How did the Patriots maintain a top team for 17 years?

[Success]

I thought it might be interesting to put our loathing aside and really analyze how they pulled it off.  What they did is what I want the Bills to do - dominate for many years, and as long as they have Allen at QB.

 

They didn't have the ebb & flow that a team normally has, even w/ a top QB.  Their window was wide open for most of those 17 years. They made 9 SB's, and probably should have made 1-2 more.  My own thoughts:

 

1) Obviously, Brady took less pay so the team could afford better players.  I still don't see that being as impactful as it's made out to be - he was still paid a lot.

2) Aging vet stars took pay cuts just to play w/ Brady. Will we see that w/ Allen?

3) The Patriots made very few investments in bigtime skill players.  Moss was the exception, not the rule.

4) One of the hallmarks of Belichick was letting players walk before they started to decline.  Almost exactly what we're looking at w/ Poyer.

5) Their biggest priority, year after year, was making sure the O-line was strong.  That's just what you do when you have a top QB.

 

Still, the run is somewhat mystifying.  Belichick was not a great drafter, which is usually needed once a QB gets past the rookie contract.  Superior coaching clearly played a part. I think BB got the best out of his players (which is something we aren't doing right now - we see players leave the Bills and perform better than they did here).

 

Thoughts?

[Gregg]

Brady the GOAT, Belichick the GOAT. Built a solid roster around #12. The Bills, Dolphins, Jets = Three stooges. Division was a joke as NE would usually have it clinched by late Oct/ early Nov. Because of it they usually had the #1 or #2 seed so they rarely had to play on WC weekend.

[dave mcbride]

15 minutes ago, Success said:

I thought it might be interesting to put our loathing aside and really analyze how they pulled it off.  What they did is what I want the Bills to do - dominate for many years, and as long as they have Allen at QB.

 

They didn't have the ebb & flow that a team normally has, even w/ a top QB.  Their window was wide open for most of those 17 years. They made 9 SB's, and probably should have made 1-2 more.  My own thoughts:

 

1) Obviously, Brady took less pay so the team could afford better players.  I still don't see that being as impactful as it's made out to be - he was still paid a lot.

2) Aging vet stars took pay cuts just to play w/ Brady. Will we see that w/ Allen?

3) The Patriots made very few investments in bigtime skill players.  Moss was the exception, not the rule.

4) One of the hallmarks of Belichick was letting players walk before they started to decline.  Almost exactly what we're looking at w/ Poyer.

5) Their biggest priority, year after year, was making sure the O-line was strong.  That's just what you do when you have a top QB.

 

Still, the run is somewhat mystifying.  Belichick was not a great drafter, which is usually needed once a QB gets past the rookie contract.  Superior coaching clearly played a part. I think BB got the best out of his players (which is something we aren't doing right now - we see players leave the Bills and perform better than they did here).

 

Thoughts?

I wouldn't consider a fourth-round pick much of an "investment." That's what they got him for. They also traded a second for Corey Dillon, who arguably should be in the HOF given his numbers. He put up nearly 1,700 rushing yards in his first season there and they won the SB. 

[B-Man]

[US Egg]

There’s only one reason. Hate away haters, rev up your excuse machines…..

…..it rings hollow to the countless who know he is simply the greatest.

Edited February 6, 2023 by I am the egg man

[NewEra]

[GreggTX]

Brady's top priority was winning, not money.

 

[Meatloaf63]

I would say the biggest reason is they didn’t have Frazier running their defense. 👍

[Lost]

QB legend, HOF coach and a clown fiesta in the rest of the division for many years.    

[uticaclub]

They didn't beat themselves and had 1 or 2 games during that entire stretch where they just didn’t show up. Also the Bills, Jets & Dolphins were all terrible. Brady went 33-3 against us, that's ridiculous against a division opponent. 

[947]

They built a passing offense based on getting the ball out in 1.5 seconds, so they could still excel without top dollar O-line players & spend their big money on other areas. Rarely getting called for OPI on pick plays allowed them to execute any short/quick pass they wanted with a ridiculously high success rate.

 

It also helps that Brady took some bargain deals that were supplemented by Kraft investing in his TB12 company "under the table".

[NoHuddleKelly12]

I’m guessing it’s because this guy wasn’t coaching yet? 🤷🏼‍♂️

[Jauronimo]

1. Hall of fame QB on a below market contract

2. Best situational football coaching in the game

3. Best defensive game plans in the game

4. Continual innovation on offense based on talent available

 

The Manning led Colts played in an even worse division but it didn't pack their trophy case.

[aristocrat]

Always had top defenses that could play you all sorts of ways. Great secondaries, great against the run. Offense always had hall of fame weapons with the gronk, Edelman and welker. Those guys just moved chains. Offensive lines always kept Brady upright

[Nextmanup]

40 minutes ago, Gregg said:

Brady the GOAT, Belichick the GOAT. Built a solid roster around #12. The Bills, Dolphins, Jets = Three stooges. Division was a joke as NE would usually have it clinched by late Oct/ early Nov. Because of it they usually had the #1 or #2 seed so they rarely had to play on WC weekend.

One thing Bills fans like to overlook as well: over the years, NE almost always had a really good defense...

 

The names changed all the time, but the unit remains solid.

 

That's true even now.

 

 

[corta765]

1. Brady

2. Coaching BB as a coach is great

3. Smart FA signing at the right time. Moss & Welker 07, Gilmore 17, Corey Dillon 2004, etc.. when NE went to the FA for a star caliber player it fit their scheme to a T normally and gave great dividends

4. Took advantage of extra draft picks before other teams started doing so which allowed a greater hit rate on players outside of the 1st round

5. AFC East was garbage

6. Secured the #1 seed an insane number of times which allowed a far easier path to the SB.  They only lost once at home in the AFC title game (BAL 2012), by comparison on the road they were 3-3.

[MJS]

You can divide their years into three different buckets:

 

Early dominance: 2001 to 2004. They won 3 superbowls in 4 years.

 

Middle Less Dominant: 2005 to 2013. No superbowl wins. They were somewhat like our Bills today, not getting over the hump in the playoffs. They were even one-and-done in the playoffs two times during this stretch. They did get there twice, but lost to the Giants both times.

 

Late Dominance: 2014 to 2020. Everything clicked again for a few years. They won 4 more superbowls during this stretch.

 

Tom Brady is the big reason they won so much. He is the GOAT. He also took a discount for much of those years. They also had successful schemes and knew how to bring in role players to fit specific roles in the offense. They didn't always draft particularly well, but they were good at bringing in value free agents and made trades or signed big time players at the right time to help get over the hump (Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Stephon Gilmore, etc.)

Edited February 6, 2023 by MJS

[Scott7975]

Played in a weak division 

had Tom Brady on a low contract

were able to get free agents on cheap deals so they could win a Super Bowl 

[sven233]

Paying Brady under the table so they only had him on the books for about half, or less, than what he should have been on the books for certainly helped a lot.  Cheating (in a bunch of different ways, probably in a lot of ways that weren't even discovered yet) had a bunch to do with it as well.  Throw all that on the fact that Brady was good anyway, and boom......dynasty. 

[iccrewman112]

Kyle Orton, Jay Fiedler, and Chad Pennington being amongst the top QB from the division opponents during the 2 decade long period certainly helps.