JOHN McCLAIN
WITH SUCCESS AMID CONSTRAINTS OF SALARY-CAP ERA, PATRIOTS HAVE A CASE FOR NFL’S GREATEST DYNASTY
Are the Patriots the league’s greatest dynasty?
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The New England Patriots are the greatest dynasty in NFL history. There can be no dispute. Why? Because the Patriots are going to play in their eighth Super Bowl, and they’ve won five since Bill Belichick became their coach in 2000 and drafted quarterback Tom Brady in the sixth round that same year.
Not coincidentally, New England won its first Super Bowl in 2001 — Brady’s first season as a starter. They’re the first coach-and-quarterback duo to win five Super Bowls together.
On Sunday against Philadelphia at U.S. Bank Stadium, Belichick and Brady will try to win their sixth Super Bowl, and they’ve done it the hard way.
Of the greatest teams I’ve seen or covered — and for purposes of this story a team has to win at least four championships to be considered as a dynasty — New England is the best.
Unlike the Patriots, the Packers of the 1960s, the Steelers of the 1970s and the 49ers of the 1980s didn’t have to deal with a salary cap and free agency.
Under Vince Lombardi,
Green Bay won five championships (1961-62 and 1965-66-67) in seven years. They were the first truly dominant team since 1960, when Lombardi suffered his only playoff defeat. The Packers lost the NFL Championship Game to Philadelphia.
By the way, that was the Eagles’ last title, so they’re trying to end a 57-year drought against the Patriots.
Until the Patriots won their fifth Super Bowl last year at NRG Stadium, the Steelers were the dynasty that impressed me the most. Under Chuck Noll and with Terry Bradshaw at quarterback, they won four Super Bowls in six years.
Unlike Green Bay, Pittsburgh never lost a championship game with Noll as its head coach.
Imagine if Noll and Lombardi had been forced to deal with free agency and the salary cap as Belichick has.
Noll had five Hall of Fame players on offense and four more on defense. He never had to deal with salary-cap issues. Would Noll have kept Lynn Swann or John Stallworth at receiver? Jack Lambert or Jack Ham at linebacker?
What would Lombardi have done? Would he have kept Jim Taylor or Paul Hornung at running back, Ray Nitschke or Dave Robinson at linebacker?
When the 49ers won five Super Bowls — three with Bill Walsh and two with George Seifert — they would have had difficult decisions to make, too.
They would have had so much money tied up in quarterback Joe Montana, receivers Jerry Rice and John Taylor and running back Roger Craig, they might not have been able to keep their defense together.
Would they have kept safety Ronnie Lott or outside linebacker Charles Haley, for instance, both members of the Hall of Fame?
Since New England was established as a dynasty, players and coordinators have come and gone, and the only constants are Belichick and Brady.
That’s what the dynasties have in common — great coaches and quarterbacks.
Lombardi and Bart Starr in Green Bay.
Noll and Terry Bradshaw in Pittsburgh.
Walsh and Montana in San Francisco.
And now Belichick and Brady in New England.
Starr, Bradshaw and Montana are in the Hall of Fame. Brady will be.
The Patriots are favored to defeat the Eagles. Even if they lose in their eighth Super Bowl with Belichick and Brady, they’ll be favored to win again next year. And perhaps the year after that when Brady will be 42.
Who would bet against them?
Over the last 57 years, there have been other great teams, but they didn’t win at least four titles.
Dallas won three in four years in the 1990s. Jimmy Johnson coached the first two, and Barry Switzer won the last one with Johnson’s players. Troy Aikman was the quarterback of all three, and he’s also in the Hall of Fame.
Washington won three in 11 years under Joe Gibbs, including two (1982 and 1987) in seasons that were interrupted by player strikes. Gibbs’ mini-dynasty was remarkable because he had a different starting quarterback and tailback for all three titles.
In the 1970s, Miami played in three consecutive Super Bowls and won the last two, but few outside South Florida considered them a dominant team even though they’re still the only undefeated champion during the Super Bowl era.
But the Patriots are still the greatest dynasty in league history.
Other than Brady, how many Patriots are going to the Hall of Fame.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski, for sure. Randy Moss played almost four seasons with the Patriots. He deserves to be elected. Cornerback Ty Law is a finalist again. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork has a shot, but he won’t be eligible for another four years.
Unlike Starr and Bradshaw, Brady hasn’t been blessed with a plethora of Hall of Fame players on both sides of the ball. He’s more like his idol, Montana.
Montana accomplished so much on offense with players — other than Rice — who aren’t enshrined in Canton.
Right now, the Patriots are tied with Lombardi’s Packers with five championships. If they defeat the Eagles, there can be no argument about the greatest dynasty of them all.