Now and Then

[1960Pats]

Here we are at the end of Patriots year AB14 and it's time to take a look back and compare what it's like now to be a Pats fan and what it was like before Tom Brady and Bill Belichick arrived.

Now - Calls seem to go our way.
Then - Ben Dreith

Now- - Loose balls seem to bounce our way.
Then - Mosi Tatupu in Denver.

Now - Nobody likes us fans, our HC and our team.
Then - Everybody else loved everything about our team.

Now - Now some teams probably fear playing the Pats.
Then - They used to laugh at us.

Now - Opponents and their fans have to look up to see us.
Then - They looked down their noses at us.

Now - We worry about which playoff seed we'll end up with.
Then - We used to have to pray for help at the end of the season just to get there. Things didn't go our way.

Now - The media reluctantly give our team props.
Then - They openly mocked us.

Now - The stadium is a pleasant place to visit.
Then - It was a cesspool. No really, it was a cesspool.

Now - We are fans of the team of the original 8 AFL teams with the most wins.
then - We led the AFL in laughs.

Now - We win.
Then - We Lost.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Mostly agree, but some of those comments on when Kraft took over. We started getting good when Bledsoe/Parcells arrived. We became elite when BB/TB took over.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

My favorite stat:
Then -- most regular season wins: 11 (76 in 14 game season, 78, 85, 86, 96)
Now -- average regular season wins: 11.6 (including the 2000 season)

Really impressive.

 

[1960Pats]

Mostly agree, but some of those comments on when Kraft took over. We started getting good when Bledsoe/Parcells arrived. We became elite when BB/TB took over.

Yes, that's why I separated the team by the year that Brady and Belichick arrived.

The Pats were very good in both the 70's (should have won a SB) and 80's (could have won a SB). Parcells and Bledsoe didn't do anything that wasn't done before they came along.

 

[1960Pats]

My favorite stat:
Then -- most regular season wins: 11 (76 in 14 game season, 78, 85, 86, 96)
Now -- average regular season wins: 11.6 (including the 2000 season)

Really impressive.

It really is.

Some day when Belichick and Brady are gone we may be able to look back at this as the greatest run of success of any team in NFL history.

Nobody's laughing at us now are they?

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Yes, that's why I separated the team by the year that Brady and Belichick arrived.

The Pats were very good in both the 70's (should have won a SB) and 80's (could have won a SB). Parcells and Bledsoe didn't do anything that wasn't done before they came along.

Very good in the 70's...with some of those teams Raiders/Steelers it was hard to win...i'll give you that.

80's? maybe I was too busy partying, but they only appeared in the 1985 SB against the Bears? That was lambs to the slaughter. It was a great ride and they overachieved, but that was not a competitive game. I'm sure there's a picture somewhere of Eason hugging his teddy on the sideline while simultaneously rocking back and forth and mumbling that he's too hurt to back in and play.

But, god love Grogan for going other there in the shape he was in and trying.

 

[mosi]

Here we are at the end of Patriots year AB14 and it's time to take a look back and compare what it's like now to be a Pats fan and what it was like before Tom Brady and Bill Belichick arrived.

Now - Calls seem to go our way.
Then - Ben Dreith

Now- - Loose balls seem to bounce our way.
Then - Mosi Tatupu in Denver.

Man I can't believe that Denver game was almost 30 years ago. 30 years. That season went down the drain with that loss and the loss in Dallas.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Mostly agree, but some of those comments on when Kraft took over. We started getting good when Bledsoe/Parcells arrived. We became elite when BB/TB took over.

Bledsoe's record a a starting QB for the Pats is 63-60.
Parcells record as a Patriot HC was 32-32.
Patriots were 113-83 from 1976-1988 before the four horrible years preceding Parcells.

They got more popular but as another poster pointed out, they did nothing that wasn't done before.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Very good in the 70's...with some of those teams Raiders/Steelers it was hard to win...i'll give you that.

80's? maybe I was too busy partying, but they only appeared in the 1985 SB against the Bears? That was lambs to the slaughter. It was a great ride and they overachieved, but that was not a competitive game. I'm sure there's a picture somewhere of Eason hugging his teddy on the sideline while simultaneously rocking back and forth and mumbling that he's too hurt to back in and play.

But, god love Grogan for going other there in the shape he was in and trying.

Last I checked Bledsoe (4 Int) and Parcells (with the Pats) only got to one SB and lost, too.

 

[RayClay]

Very good in the 70's...with some of those teams Raiders/Steelers it was hard to win...i'll give you that.

80's? maybe I was too busy partying, but they only appeared in the 1985 SB against the Bears? That was lambs to the slaughter. It was a great ride and they overachieved, but that was not a competitive game. I'm sure there's a picture somewhere of Eason hugging his teddy on the sideline while simultaneously rocking back and forth and mumbling that he's too hurt to back in and play.

But, god love Grogan for going other there in the shape he was in and trying.

Three playoff wins on the road including hated division rivals? I found that pretty enjoyable.

 

[patsinthesnow]

I wonder what PatsFans would of been like back "Then"?

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I wonder what PatsFans would of been like back "Then"?

Mee too
AOL

It was brutal being a Pats fan in the early USENET days
"Patsies" comes to mind

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

The company I worked for in the 80-90s had 8 season tickets. We used them for entertaining customers. In 90 -91, we always had trouble getting anyone to go to the games. After Kraft and Parcells came along, we never had that problem.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Bledsoe's record a a starting QB for the Pats is 63-60.
Parcells record as a Patriot HC was 32-32.
Patriots were 113-83 from 1976-1988 before the four horrible years preceding Parcells.

They got more popular but as another poster pointed out, they did nothing that wasn't done before.

OK from 1986 to 1993 (and they went 11-5 in 1986) they were a combined 47-80. So 32-32 was an improvement and they went to the playoffs 94, 96, 97, 98. From 1976 to 1993 they went to the playoffs 5 times. the point being they were a competent/competitive football team.

In the 20 years Kraft (i assume Kraft had the team starting in 1994) has had the team they've had 2 losing seasons and (1) 8-8 season. Sorry, if I'm happy about that. I'm really noting the turn-around the team has had since Kraft took over -- didn't I say I mostly agreed to the original post?

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Three playoff wins on the road including hated division rivals? I found that pretty enjoyable.

I did too.

 

[Nitro]

so to summarize
Now- evil empire
then- the jets north..

got it.

 

[RayClay]

Speaking of now and then, did anyone guess who had the total yards record Blount broke?

I read it was 51 years ago, so I guessed and I was right. Obviously, you either have no idea, or can narrow it down pretty easily, like I did. Coin flip.

 

[jmt57]

Speaking of now and then, did anyone guess who had the total yards record Blount broke?

I read it was 51 years ago, so I guessed and I was right. Obviously, you either have no idea, or can narrow it down pretty easily, like I did. Coin flip.

I was surprised, as I assumed that it was Mack Herron. Herron was pretty much the entire Pats offense for a year or two and set the NFL record for all purpose yards in a season (since broken), so I figured it was a safe guess that he also had the single-game record.

On the other hand the game was not nearly as specialized back in '61. Even by the time Herron was playing in the seventies it was starting to become common to have specialists on returns rather than starters.

 

[italian pat patriot]

Three playoff wins on the road including hated division rivals? I found that pretty enjoyable.

well said, me too without a doubt

 

[PatriotsInGA]

Now - Colts/Pats playoff game. The 4th in 10 years.

Then - Colts/Pats was a complete joke. I remember reading about 1981 (well before my time) when both teams went 2-14. The Colts only two wins were against none other than the Erhardt-led Pats. The rivalry has come a long way.