In Tom Brady's 13 full seasons.....

[Mark12]

He has led the Patriots to 9 first-round byes.

Other 4 years?

2002 - missed playoffs
2005 - 4th seed
2006 - 4th seed
2009 - 3rd seed

GOAT

 

[Mark12]

Also, for those people who say the AFC East is has been a cakewalk for the Pats, I got this comment from reddit that fully debunks this notion.


"I posted this comment elsewhere in this thread, but you're making the same faulty assumption as above so I'll repost it here:

The AFC East has the most wins (507) and the second-highest winning percentage (0.528) of any division from 1999 to 2013 (source). Furthermore, in out-of-division games since the realignment in 2002, the AFC East has the most wins (259) and the highest win percentage (0.540) of any division (source). So while the parity may have been poor, it was certainly not due to the failures of the Bills, Dolphins, or Jets.

Of course, you could make the argument that the success of the Patriots skews those figures. The best way to correct for that is to only compare the aggregate records of whichever three teams didn't win each division each season. A higher winning percentage here suggests a more competitive division since it puts more weight on wins by those teams against the division winner. /u/ssj2killergoten did this analysis, and came up with the following results:

NFC East: 173-186-1 (.481)

AFC North: 170-189-1 (.472)

AFC East: 169-191 (.469)

AFC South/NFC South: 164-196 (.456)

AFC West: 147-213 (.408)

NFC North: 145-215 (.403)

NFC West: 129-231 (.358)

So even adjusting for the Patriots, the AFC East is the third strongest division, and only four wins out of first. Far from the cakewalk most people consider the division to be.

Ultimately, I think people mistake a competitive division as a good one and, conversely, a less competitive division as a bad one. A prime example of the fault in this logic is the NFC South this season: it's competitive, but nobody's going to argue that it's a good division. Regardless, the reverse is often taken as truth, and thus teams like the Colts and Patriots often have their success partially dismissed as a consequence of playing in a crappy division even though that's not the case."

 

[Observer]

Should have won more than three superbowls.

 

[Jlaff]

Makes you want to look at Jets fans in a different light. You'd be f'ed up too with that many years of misery (their own blunders aside!).

 

[DarrylS]

Wonder what the future holds in store for fans of this era, if they descend into the world of Football malaise??.. what we are witnessing is unprecedented in the salary cap era. The closest are SF in the 80/90's, but that was when salary cap was a non-issue.

To have maintained this level of excellence is amazing..

 

[Jackson 2]

Wonder what the future holds in store for fans of this era, if they descend into the world of Football malaise??.. what we are witnessing is unprecedented in the salary cap era. The closest are SF in the 80/90's, but that was when salary cap was a non-issue.

To have maintained this level of excellence is amazing..

When that malaise occurs, the exodus from this board will resemble the evacuation of the Titanic.

 

[DarrylS]

When that malaise occurs, the exodus from this board will resemble the evacuation of the Titanic.

The herd will be culled, but the hardcore will remain.. and the outliers will have difficulty maintaining any sense of decorum..

 

[Jackson 2]

The herd will be culled, but the hardcore will remain.. and the outliers will have difficulty maintaining any sense of decorum..

Darryl, there are scarce literary occasions when a phrase is employed which is so brilliantly appropriate that it warrants infinite rereading. Kudos for "The herd will be culled,..." Spectacular.