During the regular season Roger's corrupt competitive balance suspension has completely failed to achieve its objective. Hopefully TB and Kraft can tell him in person on the Super Bowl podium that he failed to impact their postseason, too.
I sort of agree with this. Maybe if Asante Samuel could have simply closed his hands it would now be a momentum thing and all, but as it is, 16-0 would be a burden.
Just a partial list of notable achievements from the game notes today (http://www.patriots.com/news/2017/01/01/game-notes-patriots-earn-top-seed-afc-playoff-field):
PATRIOTS EARN TOP SEED IN AFC PLAYOFF FIELD
The Patriots have now earned six number one seeds (2016, 2014, 2011, 2010, 2007 and 2003) in the postseason since 1990, the most in the NFL under that system. The NFL began playoff seeding in 1975 and the current playoff format was instituted in 1990.
MOST NO. 1 SEEDS IN THE PLAYOFF FIELD
(Since 1990)
New England 6
Denver 5
Dallas 4
Pittsburgh 4
San Francisco 4
MOST NO. 1 SEEDS OVERALL
(Since 1975)
San Francisco 8
Denver 8
New England 6
Pittsburgh 6
Dallas 6
Oakland 5
PATRIOTS WIN 14 GAMES FOR FIFTH TIME IN TEAM HISTORY
The win over the Miami was the Patriots 14th win of the season. The Patriots have now won 14 or games in a season five times, the most in NFL history.
Patriots 14-Win Seasons
2003-14-2
2004-14-2
2007-16-0
2010-14-2
2016- 14-2
Most Seasons with 14 or More Wins
Team 14 or more win seasons
New England 5
San Francisco 4
Chicago 2
Indianapolis 2
Miami 2
Pittsburgh 2
Washington 2
DIVISIONAL DOMINANCE
The New England Patriots own a 76-22 (.775) record in regular-season AFC East games since the beginning of the 2001 season, compiling the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL.
Most 14 win Season by a Head Coach
Bill Belichick 5 (2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2016)
George Seifert 3
Joe Gibbs 2
Mike Ditka 2
Don Shula 2
BRADY NEARING THE TOP FOR WINS OVERALL
Tom Brady has the most wins by an NFL quarterback with 205 career wins. His 205 wins are the fifth most among all players.
Most Wins by an NFL Player
Player Wins
Adam Vinatieri 220
George Blanda 218
Gary Anderson 212
Jerry Rice 210
Tom Brady 205
PATRIOTS EARN TOP SEED IN AFC PLAYOFF FIELD
The Patriots have now earned six number one seeds (2016, 2014, 2011, 2010, 2007 and 2003) in the postseason since 1990, the most in the NFL under that system. The NFL began playoff seeding in 1975 and the current playoff format was instituted in 1990.
MOST NO. 1 SEEDS IN THE PLAYOFF FIELD
(Since 1990)
New England 6
Denver 5
Dallas 4
Pittsburgh 4
San Francisco 4
MOST NO. 1 SEEDS OVERALL
(Since 1975)
San Francisco 8
Denver 8
New England 6
Pittsburgh 6
Dallas 6
Oakland 5
PATRIOTS WIN 14 GAMES FOR FIFTH TIME IN TEAM HISTORY
The win over the Miami was the Patriots 14th win of the season. The Patriots have now won 14 or games in a season five times, the most in NFL history.
Patriots 14-Win Seasons
2003-14-2
2004-14-2
2007-16-0
2010-14-2
2016- 14-2
Most Seasons with 14 or More Wins
Team 14 or more win seasons
New England 5
San Francisco 4
Chicago 2
Indianapolis 2
Miami 2
Pittsburgh 2
Washington 2
DIVISIONAL DOMINANCE
The New England Patriots own a 76-22 (.775) record in regular-season AFC East games since the beginning of the 2001 season, compiling the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL.
Most 14 win Season by a Head Coach
Bill Belichick 5 (2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2016)
George Seifert 3
Joe Gibbs 2
Mike Ditka 2
Don Shula 2
BRADY NEARING THE TOP FOR WINS OVERALL
Tom Brady has the most wins by an NFL quarterback with 205 career wins. His 205 wins are the fifth most among all players.
Most Wins by an NFL Player
Player Wins
Adam Vinatieri 220
George Blanda 218
Gary Anderson 212
Jerry Rice 210
Tom Brady 205
I was at the game today.
Being a fan of a team that travels so well is pretty cool. My guess is that the crowd was 35 percent Pats fans. Give or take.
I'm now at the airport and we're everywhere. Flights going all over the place have Pats fans on them. We are not nearly alone on our flight to Newark.
At dinner after the game we saw a kid with a Gronk jersey. It turned out that his family is from Dallas, the dad was a big Cowboys fan but the kid was a "winner picker."
Having been a fan of this team since 1970, the notion that the Patriots -- the once Charlie Brown Patriots -- now have a fan base that extends this far and wide never ceases to amaze me.
Being a fan of a team that travels so well is pretty cool. My guess is that the crowd was 35 percent Pats fans. Give or take.
I'm now at the airport and we're everywhere. Flights going all over the place have Pats fans on them. We are not nearly alone on our flight to Newark.
At dinner after the game we saw a kid with a Gronk jersey. It turned out that his family is from Dallas, the dad was a big Cowboys fan but the kid was a "winner picker."
Having been a fan of this team since 1970, the notion that the Patriots -- the once Charlie Brown Patriots -- now have a fan base that extends this far and wide never ceases to amaze me.
Vinatieri is gonna have a stranglehold on that when he's done. Also, this is the first time I've gotten the Pixies reference in your username.
As snowmanny pointed out in the game thread, the Texans are the only other repeat division winner in this year's playoffs (and only other of last year's top 4 seeds even to make the playoffs this year).
Texans, last two seasons:
18-14, -23 point differential
The two seasons the Patriots haven't made the playoffs in the BB/TB era ('02, '08):
20-12, +136 point differential
Texans, last two seasons:
18-14, -23 point differential
The two seasons the Patriots haven't made the playoffs in the BB/TB era ('02, '08):
20-12, +136 point differential
If Brady plays 3 more years (which is asking a buttload) at close to what he played this year(3500 yards, 30TD's) he could pass Peyton in TDs and Yards.
That would be wild.
That would be wild.
Q: What do Phil Dawson, Sebastian Janikowski, Shane Lechler, and Adam Vinatieri have in common with Tom Brady?
A: They are the only active NFL players who were in the league the last time an AFC East team won more regular season games than the Patriots. Yes, that'sthree four* kickers (and a 4th string QB).[/S]
* yay, I can count!
A: They are the only active NFL players who were in the league the last time an AFC East team won more regular season games than the Patriots. Yes, that's
* yay, I can count!
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Since 2003, the Patriots have had 8 seasons where they lost fewer games than the difference between first and second in the division (2003-04, 2007, 2010-13, 2016).
Total losses since 2003: 42
Difference in wins between first and second in AFC East since 2003: 46
Total losses since 2003: 42
Difference in wins between first and second in AFC East since 2003: 46
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Just to expand on the "Brady has never played a meaningless game" and "No team in the AFC East has finished with a better record than the Pats since 2000" stats....
I went through the historical standings on Pro Football Reference because I was curious how often they ever trailed another team in the AFC East, at any point in the season. I ignored a handful of 1/2 game differences that popped up due to one team having played an extra game, and searched for any weeks where the Patriots were at least 1 game back of another team in their division. Here's what I came up with
Year - Weeks Patriots were 1+ GB
2001: 1-5, 7-13
2002: 5-9, 11-12, 15-16
2003: 1-2
2004: None
2005: None
2006: None
2007: None
2008 (Cassel): 3-4, 6-7, 11-13
2009: 2-3
2010: 2
2011: 3
2012: 3
2013: None
2014: 1-2
2015: None
2016: None
In his first two seasons, Brady was constantly battling for divisional supremacy, being a game out of first 12 weeks in 2001 and 21 of a possible 34 weeks in '01 and '02 combined.
In the 13 seasons since, Brady has spent 9 total weeks looking up in the standings at another AFC East team. I repeat: Of the 221 weeks of NFL action since 2003, the Patriots have had the best record in the AFC East for 212 of them.
The Brady-led Patriots have not trailed a division opponent in the standings after Week 3 a single time in the past 13 seasons. They've found themselves in first place by Week 4 every single season and have not relinquished that lead once.
I mean...9 weeks in 13 seasons! That's even more unreal than the final standings numbers we all know.
Fun fact: Jamie Collins spent 4x as many weeks out of first place with the Browns as he did in his entire time with the Patriots.
I went through the historical standings on Pro Football Reference because I was curious how often they ever trailed another team in the AFC East, at any point in the season. I ignored a handful of 1/2 game differences that popped up due to one team having played an extra game, and searched for any weeks where the Patriots were at least 1 game back of another team in their division. Here's what I came up with
Year - Weeks Patriots were 1+ GB
2001: 1-5, 7-13
2002: 5-9, 11-12, 15-16
2003: 1-2
2004: None
2005: None
2006: None
2007: None
2008 (Cassel): 3-4, 6-7, 11-13
2009: 2-3
2010: 2
2011: 3
2012: 3
2013: None
2014: 1-2
2015: None
2016: None
In his first two seasons, Brady was constantly battling for divisional supremacy, being a game out of first 12 weeks in 2001 and 21 of a possible 34 weeks in '01 and '02 combined.
In the 13 seasons since, Brady has spent 9 total weeks looking up in the standings at another AFC East team. I repeat: Of the 221 weeks of NFL action since 2003, the Patriots have had the best record in the AFC East for 212 of them.
The Brady-led Patriots have not trailed a division opponent in the standings after Week 3 a single time in the past 13 seasons. They've found themselves in first place by Week 4 every single season and have not relinquished that lead once.
I mean...9 weeks in 13 seasons! That's even more unreal than the final standings numbers we all know.
Fun fact: Jamie Collins spent 4x as many weeks out of first place with the Browns as he did in his entire time with the Patriots.
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The Pats threw two interceptions all season. Two. No team had thrown less than five. Unbelievable.
http://www.patriots.com/news/2017/01/01/game-notes-patriots-earn-top-seed-afc-playoff-field
http://www.patriots.com/news/2017/01/01/game-notes-patriots-earn-top-seed-afc-playoff-field
He didn't want Joe Namath to be alone in that regard.
All time record is held by Jim Hardy* of the Chicago Cardinals in 1950.
* 8 INTs
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Think about that. The Pats went 3-1 in their first four games with about a game and a half played by their backup, and two and a half games played by their third string rookie QB, the last of which he played with a broken thumb on his throwing hand.
Unbelievable.
the author of that Deadspin article gets salty with his critics in the comments. I know the first rule of the internet, but this is one time you might want to ignore it.
Celebrating a story involving Tom.
http://www.si.com/nfl/2017/01/04/calvin-riley-death-tom-brady-patriots-letter-serra-high-school
http://www.si.com/nfl/2017/01/04/calvin-riley-death-tom-brady-patriots-letter-serra-high-school
So heartless and unfeeling, just like they Coach they hate:
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18405704/matthew-slater-new-england-patriots-wins-bart-starr-award-just-dad-jackie-slater
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18405704/matthew-slater-new-england-patriots-wins-bart-starr-award-just-dad-jackie-slater
From the article: "I didn't know if we were doing playoff edition Bible study for the fans, but I was like, 'This is great,'" Slater relayed.
This cracked me up. Definitely a good story. I'm intrigued by what the position of character coach/team development staffer entails.
This cracked me up. Definitely a good story. I'm intrigued by what the position of character coach/team development staffer entails.
San Francisco, 1981-1988:
- 18 seasons
- 5 SB titles
- 5 Conference championships
- 10 Conference championship appearances
- 16 playoff appearances
- 13 division titles
- 1 season with 15+ wins
- 4 seasons with 14+ wins
- 10 seasons with 12+ wins
- 1 losing record (strike shortened 1982)
- 207-72-1 (.742)
New England, 2001-2016:
- 16 seasons
- 4 SB titles (this year still TBD)
- 6 Conference championships (this year still TBD)
- 10 Conference championship appearances (this year still TBD)
- 14 playoff appearances
- 14 division titles
- 1 season with 15+ wins
- 5 seasons with 14+ wins
- 11 seasons with 12+ wins
- 0 losing records
- 196-60 (.766)
- 18 seasons
- 5 SB titles
- 5 Conference championships
- 10 Conference championship appearances
- 16 playoff appearances
- 13 division titles
- 1 season with 15+ wins
- 4 seasons with 14+ wins
- 10 seasons with 12+ wins
- 1 losing record (strike shortened 1982)
- 207-72-1 (.742)
New England, 2001-2016:
- 16 seasons
- 4 SB titles (this year still TBD)
- 6 Conference championships (this year still TBD)
- 10 Conference championship appearances (this year still TBD)
- 14 playoff appearances
- 14 division titles
- 1 season with 15+ wins
- 5 seasons with 14+ wins
- 11 seasons with 12+ wins
- 0 losing records
- 196-60 (.766)
*18 seasons starting at 1981 brings it up to 1999, not 1988.
Also, just to make myself feel better I'll add the asterisk to punish them for the penalties they never got for cheating the salary cap rules for most of the 1990's.
1 season with 16 wins as opposed to zero such seasons for SF.
I said it in another thread but I hate the fact that we have to shy away from that season because of how it ended. To the extent we are looking at "other stuff" beyond just number of SB wins to determine which team was more dominant over an extended period of time, the only undefeated regular season since the schedule was lengthened to 16 games is an amazing accomplishment that should be listed right up there with the other seasons that didn't end in Lombardi's. If the only thing that matter is the number of rings then the Pats need to win another one.
I said it in another thread but I hate the fact that we have to shy away from that season because of how it ended. To the extent we are looking at "other stuff" beyond just number of SB wins to determine which team was more dominant over an extended period of time, the only undefeated regular season since the schedule was lengthened to 16 games is an amazing accomplishment that should be listed right up there with the other seasons that didn't end in Lombardi's. If the only thing that matter is the number of rings then the Pats need to win another one.
Not only was it a 16-0 regular season but it was a 16-0 regular season that came right after a "scandal" that had turned the entire country against the team. The pressure of an undefeated season with zero controversy was too much for a wussy organization like the Colts to handle. The Patriots had that plus a ton of extra attention due to Spygate. And they took it head on.
The ending will always suck but the ride will never be topped. It was like the reverse of the 2004 Sox, who were aggravating as hell for most of the year, but finished awesome.
The Pats will never break the Niners' record of playing 18 seasons in just 8 years.
edit: Darn it, beaten to the punch
Clearly.
No, 18 seasons run from 1981-1998. I obviously mistyped 1988 instead of 1998.
1. 1981
2. 1982
3. 1983
4. 1984
5. 1985
6. 1986
7. 1987
8. 1988
9. 1989
10. 1990
11. 1991
12. 1992
13. 1993
14. 1994
15. 1995
16. 1996
17. 1997
18. 1998
Considering that neither unrestricted free agency nor a salary cap existed for the majority of that 49ers run it's clear that there really is nothing comparable in the history of pro football to what the Pats have accomplished since 2001.
Well, the Pats do have an advantage. They managed to keep one pretty good player under control for their entire run....so far.
Joe Montana 79-92, Jerry Rice 85-2000... what kind of numbers would Brady have put up with a receiver like Rice.
A big big plus for the 49ers is that they had three years where they had a great regular season record and then won every playoff game pretty handily, peaking in 1989 when their point differential was +100 in the postseason. Every Pats Super Bowl has, of course, been a nail-biter (or, more accurately, a bleeding ulcer/angina-inducing migrainous torture chamber).
The Niners with Montana and Young had basically the same thing, in the form of two HOF QBs rather than one. It's no accident that these two long runs came with genius coaches (for the most part in SF) and HOF QBs. And stable ownerships.
Advantage? As others mentioned, the Niners had Montana and then Young. And they were also able to retain most anyone they wanted without concern for a cap or free agent poaching.
Pretty much what he had with Randy Moss (at least during his first three years) as a minimum (since those were late/post prime years) would seem a starting point. His averages those three years were 83 catches, 1250 yards, 16 TDs, 15 YPC.
I'll always wonder what could have been if Moss could have held it together for another year or two. Just imagine peak Moss running wild with Gronknandez and Welker/Edelman. I suppose you could argue that Brady using Moss as a crutch might have stunted Gronk's development, but it's hard not to picture that as potentially the best offense ever.
What kind of numbers would Brady have put up if they had run the same pass heavy offense his entire career?
Was just discussing this with someone yesterday. There was a time in the 2010 season with Moss, Gronk, Hernandez, Edelman, Welker, Woodhead all on the roster at the same time. Who knows how Gronk develops with Moss still around, but that would have been a fun group to watch all together for a few seasons. Even with Edelman really being the bottom guy on the totem pole here, we obviously now see what he's developed into.
Also, you know, if Hernandez had been less murdery. That too would have been cool.
I fantasize about Brady and Rice, both of whom remain(ed) great well past 35, unlike Montana and Moss. Its age/injury that usually puts an end to the great combinations. These two overcame both.
The things that Belichick was starting to do with Hernandez was awesome the last few games of his last season. He was lining up as FB, RB, TE and WR. There were so many options with him on the field and so many potential plays/formations/matchup headaches etc. BB was on the verge of redefining the position...oh what could have been with that offense. sigh.
One other thing I would say is that the Pats offense has always seemed to not focus on one person and allowed for multiple players to develop... I assume that Gronk would have emerged even with Moss here.
It wasn't all peaches and cream with Rice though. Believe it or not, he bitched about not getting the ball enough, I remember particularly in 1988. Whether that had anything to do with it or not, he caught 11 passes in the super bowl win over the Bengals. John Taylor got the game winner though in the great Montana led come from behind drive. So, Rice had the trait some prima donna wide receivers have of needing lots of attention. You obviously put up with that if a guy is great enough. Personally, I was happy for Taylor, making his one catch of the game the game winner.
Gronk would have "emerged" in that he would have developed into a phenomenal player and one of the game's great mismatches. But with that kind of talent on the field, I don't know that his actual statistics would be the same. There's only one ball to go around, after all, and only so many passes Brady's gonna throw in a game, week in and week out. He's not throwing 70 times a week.