By: David McCaffery
There isn’t much more to be said about the New England Patriots. With Sunday’s victory over the Seattle Seahawks in a thrilling Super Bowl XLIX, the legacy is cemented and the dynasty is still intact. This is a team that is built to compete as long as Tom Brady stays healthy and Bill Belichick is coaching, and is primed to be a top contender for several more years.
Over the last decade, the Patriots have emerged as one of the most notorious organizations in professional sports. Years and years of sustained success and multiple allegations of cheating have inspired a mostly ambivalent public perception of this franchise. Simply put, they are a team one either loves or hates, and a fourth Super Bowl ring in the last fifteen years will do nothing to change this situation.
Whether you love the Pats or you despise them (I know many people who are members of either camp), it’s impossible to deny what they have built over the last decade and a half. You might even say they’ve “Kraft-ed” an era of dominance (You heard that here first, folks). Bill Belichick has once again proven that the Patriot model works. The team has seen a great deal of turnover in regards to personnel during Belichick’s tenure, but he’s always remained successful. Going 11-5 in 2008 when he only had Tom Brady on the field for approximately one quarter of the opening game is as impressive an accomplishment as any, and as long as Belichick wants to keep coaching the Pats figure to keep winning, quite possibly even after Brady retires.
Candidly though, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
Brady has stated he wants to play until he’s at least 41, and possibly longer. This notion might have seemed ridiculous to some when he first made it a few years back, but no longer seems outside the realm of possibility. Brady is currently 37, and still playing at an elite level. With the exception of the ACL tear he suffered in 2008 he has never sustained a serious injury, and the short-to-intermediate nature of the Patriots’ offense will cater to his strengths beautifully even as he gets older. He seldom faces a great deal of pressure, and he is wise enough to avoid contact when he sees it coming. The bottom line is his career is nowhere near being over and this may not be his last Super Bowl victory.
When discussing the New England Patriots, Belichick and Brady (and Rob Gronkowski, for that matter) invariably get all of the credit, but for as much as they deserve these accolades, this is a team that has always been comprised of many unsung heroes. Players like Julian Edelman, Chandler Jones, free agent-to-be Devin McCourty, Rob Ninkovich, kicker Stephen Gostkowski and many others may not be household names, but they should be. Stars in their own right, these men are consistent producers that are often overlooked at press time when it comes time for commendation. As important as a coach and a quarterback are, you need to have a solid supporting cast around them, and the Pats always have.
What does this win really mean for football’s most successful franchise of the modern era? Likely more of the same. While the team must be relieved to have picked up their first Lombardi trophy in ten years (especially after winning three between 2000 and 2005), it will likely be business as usual in Foxborough. Winning is sweet, but with success undoubtedly comes expectation. For the first time in a decade the New England Patriots have a Super Bowl title to defend. I’d wager that if there’s one team in the NFL that is least likely to crack under such pressure, it’s the Pats. They’ve forged a culture of winning for fifteen years now. Things seem unlikely to change anytime soon. Whether you love them or hate them, you have to respect them, and that’s just how they like it.
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