New England Patriots Fans: You May Hate To Say It, But Thank Big Tuna

My friend and I were discussing what I should write for my next article. Some ideas we tossed back and forth (some of these I may still follow through on) were the best Patriots teams of all time, an all-time roster, the best Patriots defenders of all time, and the best Patriots draft picks of all time.

In discussing the potential content of these articles, we both came to the realization that most of the good things that happened to the organization came after the 2000 season. Those years held a high percentage of the best teams, players, and draft picks.

I began to wonder what the turning point for the New England Patriots was. When did they transform from the mess they were to the dynasty they became?

With that in mind, it’d be too easy to say that the turning point was the Bledsoe injury/Brady replacement.

Likewise, it wouldn’t be totally true.

No, the Patriots had the thumb print of a winner long before that.

Along with sleek new uniforms, Bill Parcells’ arrival in New England symbolized a change of the guard for the Patriots.

In fact, the Patriots were long similar to the modern-day Raiders before Parcells’ arrival. Several questionable draft day decisions (Tony Eason over Dan Marino, anyone?) combined with some rapid-fire coaching changes gave the team and its fans a lot of migraines in the late ‘80s to the early ‘90s.

Long-time head coach Raymond Berry took the Patriots to the Promised Land in the 1985 season, but he and his team began quickly losing ground after that. A first-round exit from the playoffs in 1986 marked a severe downturn for New England, with a playoff drought that lasted all the way to 1994.

But the words “playoff drought” don't really do the Patriots justice in that period. Quite frankly, they were a laughing stock.

For the six seasons leading up to Parcells’ arrival, the Patriots posted records of 8-7, 9-7, 5-11, 1-15, 6-10, and finally 2-14. In 1990, the 1-15 season, their point differential was a devastating -265.

The Patriots’ 2-14 mark in 1992 gave them the No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 draft.

Along came Parcells, who picked Washington State’s wonder boy Drew Bledsoe, and it seemed the Patriots had their franchise leaders for the decade.

Parcells drafted well for the Patriots, and set the table with a young team that would be good for years to come. That same season, the Patriots drafted linebacker Chris Slade with the first pick in the second round. He was a staple of the Patriots’ pass rush all the way through 2000, with 51 sacks in his eight-year tenure.

As is to be expected after a 2-14 season, most of the roster from the year before was overturned. The Patriots only returned five starters on offense to go with four starters on defense.

As the saying goes, though, Rome wasn’t built in a day. The Patriots struggled through 1993 to a 5-11 record.

With the fourth overall pick in the 1994 draft, the Patriots selected defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid Willie McGinest from USC, who was one of the Patriots’ premier pass rushers throughout his stay in New England.

It didn’t take long for the Patriots to have the thumb print of a Parcells organization. Since his Super Bowl days with the Giants, Parcells has long been known for his defenses, which generate a lot of pressure on the quarterback. In 1994, just two years after his arrival, they finished fifth in the league in sacks.

They finally returned to the playoffs after posting a 10-6 record. They were bounced out in the first round, however, by none other than Bill Belichick and the Cleveland Browns.

Although a forgettable 6-10 season followed in 1995, a pair of strong drafts in 1995 and 1996 helped continue to set the Patriots up for success. With their first three picks in 1995 (rounds one through three), the Patriots selected Ty Law, Ted Johnson, and Curtis Martin.

All three proved to be important picks for the Patriots, and the first two were staples of the Patriots’ organization until 2004 (see my point?).

The players Parcells drafted prior to the 1996 season turned out to be some of the most noteworthy Patriots of all time: Terry Glenn in the first round, Lawyer Milloy in the second round, and all-time Patriot great Tedy Bruschi in the third. All three contributed in a substantial way right from the start.

For a defense that played mediocre all season, their play down the stretch really did the trick. Of course, the offense was producing enough to win, but surprisingly the Patriots defense held opposing offenses under 300 yards in each of the last five games of the season, four of which were wins.

At 11-5 and with the second seed in the AFC, the Patriots looked poised to make a run for it all in 1996.

Following a pair of easy wins in the playoffs, what happened after they secured a spot in Super Bowl XXXI is the stuff that slime is made of.

Rumors began to swirl that Parcells was thinking of abandoning New England after the season to take the opening with the division rival New York Jets, regardless of the outcome of their Super Bowl matchup with heavily-favored Green Bay.

Not surprisingly, a monumental Super Bowl loss was followed by an even more monumental coaching loss, as Parcells predictably left the fold.

Pete Carroll led the team into a bit of a decline, to say the least. What had been one of Parcells’ strong points, the NFL Draft, became a point of contention under new head coach Pete Carroll. Of New England’s nineteen draft picks in 1997 and 1998 combined, only one was starting on the 2001 team.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the Patriots steadily declined under Carroll. Their win count went down by one in each of his three seasons as head coach, from 11-5 before his arrival, to 10-6, to 9-7, and finally an 8-8 season in which the Patriots finished the season 2-6, leading to Pete Carroll’s firing.

Long ago New England’s undoing in the playoffs, along came Belichick, and the ship was quickly righted with him at the helm.

A rash of great drafts by the Patriots started in 2000, with arguably the best draft pick of all time (say it with me): sixth round, 199th overall pick Tom Brady.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. New England’s dominant defensive line featured first-round selections across the board: defensive ends Richard Seymour (2001) and Ty Warren (2003), and nose tackle Vince Wilfork (2004).

These three were essential pieces in the success of New England’s 3-4 defensive front, as the strong presence at each position allowed New England’s four fierce linebackers to flow freely across the field and make the tackle or reach the quarterback for a sack.

That’s not all. Almost all of New England’s starting offensive line over the past three years was built through the draft, and mostly in late rounds. In fact, only left guard Logan Mankins was taken in the first round. Starting center Nick Kaczur was drafted in the fifth round in 2003.

And who could forget Asante Samuel out of Central Florida? Perhaps every other team in football. He wasn’t taken until the fourth round in 2003.

It’s obvious that Belichick played a monumental role in the success of the Patriots throughout the 2000’s with his savvy drafting ability, but the upturn for New England began long ago, when his mentor bought the groceries and set the table for a feast that the Patriots would finally enjoy in 2001.