brady, who went on to carry the Pats to their first of many Super Bowl victories that season.
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Those are the two people behind the unprecedented success of the past 20 years. Everybody else revolved around them. (Both Trump supporters by the way.)
It's a shame I cannot appreciate the final years of their glorious careers. I gave up my cable several years ago and I don't even bother going to a sports bar to watch football anymore due to the kneeling crap. But I do catch the Patriot's highlights on YouTube after the games are over. It's the least I can do.
It is simply the greatest dynasty in the history of professional sports. The likes of which we will likely never see again.
[As of July 2018] “The Patriots are 71-19 since 2003 in the AFC East. That’s a .788 winning percentage. Outside the division, they are 118-32 (.786).”
Since Brady returned in 2009, until the same date as above, the Patriots won at a .788 percentage both in and out of the division.
Since the realignment through the end of the 2017 season and various lesser periods, the AFCE winning percentage as a whole and the winning percentage of the bottom three teams as compared to the bottom three teams of the other divisions, makes the AFCE the 2nd or 3rd strongest division.
The divisions that fit your description are the AFC South, and the Colts, along with the NFC West (which has finally recovered somewhat).
Heck, just against playoff teams, the Patriots are 42-25 during the regular season, 2002-2018.
You’ve fallen for a misguided meme.
but changed the rules in the 2000’s to help the Patriots (Brady Rule).
The Brady rule was the lunging from the ground at the knees of the QB. You probably mean the Carson Palmer rule which was in place before that.
While that rule would help passers like Peyton Manning, it also helped Brady, so I don’t see how that was anti-Pats. Again, if anything, it was anti-Steelers as much as anti-Pats. And both the Carson rule and Brady rule helped the Pats.
It was anti-Pats because it was explicitly put in place because Bill Polian was tired of his Colts losing to the Patriots, and to combat what he thought was their defense of the time (2004). That part really isn’t debatable.
It wasn’t until 2007 that the Patriots began to make use of the change.
As for the roughing the passer, Brady is consistently in the bottom third of the league in receiving roughing the passer penalties.
I doubled-checked this. It was not a new rule, but a re-emphasis of the 1978 rule. The league admitted they missed 6 PI against NE in the Pats-Colts playoff game.
http://web.archive.org/web/20040215093250/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4079437/
As for roughing the passer, I would like to see a link for your stats. From what I’ve seen, Brady seems to get favorable calls in big games.
Haven’t had a sip since
“Jordan/Pippen/Phil Jackson Bulls who had six”
That doesn’t come close to Bill Russel, Havlicek Aurebach with The Celtics 9 of 10 in the 60’s
It’s much easier to win an NBA title than it is a Super Bowl. The two teams play a best of seven games. First team that wins four games is champion. In the NFL its sudden death in the playoffs, one game for all the marbles.
Well I meant in the modern era...the last 50 years or so? The Montreal Canadiens won a bunch of titles at the same time and further into the ‘70s. Ken Dryden etc.
Correct. The PI wasn’t a rule change, it was an interpretation change. The words in the rulebook didn’t change, but the way it was called changed dramatically.
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