[Pats Pulpit] The Record that will never be broken

[Chuck Walden]

The 1970's and 1980's Pats had some great players, and I feel a lot of their history is sort of overlooked because none of it comes close to matching up to the Brady/Belichick run of success. I wasn't around back then, but I love reading up on Pats history.
For those who didn't know, or are just looking for a reminder, the 1978 Patriots still hold the record for most rushing yards in a season.
Pats’ Past: The record that will never be broken

 

[oldrover]

I was around rooting in 1978 (I was 17)... that was a fun season to watch the Patriots... right up until game 16, when Fairbanks announced he was leaving for Colorado and the Sullivans suspended him. Loss... then playoff loss. Done.

There's a reason that record doesn't get more credit... it didn't amount to anything. Not even a solitary playoff win.

That's what you had to look forward to as a Pats fan in those days... some highlights during the season... usually a Jet beatdown (heh)... but then... inexorably... invariably... a bad ending... every year. It was kind of a bummer...

...but it got better.

 

[Chuck Walden]

I was around rooting in 1978 (I was 17)... that was a fun season to watch the Patriots... right up until game 16, when Fairbanks announced he was leaving for Colorado and the Sullivans suspended him. Loss... then playoff loss. Done.

There's a reason that record doesn't get more credit... it didn't amount to anything. Not even a solitary playoff win.

That's what you had to look forward to as a Pats fan in those days... some highlights during the season... usually a Jet beatdown (heh)... but then... inexorably... invariably... a bad ending... every year. It was kind of a bummer...

...but it got better.

I was in second grade when the Pats won SB36, so outside of very faint memories of Bledsoe, this is all I’ve ever known. I know I have it good, but I am not looking forward to the old days when an AFC Championship Game (at the very least) wasn’t a guarantee every single season

 

[XLIX]

Interesting fact and I'll be honest... if you told me the Patriots held the record for most rushing yards in a season, I would have just assumed it was the 1985 team that held that record, not 1978.

 

[Hyped]

I was in second grade when the Pats won SB36, so outside of very faint memories of Bledsoe, this is all I’ve ever known. I know I have it good, but I am not looking forward to the old days when an AFC Championship Game (at the very least) wasn’t a guarantee every single season

You had it good . Myself, I grew up in the 70's-80's...but did not seriously follow the team until '93 when Parcells/Bledsoe came on board after the lean years of the late 80's to early 90's.....

 

[goheels22002]

Brady's record of 71 post-season TD passes will never be broken, either.

NFL Passing Touchdowns Career Playoffs Leaders | Pro-Football-Reference.com

 

[TheRainMaker]

I was in second grade when the Pats won SB36, so outside of very faint memories of Bledsoe, this is all I’ve ever known. I know I have it good, but I am not looking forward to the old days when an AFC Championship Game (at the very least) wasn’t a guarantee every single season

You've had it pretty good. I was a teenager in the 90's and the Parcells/Carrol era was my favorite as the Pats had to deal with many good teams in AFC including Elway's Broncos (who they couldn't beat) and the AFC East was a nightmare! They had to go up against Marino's Dolphins, Jim Kelly's Bills, Parcells' Jets and eventually Peyton Manning tearing it up in '99. It seemed like the Pats were playing tough teams every week. Speaking of the Jets, the rivalry between the Jets was at it's best when Parcells went there and stole Martin from the Pats. Those prime time games had a ton of hype and fun to watch. The Pats also had a pretty good rivalry with the Jimmy Johnson Dolphins and the Bills.

Games these days aren't as fun to watch as the Pats don't have much competition in the AFC. There's the Pats and then there's parity in the AFC.

 

[maust]

Interesting fact and I'll be honest... if you told me the Patriots held the record for most rushing yards in a season, I would have just assumed it was the 1985 team that held that record, not 1978.

From the center on out on out to the left the '78 team had Lenkaitis, Hannah and Gray with Francis at TE and Sam Adams often pulling from the RT guard position. It was something to see them in action, you almost felt bad for the defenders...almost.

 

[1960Pats]

I was around rooting in 1978 (I was 17)... that was a fun season to watch the Patriots... right up until game 16, when Fairbanks announced he was leaving for Colorado and the Sullivans suspended him. Loss... then playoff loss. Done.

There's a reason that record doesn't get more credit... it didn't amount to anything. Not even a solitary playoff win.

That's what you had to look forward to as a Pats fan in those days... some highlights during the season... usually a Jet beatdown (heh)... but then... inexorably... invariably... a bad ending... every year. It was kind of a bummer...

...but it got better.

The worst part of the early years was that when the team was close to making the playoffs and needed help, it never came.

...but now they help themselves.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

They possessed Cat like quickness

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I was around rooting in 1978 (I was 17)... that was a fun season to watch the Patriots... right up until game 16, when Fairbanks announced he was leaving for Colorado and the Sullivans suspended him. Loss... then playoff loss. Done.

There's a reason that record doesn't get more credit... it didn't amount to anything. Not even a solitary playoff win.

That's what you had to look forward to as a Pats fan in those days... some highlights during the season... usually a Jet beatdown (heh)... but then... inexorably... invariably... a bad ending... every year. It was kind of a bummer...

...but it got better.

After 1976, it was understood by all of us that the Patriots were owed at least one World Championship.

We'd have liked it in '77, but Hannah/Gray holdout delay caused some early losses that proved to be fatal...plus, the defense wasn't as good as the previous season.

In '78, we lost Darryl Stingley in the preseason, and Julius Adams in Week One, and John Smith later, and so, with not quite as good a defense and receiving corps, we just ran that rock down everybody's throats. Steve Grogan was hurt by the end of the season, and that was enough to kill us.

We kept pouring on the offense in '79 & '80, but the substandard training facilities under the Sullivans and some personnel losses kept us out of it. We didn't have a championship level defense like we did in '76.

But we developed a title-contending defense in the early 80's, along with enough young offensive talent to win. We had a legit shot in '85, '86, and '88 but coach Raymond Berry was enamored with Tony Eason like Bob Kraft is with Drew Bledsoe and the flying elvis.


So, it was harder to make the playoffs in the 70's...plus, the Pats were playing the iron of the league as opposed to the cream puff NFC. The margin for error, under the Sullivans, was zero.

 

[PatriotReign]

Brady's record of 71 post-season TD passes will never be broken, either.

NFL Passing Touchdowns Career Playoffs Leaders | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Yes it will. Tom Brady will break the record this post-season.

 

[1960Pats]

From the center on out on out to the left the '78 team had Lenkaitis, Hannah and Gray with Francis at TE and Sam Adams often pulling from the RT guard position. It was something to see them in action, you almost felt bad for the defenders...almost.

I can still visualize Hannah pulling around the end and zeroing in on some DB or LB. Even when the defender went down to avoid the hit Hannah would get down there too and slam the poor guy into the turf. He was the best I ever saw.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I can still visualize Hannah pulling around the end and zeroing in on some DB or LB. Even when the defender went down to avoid the hit Hannah would get down there too and slam the poor guy into the turf. He was the best I ever saw.

Yup, we got to see John and a bunch of other stars on the field for 33 years.

What did we ever do to deserve Kraft shoving that ersatz logo and enemy-colored uni down our throats for a quarter century?

 

[sb1]

I don't think any other QB in our lifetime is winning 5 Super Bowl rings. Maybe in any lifetime.

I'd say on paper Big Ben has the best shot but he won't be around to see 5.

 

[maust]

I can still visualize Hannah pulling around the end and zeroing in on some DB or LB. Even when the defender went down to avoid the hit Hannah would get down there too and slam the poor guy into the turf. He was the best I ever saw.

Or better still as memories go, Hannah and Gray firing forward collapsing the left side and folding it back then Francis sealing off the deep safety for one of Grogan's patented bootlegs. Read that description again and close your eyes and you will see it in your mind's eye like it was yesterday, I know because I just did.

 

[maust]

Yup, we got to see John and a bunch of other stars on the field for 33 years.

What did we ever do to deserve Kraft shoving that ersatz logo and enemy-colored uni down our throats for a quarter century?

What did we ever do to deserve the unparalleled success we've had over the past quarter century? And don't give me Rust & Kiam, not even today's Brownie fans have suffered enough to deserve what we've had here.

 

[tom444]

The 1970's and 1980's Pats had some great players, and I feel a lot of their history is sort of overlooked because none of it comes close to matching up to the Brady/Belichick run of success. I wasn't around back then, but I love reading up on Pats history.
For those who didn't know, or are just looking for a reminder, the 1978 Patriots still hold the record for most rushing yards in a season.
Pats’ Past: The record that will never be broken

I remember Frank Gifford saying on Monday Night Football during that era, if you don't watch out this team, the Patriots, will run all over you. And they would, and did.

 

[Chuck Walden]

I don't think any other QB in our lifetime is winning 5 Super Bowl rings. Maybe in any lifetime.

I'd say on paper Big Ben has the best shot but he won't be around to see 5.

Well if you want to get technical about it, Jimmy G already has two

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

What did we ever do to deserve the unparalleled success we've had over the past quarter century? And don't give me Rust & Kiam, not even today's Brownie fans have suffered enough to deserve what we've had here.

Having one, brilliant, historic first world championship stolen in an incomparable display of corruption and the near-deadly permanent paralyzing of a young, outstanding role model, family man, team leader and star player in his prime on the same field at the same venue less than two years later, while in the midst of decades-long inappropriate, non substantive malevolent denigration and negative propaganda from what is supposed to be a local and national public information industry, all due to resentment and misplaced indignation at the behavior of ownership which yes, was bad but not patently bigoted (Giants) racist (Cowboys) or just plain despicable (Colts) and then even during that unparalleled success having the owner acquiesce and meekly accept all the abuse down through the years, including fake scandals and stripping us of the simple ability to watch the team we've rooted for all our lives out there on the field, like the other dynasties did even after much worse losing stretches than the Patriots ever had...

...yeah, I won't be satisfied even if we reach 10 titles under Bill.