Best Patriot's Championship Teams

[scott99]

What in your opinion were the best Pat's Championship teams ? In order of greatness. Mine are:

1) 2004 Pats- That defense was just so dominant. That front 7 was sick, and then to add to their greatness, I feel they are probably the only team ever to lose their starting corners (Ty Law and Tyrone Poole) and still win a Super Bowl. An amazing accomplishment. Then add in the greatest single season by a Pat's running back, Corey Dillon just ran all over teams, which set up a great play action offense led by the typically great Tom Brady. Team finished 14-2, 17-2 when you add the playoffs and SB, wow !

2) 2003 Pats- Great defense also, 14-2, just dominated that season, the greatest Pat's season in their history at that time. Great secondary behind an awesome front 7. Brady as usual led a solid offense with his usual precision. Loved this team, finished 17-2 overall. Think about it, 34-4 combined in 2003 and 2004.

3) 2014 Pats- Great offense led by Brady, Gronk and Edelman, and a great defense led by a solid front 7 and extremely talented secondary led by Malcolm Butler . Had some truly dominant games offensively, Brady once again proved his greatness in the clutch in the 4th quarter of the SB.

4) 2001 Pats- Team that shocked the world with mostly no names. Tom Who ? Troy Brown ? Who is that ? Believe me, people knew who they were after that game. Brady and the Pats win their last 9 games to win it all. This team has a special place in my heart.

This is how I see those teams in order of greatness. The 2001 and 2014 SB's are probably my favorites, because what they meant to the franchise (a special FU to the NFL in 2014). But as Brady always says, my favorite championship is the next one.

 

[RobertWeathers]

04. To win without the Tys was incredible. Just loaded.

 

[Jared]

This is how I rank them, in order:

04: #4 Offense (PPG), #2 Defense (PPG)
14: #4 Offense (PPG), #8 Defense (PPG)
03: #12 Offense (PPG), #1 Defense (PPG)
01: #6 Offense (PPG), #6 Defense (PPG)

The 03 team had a disgusting defense. The offense was good, but not amazing. But come 04, Antowain's 3.6 YPC is replaced by Corey's 4.7 YPC. Kevin Faulk can take advantage of a defenses respecting Brady as a passer more, and gets his own YPC to 4.7 as well. Givens and Branch both improve as 3rd year players, improving the passing attack, as well as Tom's development continues.

I put the 14 team between the two because frankly the offense is just so important now. Having that #4 ranked offense is far more important than that #1 defense in 03, particularly with the various rules emphases that came about from the 03 and 04 teams mugging the crap out of everyone.

The 01 team will always have a special place in my heart, just like it will for every other Patriots fan. But lets not kid ourselves, those were often ugly games to watch. That #6 scoring offense only represents something like 23 points per game, as after the Rams at 31.4 PPG, there was a huge drop off in scoring, with #2 to #12 ranging from 21 to 25.8 points per game. That team had to scratch and claw for every point. I love them for it, but they would have been crushed by any of the other Patriots championship teams (and probably more than a few of the non-championship teams as well).

 

[VrabelJr]

The answer is always: The next one!

I'll show myself out now.

 

[Tony2046]

I agree with your ranking for strength of team sake but emotionally I would rank 2001 and 2015 the top two in either order.