This year the Pats could become the greatest franchise in NFL history

[BobDigital]

Right now it is debatable but if you had to pick one team you go with the Steelers due to 6 SBs wins to our/SF/Dallas 5.

But what if the Pats win 1 more? Lets take a look.

SBs? - Pats 6 wins 10 appearances : Steelers 6 wins 8 appearances (equal wins but the Pats would have more appearances)

Regular season record? Pats currently 476-383-9 : Steelers currently 606-549-21 (If appearances were not enough the Pats would have better win rate (be hard to pass them in wins as their franchise started in 1933 and the Pats in 1960).

Playoff record? Pats 32-19 Steelers 36-24 (fair to say if the Pats win this year they will be only 2 wins behind the Steelers and maybe 1 but with a better overall win %).

If there waw an argument for the Steelers it would be since 60 they have rarely had a bad season while the Pats since 60 have had less consistent success. However there isn't a huge difference. I see 6-10 or worse as the cut off for being a bad team. 7-9 is just 1 swing from .500 so I can't call it a horrible year (same or 6-8 with 14 games as 1 swings it to .500). So the math works out IMO if you on the whole have a % better than .400 I won't say you are great but you don't stink.

Since 1960 (when both franchises were around) how often have teams been at or below the .400 mark?

Pats? 17 times
Steelers? 11 times

If you were to make an argument for why the Steelers have better better is it cause on the whole they have had less bad years than the Pats since both franchises have been around but if that is your only argument it doesn't stand up well. Also it is hard to ignore the years between 1933-1960 if we want to count those wins as the Steelers didn't really get consistent since 72 on.

Pittsburgh Steelers Team Encyclopedia | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Boston/New England Patriots Team Encyclopedia | Pro-Football-Reference.com

 

[Jangles]

Ok then

 

[meatface]

If Brady won the next five straight Super bowls he would still be called a system QB by his haters and they would still say that Montana was better.

 

[Bledsoehasaring]

Its fun to talk about.. but its all nonsense til you win 7. Wanna shut people up win more than anyone else. Thats what happened with brady.

 

[jmt57]

Cowboy fans will point to their franchise's NFL-best .573 winning percentage (Pats rank 5th), 32 playoff appearances (Pats are #11 with 24, one behind the Bears) and more division titles (23 vs 19).

Packer fans will point to their team's NFL-best 13 championships, which would still be more than twice as many as the Patriots. Green Bay also has the most division titles (28) and is a close second to Dallas with a .569 all-time winning percentage.

Chicago will point to their pro football best 744 wins. Giants will boast about 32 playoff appearances, 684 wins, and two certain games as 'proof' of superiority.

49er fans will cling to a better Superbowl winning percentage.

And 31 fanbases will bleat cheaterz when all else fails.



The Patriots have passed several franchises in all-time winning percentage and all-time wins in recent years. The Pats have more wins than any of the old AFL teams and could pass the Dolphins next year in all-time winning percentage.

If nothing else those who year after year keep proclaiming the Patriots will soon be awful, attempting to imply that the Belichick-Brady era is a blip on the radar, will not have facts on their side. Even if one makes the case for another team being the greatest franchise in pro football history it cannot be denied that the Patriots rank somewhere near the top. No wonder those born into football ownership like Mara and Rooney get so twisted at the idea of another team surpassing their legacy.

 

[ViperGTS]

They already are...

 

[Soliel]

Well.. All those wins by the steelers and green bay were gotten illegally because of doping and steroid use so they all have an asterisk... I mean.. We have to consider tje shield and integrity and all that slop.

Since the end of steroidgate..they have not won anything which proves that the steelers. Green bay and dallas are all horrid cheaters.

 

[DarrylS]

This needs to be looked at post and pre-salary cap era's, since 1994 there is no doubt who is the best team.. prior to that it is a toss up Pittsburgh, Dallas or San Fran.

The brilliance of all of this is that the Pats have operated under the salary cap and have continually rebuilt this team in the context of the CBA. This year for example they are between 26 & 30 million under the salary cap, next year they are predicted to be 75 million under so they continue to rebuild and achieve excellence on the fly.

 

[PatriotsReign]

This Brady-Belichick run is already established as the greatest dynasty in NFL history

I don't think we're psycho enough to seek every single record there is. But that's what some Obsessive-Compulsive people would desire.

I don't want it to end, but if and when it does, I'll be fine. I've seen more than enough for a lifetime of memories

 

[jah]

I'm not sure you understand percentages.

 

[sb1]

In the salary cap era it's the Pats and then everyone else and it's not close. This dynasty is unmatched in football and maybe even pro sports.

If you want to look at the best ever I think they have to win 7 to overcome any debate, imo.

 

[PatriotsReign]

I'm not sure you understand percentages.

I do....look!

%

 

[Sicilian]

If Brady won the next five straight Super bowls he would still be called a system QB by his haters and they would still say that Montana was better.

Unless you were arguing with them about Belichick, and then all of his success would be because he lucked into Brady.

 

[BobDigital]

I'm not sure you understand percentages.

What do you mean?

 

[jmt57]

What do you mean?

He was referring to the fact it should read either .400 or 40%, not 400%.

So the math works out IMO if you on the whole have a % better than 400% I won't say you are great but you don't stink.

Since 1960 (when both franchises were around) how often have teams been at or below the 400% mark?

edit: fixed it for you, for clarity.

 

[A Defiant Goose]

If Brady won the next five straight Super bowls he would still be called a system QB by his haters and they would still say that Montana was better.

I know 49ers fans who say Montana will always and forever be better than Brady because, even if he won the next 5 in a row, Montana was undefeated and Brady's first loss came at the expense of an undefeated season and 4th championship. They're about as braindead as Broncos fans with Elway

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

I know 49ers fans who say Montana will always and forever be better than Brady because, even if he won the next 5 in a row, Montana was undefeated and Brady's first loss came at the expense of an undefeated season and 4th championship. They're about as braindead as Broncos fans with Elway

I've heard that argument. My reply was, "Yes, getting blown out 49-3 by the Giants is clearly better than losing the Super Bowl by one score. Silly me."

I've replied to "Montana never threw a pick in the Super Bowl" with, "Yes. He can thank those butterfinger DBs on the Bengals he hit in the chest for that."

Regards,
Chris

 

[stinkypete]

Its fun to talk about.. but its all nonsense til you win 7. Wanna shut people up win more than anyone else. Thats what happened with brady.

7 is the magic number.

5 is nice, but it doesn't get them over the hump. Dallas has the prestige name and the benefit of experiencing 2 near dynasties. Even Green Bay and New York fans can argue that their volume of pre-merger titles plus 4 Super Bowls each outweigh the achievements of the teams who won 5.

Even more importantly, the Patriots need to either continue their winning beyond the Brady-era or return to prominence in a future era to really be viewed as the greatest NFL franchise in history.

 

[Ive_Killed_People]

Packer fans will point to their team's NFL-best 13 championships, which would still be more than twice as many as the Patriots. .

The Packers have 4 Championships period. It is not fair to count pre-superbowl championships, they were basically just winning the NFC( dont care that there was no AFC) If they get credit for that then we should get credit for our AFC championships.

 

[oldrover]

I would love more championships... but we have been blessed as Pats fans over these last 16 years or so... I don't want to be...

...greedy.