What a difference a few years makes.

[BobDigital]

I wanna take you back in time a bit. Not too long ago. 2013.

The Pats were the class of the NFL but it wasn't the same feeling we have today. They were a team that won a lot in the early 2000s and had very good team since than but lost to the Giants 2 times. Just lost to Peyton in the AFCCG 26-16. They couldn't seem to get over the hump to raise another championship and had a 9 year drought. People were wondering a bit about the legacy of this team. Clearly they were great early and consistently good but it felt like they missed the chance for #4 in 2007 and that it may not come again. The D had been shaky for years and the top tier offense couldn't get the Pats over the hump.

Suddenly after winning 2 in 3 years all of that is forgotten but I think it is good to take a moment to look back at that time. Winning 2 more super bowls particularly the way they did in comebacks really put a staple on the legacy of BB, Brady and the entire organization. No longer was this a team that had a 3 in 4 dynasty and then stayed good. It won championships again.

How did you feel after 2013 and how much have the last 3 years changed your thinking if they had at all?

 

[RedSleevesPinkStripes]

I think the way you put it is pretty much spot on. They were the class of the league, but at the same time that only carries you so far when the last title was 2004-2005. At points I felt they were just snake-bitten and may never get #4.

After 2 more titles, with the way they were won, I think it all happened for a reason, and just adds to the legacy of BB, Brady and Pats org.

 

[jah]

After 2013, I understood how spoiled I was, but still couldn't help but think "every damn year..."

 

[luuked]

I think I am in the minority here because I can enjoy seasons even if they ultimately don't end with a Lombardi. To me we have been on a neverending ride since 2003 only derailed in 2008 due to Brady's ACL.

There is something about each of the teams since 2010 that makes me look back fondly. Especially, because in each of those years there were only small things that kept us from the big one.

In 2011 and 2012 a healthy Gronk would have made all the difference. In fact, a certain slot receiver holding on to two passes: one in the SB and one at the beginning of the third quarter against the Ravens might have been the difference.

2013 was just one giant injury ridden team that willed themselves into a AFCCG only to see Slater run go routes. And yet I wonder what could have been if Talib doesn't exit the game. Despite not having a particularly talented roster, that season had some of the most memorable games: Saints comeback, Broncos comeback, Browns comeback (including the onside kick), and a comeback against the Dolphins that fell one Amendola catch in the endzone short of giving us HFA.

I know that those seasons didn't end with rings but they kept me entertained and excited until the middle of January. Not every play will go your way every year so realistically I don't think we can ask for more than that.

Six consecutive AFCCG appearences man.. only 5 other teams in the AFC have more than 5 appearances total.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

IIRC, the Pats went through some crazy long stretch where they didn't lose a game by double digits; Even on the rare occasion they lost, they were still in the game. Then came the AFCCG home blowout to Baltimore. Then the 10pt AFCCG loss in Denver. I wasn't sure what to read into these flameouts in the season's biggest games, but it wasn't good.

Then the double-comeback against Baltimore happened. Then the 4th quarter against Seattle. Then the valiant effort up in Denver despite falling short. Then Atlanta. Suddenly it's 2 out if 3 with a near miss in the middle. Whatever the team was missing, it found it in spades.

Regards,
Chris

 

[SHOWTIME15]

It's no surprise the team turned their super bowl fortunes around with better drafting and more focus on rebuilding the defense.

 

[Deus Irae]

They needed better WR options (Hello Mr. LaFell)
They needed a healthy Gronk in the playoffs (played, had 6 catches in SB)
They needed a much better defense (Hello Revis and Browner)

They've been patching that together year-to-year, and it's worked two out of three times (with Bennet playing the role of Gronk in 2016).

 

[BobDigital]

IIRC, the Pats went through some crazy long stretch where they didn't lose a game by double digits; Even on the rare occasion they lost, they were still in the game. Then came the AFCCG home blowout to Baltimore. Then the 10pt AFCCG loss in Denver. I wasn't sure what to read into these flameouts in the season's biggest games, but it wasn't good.

Then the double-comeback against Baltimore happened. Then the 4th quarter against Seattle. Then the valiant effort up in Denver despite falling short. Then Atlanta. Suddenly it's 2 out if 3 with a near miss in the middle. Whatever the team was missing, it found it in spades.

Regards,
Chris

I think we understate how important that 2014 Raven playoff win was for the team. Something was found in that game the team didn't have in past playoff runs for a while.

It was an opponent that always gave us fits and to come back the way they did really gave this team something i think. I remember in the Seattle game down 10 on a "behind the scenes" thing Brady said to his team "we've been is worse spots than this!" and it was true. They had and they had a confidence they could come back and win. Not just Brady but all 53 players. It felt like they just needed 1 play to get momentum. Then you convert that 3rd and 14 and here we go.

Everyone played like "yep this is the comeback we knew we had in us" with total confidence and you saw it on the field.

 

[bormio]

A better defense has been key, but there have also been improvements in the offense - it went from one that struggled late in playoff games (SB46, Ravens 2012) to one that is now lethal in those same situations. There is more to the story than this, but it is more than coincidence that a return to winning championships has occurred at the same time a certain WR became a starter.

 

[FourierSeries]

Could have been 3 consecutive titles if it wasn't for injuries, as NE was significantly better than Denver in 2015.

 

[JJR4884]

Could have been 3 consecutive titles if it wasn't for injuries, as NE was significantly better than Denver in 2015.

Agreed. There are some things in Patriots history that really get to me, and SB46 isn't even one of them. Giant's earned that win.

However we blew the 06 AFCCG and the Colts had the SB hand fed to them by Rex Grossman... what a joke that was.

Same goes for 2 years ago. Carolina lost to Manning in a wheel chair. I think the Patriots would have torched them if we were in the game. That game against Denver sucked so bad.

 

[tasmlab]

Final roster of guys catching the ball in 2013:

Wide receivers

• 80 Danny Amendola
• 10 Austin Collie
• 17 Aaron Dobson
• 11 Julian Edelman PR
• 18 Matthew Slater
• 85 Kenbrell Thompkins

Tight ends

• 47 Michael Hoomanawanui
• 88 Matthew Mulligan
• 45 D.J. Williams

It seems like from 2008-2013 there was always one or more position groups that were unsettled or patched together. 2014-now every group is somewhere between solid to a strength.

 

[Shockt327]

After the 2009 season, I was seriously beginning to doubt the Patriots future. On Offense; it was pretty much "look-deep to Moss/check down to Welker" (which Baltimore dismantled in the 2009 playoffs). On D; it was soft zone with ageing vets who were too slow at LB to defend the pass. I was really, really beginning to doubt the team's future.

IMO there were a few key changes that helped re-shape the scheme and identity of the team...

1) The 2010 Draft completely revamped that offense. Ditch Moss, and the two TE sets helped emphasize quick passing (no longer seeing Brady wait for Moss..only to get sacked) helped establish the run, too.

2) The 2012 Draft had just as much of an impact on Pats front 7. Hightower and Jones were a much needed shot in the arm. The addition of those two, paired along with Mayo, Spikes, Nink was the tipping point where I finally felt that NE had a front 7 that was damn-near on par with 2001-2004 (getting Collins a year later was big too).

3) The trade for Aqib Talib. That was the tuning point that ended the Patriots reliance on a soft zone schemes. In 2012 the Patriots were going to play The Houston Texans, who had a legit Offense, and iirc were the #1 seed at that point. For the first time in a long time, The Patriots came out playing press-man coverage and they shut it down. From Talib, to Revis, to Butler, they haven't looked back since.

EDIT: 2013 was rough because they entered the year w/o any of Brady's top 5 passing targets, iirc. But with hindsight, the long-term changes had already been made for the good.

 

[luuked]

Final roster of guys catching the ball in 2013:

Wide receivers

• 80 Danny Amendola
• 10 Austin Collie
• 17 Aaron Dobson
• 11 Julian Edelman PR
• 18 Matthew Slater
• 85 Kenbrell Thompkins

Tight ends

• 47 Michael Hoomanawanui
• 88 Matthew Mulligan
• 45 D.J. Williams

It seems like from 2008-2013 there was always one or more position groups that were unsettled or patched together. 2014-now every group is somewhere between solid to a strength.

Dola was playing with torn groin muscles and Dobson was somewhat rushed back from a foot injury that later on required surgery and essentially took away any chance he had to make it here.

 

[patsinthesnow]

2013 AFC Championship:

Edelman
Dobson
Collie
Amendola
Slater getting targeted
Hooman
Vereen

2017 opening day:

Cooks
Edelman
Hogan
Mitchell
Gronk
Allen
Lewis/White/Burkhead

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

Yeah the day after the Super Bowl 46 loss, a co-worker (not a Pats fan) was telling me the run was over.

I suppose we've done ok since then.

 

[bormio]

Yeah the day after the Super Bowl 46 loss, a co-worker (not a Pats fan) was telling me the run was over.

I suppose we've done ok since then.

The funny thing is a lot of people thought Brady was beginning the downward slide after that game. So this will be the 6th year now that people will be predicting his demise. Maybe one day they will be right.

 

[Poker]

The first Pats run 2001-04 came out of nowhere.

Then the good/great teams from 2005-13 seem to last forever, and it seemed like they'd never win another super bowl.

Then, a few things improved again starting in 2014, I'd even say they were luckier with health apart from 2015, and boom, seemingly suddenly again they start to win super bowls.

That's why I never listen to the pundits who extrapolate recent streaks like they were watching a pattern that couldn't change suddenly, and not factoring in the randomness. For example, at some point, probably in the next 10-20 years even these teams that we think are doomed to duck forever like the Jets/Bill/Browns, will just start winning a lot and it will seem to come out of nowhere.

 

[n6249c]

[...] For example, at some point, probably in the next 10-20 years even these teams that we think are doomed to duck forever like the Jets/Bill/Browns, will just start winning a lot and it will seem to come out of nowhere.

Hey let's not be such a Negative Nancy. Maybe there's a good chance the Jets will never discover how to win a lot. So far their form suggests that's more likely than your doom and gloom scenario.

 

[farn]

Getting big plays in key spots is essential. I just feel the 14-16 squads had the playmakers you need to get those plays. While other teams between the 3rd & 4th titles were VG, but lacked that player who'd get it done when needed.

HT is one such player. As was Willie. Never truly felt there was a player on D that you'd feel was going to come up huge between 05-13... even though I know there were very fine players on D, seems like when you needed it : no one was to be found...