Let's face it, the Pats have had some incredible teams over the years (and also, sadly, some real stinkers). But which one was the best? Clearly this is a fantasy exercise as there's no way to know how John Hannah would have done blocking Vince Wilfork, or if Wes Welker would have gotten open against Mike Haynes. But just for fun, I'm doing a whatifsports.com all-time Pats tournament. Based on my purely subjective standards (success, record, stats, eyeball test, etc.), here are the seedings:
#1 - 2004 - 14-2, SB champ
#2 - 2007 - 16-0, AFC champ
#3 - 2003 - 14-2, SB champ
#4 - 2001 - 11-5, SB champ (probably a little high, but hey, they were champs)
#5 - 2011 - 13-3, AFC champ
#6 - 1976 - 11-3, Ben Dreith moment
#7 - 2006 - 12-4, AFC runner-up
#8 - 1985 - 11-5, AFC champ
#9 - 1996 - 11-5, AFC champ
#10 - 2010 - 14-2, AFCE champ
#11 - 1978 - 11-5, playoffs
#12 - 1986 - 11-5, playoffs
I'm going to give the top 4 seeds byes and go with this format (no re-seeding):
Top half of the bracket
#12 at #5 - winner plays at #4
#9 at #8 - winner plays at #1
Bottom half of the bracket
#11 at #6 - winner plays at #3
#10 at #7 - winner plays at #2
I'll keep you posted on the results and stats. I'm going to try to be true to those teams' natures - for example, whatifsports allows you to set a run-heavy, a pass-heavy, or a balanced offense. The 1985 Pats will obviously be run-heavy and the 2007 Pats will be pass-heavy, etc.
I'm actually going to predict that the 2007 Pats will win it all, because whatifsports is a stat-based game and the stats from that team - both offense and defense - were unbelievable. But we'll see.
#1 - 2004 - 14-2, SB champ
#2 - 2007 - 16-0, AFC champ
#3 - 2003 - 14-2, SB champ
#4 - 2001 - 11-5, SB champ (probably a little high, but hey, they were champs)
#5 - 2011 - 13-3, AFC champ
#6 - 1976 - 11-3, Ben Dreith moment
#7 - 2006 - 12-4, AFC runner-up
#8 - 1985 - 11-5, AFC champ
#9 - 1996 - 11-5, AFC champ
#10 - 2010 - 14-2, AFCE champ
#11 - 1978 - 11-5, playoffs
#12 - 1986 - 11-5, playoffs
I'm going to give the top 4 seeds byes and go with this format (no re-seeding):
Top half of the bracket
#12 at #5 - winner plays at #4
#9 at #8 - winner plays at #1
Bottom half of the bracket
#11 at #6 - winner plays at #3
#10 at #7 - winner plays at #2
I'll keep you posted on the results and stats. I'm going to try to be true to those teams' natures - for example, whatifsports allows you to set a run-heavy, a pass-heavy, or a balanced offense. The 1985 Pats will obviously be run-heavy and the 2007 Pats will be pass-heavy, etc.
I'm actually going to predict that the 2007 Pats will win it all, because whatifsports is a stat-based game and the stats from that team - both offense and defense - were unbelievable. But we'll see.