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NFL Dynasties 1960’s: Green Bay Packers Titles: Five (including first two Super Bowls) Length of Dynasty: Seven Seasons (1961 – 67) Coach/QB : Vince Lombardi/Bart ...

NFL Dynasty Killers and You: What Every New England Patriots Fan Needs to Know

by Mike Dussault (Columnist)

22

1,395 reads

Opinion

July 05, 2008


NFL Dynasties

 

1960’s: Green Bay Packers

  • Titles: Five (including first two Super Bowls)
  • Length of Dynasty: Seven Seasons (1961 – 67)
  • Coach/QB : Vince Lombardi/Bart  Starr

1970’s: Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Titles: Four Super Bowls (in six years)
  • Length of Dynasty: Six Seasons (1974 – 79)
  • Coach/QB : Chuck Noll/Terry Bradshaw

1980’s: San Francisco 49ers

  • Titles: Four Super Bowls
  • Length of Dynasty:  Nine Seasons (1981 – 89)
  • Coach/QB: Bill Walsh/Joe Montana

1990’s: Dallas Cowboys

  • Titles: Three Super Bowls (in four years)
  • Length of Dynasty: Four Seasons (1992 – 95)
  • Coach/QB: Jimmy Johnson/Troy Aikman

2000’s: New England Patriots

  • Titles: Three Super Bowls at least (in four years)
  • Length of Dynasty: Seven Seasons (2001 - ????)
  • Coach/QB: Bill Belichick/Tom Brady

 

Love them or hate them, there’s no denying that the New England Patriots are the NFL’s dynasty of the new millennium and personally, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. 

But like all good things, the Patriots dynasty will one day come to an end and Pats fans everywhere will be reminded once again of what it’s like when your team sucks.

When we look back at the dynasties of decades past we find there are three factors that figure the most in their downfalls.  Despite what many Pats-haters may believe, someone figuring out a “blueprint” like “put relentless pressure on their quarterback” is not one.

Here they are in descending order of importance:

 

Injuries – A back injury prevented Joe Montana from at least one, and probably two more Super Bowls.  He missed all of the 1991 season and nearly all of 1992.   That opened the door for Steve Young but was the end of the original 49ers’ dynasty.

The Steelers also experienced a rash of injuries in 1980 after their fourth title and never rebounded.

The Patriots were lucky last year with Rosevelt Colvin being the only major loss during the season. There’s nothing that can derail a dynasty more abruptly than an unexpected injury to a key player. I’m going to stop even writing about it to prevent any kind of jinx to my team.

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22 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Ken Sheehan about 1 year ago

    I they win another super bowl the Patriots would have to be considered one of the NFL all time great dynasties, possibly even better than the ones you mentioned (ofcourse I'm slightly biased). However it's no easy task comparing any of the leagues past dynasties to todays game, its just to different. Since the 60's the game has become almost unrecognizable, not only in the way it's played with todays emphaisis on heavy passing attacks and complicated defenses but in the way organizations run themselves. Before free agency came to be what it is today players stayed in one place for either the bulk of their careers or the entirity of them now its hard to keep major talent in one place for very long, just look at TO.

    Also in the case of the Patriots I find it easy to believe they could get one, possibly two, more titles before the Brady/Belichik era ends. As long as those two are together I feel you can never count them out.

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  2. Andrew Kneeland about 1 year ago

    Great article! I would rank the dynasty maybe third all time. The media is making too big a deal of it. However, it is harder to win in today's game.

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  3. David Cohen about 1 year ago

    What every New England Patriots fan needs to know is that Belichick's tape jammed during the Super Bowl.

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  4. William Berry about 1 year ago

    4 would vault them into a tie with the Steelers and Montana's 49ers. (OK, behind the 49ers if you count Young's Bowl as part of their dynasty.) It passes the Cowboys.

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  5. David Cohen about 1 year ago

    no. jets fans are jealous b/c we didn't think of it first, lmao. but seriously, i saw belichick trying to get the tape out of the camera at halftime. he was pretty frantic.

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    • Nick Caso about 1 year ago

      lol...honestly tho its mangini being a bitch. ya belichick broke the rules but at the same time mangini only said something after the pats beat the jets. if he was that much against it he should hav said something before that,he knew that the pats were doing it but he waited until after the pats beat him

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  6. Spenser T. Harrison about 1 year ago

    haha look people, David saw what he saw, and i trust his word.......

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  7. David Cohen about 1 year ago

    well I never defended Mangini snitchin...

    I will say this. The most ironic thing in the whole season was when the Pats beat the Giants at the end of the regular season. After the game there's jibber jabber and then they pan to the shot of the Pats going through the tunnel. 2 shots. One of Brady and then Belichick. In both you see them and the Jets logo right there in the background. That summed up the whole year I think, lol.

    We'll see how the Pats respond this year. My Jets won't be over .500 but there's no way the Pats get back to the Super Bowl with that secondary.

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    • Nick Caso about 1 year ago

      honestly dude, the jets could be decent by their standards. they made a lot of off-season moves,especially to bulk up that offensive line. their biggest problem is at QB. but if they get that figured out they could be a surprise team.

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    • David Cohen about 1 year ago

      the jets are 2 years away.

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    • Bruce Dickenson about 1 year ago

      David, I hope you are wrong.

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    • David Cohen about 1 year ago

      we'll be 8-8 or 7-9 next year because the secondary isn't ready and the lines have to mesh together. not too sure if vernon will be anything. clemens is my boy but if he can't beat out chad before the season starts then we need a new QB, and that'll set things back. I saw last year coming and I just think it's too much to ask for a huge jump next year, so if things stay on course the year after could be our next playoff year.

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  8. Osi Umenyiora about 1 year ago

    You mention Montana's "back injury" like it was old age creeping up on him or something. In fact, he missed the entire 1991 season while recovering from the ass-whooping the Giants and Leonard Marshall in particular put on him in the 1990 NFC Championship Game. It took him almost two years to recover from that hit.

    And yes, for me it is all about the Giants, so go ahead and say it if you want because I don't care.

    BTW, those 1970's Steelers teams would wipe up the floor with these Patriots.

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    • William Berry 11 months ago

      I can't believe you are serious. Look at weight of linemen. The 2007 Dolphins walk over the Steel Curtain

      If you mean to equalize for "training methods" and improved steroids then the question is what rules. If the 2008 rules Moss runs by CBs that can't touch him when D linemen try to decide if they can tackle Brady. If 1975 rules, several Patriot players wind up in the hospital.

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  9. Jeff Whalen about 1 year ago

    Your biggest fear: What will bring the Patriots down? Answer: Hubris. This is the core of "spygate". They may even win a SB or two before they are done, but they (and the "they " is a broad generalization covering the "feel" of the team from a casual fans perspective), they will and seem to have been becoming "full of themselves", this is manifest in the spygate fiasco..the feel is that they think they are above the law...and this taints their SB record and winning record..not so much that they "cheated", the consensus seems to be that everyone spies...but that they got off easy, they "paid the fine and walked away" from something that should be a bigger deal than it is..."bigger" meaning removal/denial of SB trophies..the mantra "everyone's doing it" should not hold water, but it seems it does. This is the core of hubris, when you think you can get away with the worst case scenerio of "everyone's doing it"...but really, did they need the help? That is the question which can't be answered, so ...on we go...hubris and your Patriots will fall like most dynasties in history,that and realistically,core depature..not everyone is Brett Favre

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  10. g mack about 1 year ago

    Another killer for this dynasty is that the camera runs out of batteries and the cord is not long enough to stretch into the opposing coaches' bedrooms.

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    • Mike Dussault about 1 year ago

      My Top 5 Coach's Whose Bedrooms I'd Like to See Into, if such a cord existed:

      5. Andy Reid - something tells me he's kinky as hell.
      4. Mike Nolan - control freak. bondage perhaps?
      3. (tie) John Gruden/Tom Coughlin - anger issues.
      2. Bill Parcells - they don't call him "The Big Tuna" for nothing.
      1. Bill Belichick - he systematically destroys his lady while recording the whole thing.

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  11. Matt Breen about 1 year ago

    The Patriots are contenders for several more years with Belichick, Brady, and Moss. Belichick basically garentees a tough defense and Moss and Brady is an offense carrying threat. This year they can stop focusing on a perfect record and just focus on a championship which should be a hell of a lot easier with their easy schedule.

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    • Bruce Dickenson 12 months ago

      You guys are playing in a division that wants your head. Even if the JETS and Bills don't split a series with you, they are going to play you hard and wear you out. I could easily see a 10 -6 season for the PATS.

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  12. Matt Breen 12 months ago

    When do division rivals not want each others heads? 10-6 is playoff material anyways.

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  13. Dwight Chong 10 months ago

    The Steeler Dynasty was the best ever!!!! Period!!!! 9 Hall of Famers on 1 team?? Plus Chuck Noll in the Hall as well??....The argument ends right here!!! They won 4 SuperBowls in 6 years with basically the same roster......The other so-called dynasties had to largely re-tool their roster to keep winning......The only non-Steeler player to have won 4 Superbowls with the same team is Joe Montana.....Game....Set....and Match.....Steelers dominate and win!!!

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