Keep in mind that NE is often compared to teams like Baltimore and Pittsburgh, who consistently win. But over this 19-year dynasty...
- NE finished with fewer than 10 wins only once, in 2002 in Brady's "sophomore" year as a starter. Even then they went 9-7 and tied for first in the division (losing out on like a 3rd tier tiebreaker).
- Only twice did NE miss the playoffs (2002 and 2008, when they went 11-5, tied for first in the division, and again lost out on tiebreakers).
- Pittsburgh has had records of 6-10, 8-8 (4x), and 9-7. They missed the playoffs 7 times over this span.
- Baltimore has had records of 5-11 (2x), 6-10, 7-9, 8-8 (2x), and 9-7 (3x). They missed the playoffs 8 times over this span.
So these other great franchises have all had multiple down seasons where they got to have a bit of a reset. New England hasn't had that, like, at all, during their dynasty.
So to see the phrase, "This is what the fall of a dynasty looks like," it just makes me chuckle, because never in the history of the sport have we seen a run like the Patriots went on. Yeah, when you have to draft (because of your success) at the back of every round every single year, and when the NFL literally steals four draft picks from you (two 1sts, a 4th, and a 3rd) because other teams are jealous of your success, yeah, that stuff adds up. You can cover for that only for so long before you have to reset and start over.
Well, here we are, resetting and starting over. It's not a bad thing. This is easily the most relaxed I've been watching the Patriots since the dynasty started. It's ok. It really is.