They have a great system that works for them. Bill Belichick is brilliant locating players who will best fit into his system. They are all just "cogs in the wheel" and he replaces the cogs rather than overpay to keep them. He uses them, then replaces them when necessary and the "wheel" just keeps on working and winning. Belichick has a sustainable system too. Have you noticed that even when Brady was out, the team still won? The system is bigger than Tom Brady (granted he is an amazing QB). But there is more to the Patriots than just Tom Brady - the master of it all is Bill Belichick. Without a doubt he is the greatest football GM/coach in NFL history.
Bellichik/Brady/Gronkowski. I'm interested in what they will look like this year, with Brady older and no Gronk. In my feeble mind, Gronk extended a lot of drives for Brady.
+1 But they always seem to find a way to win with new players. I thought losing Wes Welker was going to be a big deal but then Edelman ends up looking better than Welker did. Brady is on the decline, no question. And he is never going to be replaced with a comparable talent. Gronk is a huge loss. No question. But they won games without him in the past, and will continue to do so (but yeah, it is a big hit to the team). But my gut feeling is that somehow, some way, the Pats will continue to be one of the leagues better/best franchises.
When GM/HC Belichick leaves the building though, just turn out the lights, the party is over. Like him or hate him, you gotta admit he just finds ways to win.
Bellichik/Brady/Gronkowski. I'm interested in what they will look like this year, with Brady older and no Gronk. In my feeble mind, Gronk extended a lot of drives for Brady.
+1 But they always seem to find a way to win with new players. I thought losing Wes Welker was going to be a big deal but then Edelman ends up looking better than Welker did. Brady is on the decline, no question. And he is never going to be replaced with a comparable talent. Gronk is a huge loss. No question. But they won games without him in the past, and will continue to do so (but yeah, it is a big hit to the team). But my gut feeling is that somehow, some way, the Pats will continue to be one of the leagues better/best franchises.
When GM/HC Belichick leaves the building though, just turn out the lights, the party is over. Like him or hate him, you gotta admit he just finds ways to win.
No question Belichick is a genius HC and a savvy GM. No question that Brady, a very very rare HOF QB from the 6th round of the draft, is an amazing field general. Not taking anything away from them.
But...a major factor in NE's sustained success has also been the utter ineptitude of the other 3 franchises in that division as well. All 3 of them have managed to suck and suck hard pretty consistently for a decade plus. The result is that the Pats get 5-6 wins a year just playing their division and pretty much win the division by default every year. And Winning the division guarantees you a playoff spot and a minimum of 1 home playoff game to boot. As great as the Pats run of success has been they've definitely benefited immensely from having very little competition in the AFCN year after year after year as well.
+1 But they always seem to find a way to win with new players. I thought losing Wes Welker was going to be a big deal but then Edelman ends up looking better than Welker did. Brady is on the decline, no question. And he is never going to be replaced with a comparable talent. Gronk is a huge loss. No question. But they won games without him in the past, and will continue to do so (but yeah, it is a big hit to the team). But my gut feeling is that somehow, some way, the Pats will continue to be one of the leagues better/best franchises.
When GM/HC Belichick leaves the building though, just turn out the lights, the party is over. Like him or hate him, you gotta admit he just finds ways to win.
No question Belichick is a genius HC and a savvy GM. No question that Brady, a very very rare HOF QB from the 6th round of the draft, is an amazing field general. Not taking anything away from them.
But...a major factor in NE's sustained success has also been the utter ineptitude of the other 3 franchises in that division as well. All 3 of them have managed to suck and suck hard pretty consistently for a decade plus. The result is that the Pats get 5-6 wins a year just playing their division and pretty much win the division by default every year. And Winning the division guarantees you a playoff spot and a minimum of 1 home playoff game to boot. As great as the Pats run of success has been they've definitely benefited immensely from having very little competition in the AFCN year after year after year as well.
+1 I had not thought about that but it's a valid point. It will be interesting to watch the NFCN competition talent over the next 5 or so years. I'm not trying to be a fanboy of the Pats. I just envy their success within the modern cap era. There are a lot of factors that play into their sustaining success. It's not all Belichick. Success can breed success. Coaches and FA players obviously want to play for an iconic franchise that is often the reigning champion. Belichick has a brilliant franchise QB. Your point is valid about the competition within their division. Belichick has had a lot of "extra" draft picks due to compensation players... so if you do whiff on some percentage of your draft picks you have a few extra shots at getting your guys (I still am envious of having two extra compensation 3rd round picks this year... can you imagine if Pace had that?)
I don't expect the Bears to be the Pats. I would just like to see them emulate some of the things we see the Pats do. We do need to have Trubisky develop into a very good QB... he doesn't have to be a HOF guy though. Just continue to improve to a higher ceiling than what he is now. And if that happens, then by all means pay the guy to keep him. It's not like we want a QB to suck just to keep the QB contract price cheap.
No question Belichick is a genius HC and a savvy GM. No question that Brady, a very very rare HOF QB from the 6th round of the draft, is an amazing field general. Not taking anything away from them.
But...a major factor in NE's sustained success has also been the utter ineptitude of the other 3 franchises in that division as well. All 3 of them have managed to suck and suck hard pretty consistently for a decade plus. The result is that the Pats get 5-6 wins a year just playing their division and pretty much win the division by default every year. And Winning the division guarantees you a playoff spot and a minimum of 1 home playoff game to boot. As great as the Pats run of success has been they've definitely benefited immensely from having very little competition in the AFCN year after year after year as well.
+1 I had not thought about that but it's a valid point. It will be interesting to watch the NFCN competition talent over the next 5 or so years. I'm not trying to be a fanboy of the Pats. I just envy their success within the modern cap era. There are a lot of factors that play into their sustaining success. It's not all Belichick. Success can breed success. Coaches and FA players obviously want to play for an iconic franchise that is often the reigning champion. Belichick has a brilliant franchise QB. Your point is valid about the competition within their division. Belichick has had a lot of "extra" draft picks due to compensation players... so if you do whiff on some percentage of your draft picks you have a few extra shots at getting your guys (I still am envious of having two extra compensation 3rd round picks this year... can you imagine if Pace had that?)
I don't expect the Bears to be the Pats. I would just like to see them emulate some of the things we see the Pats do. We do need to have Trubisky develop into a very good QB... he doesn't have to be a HOF guy though. Just continue to improve to a higher ceiling than what he is now. And if that happens, then by all means pay the guy to keep him. It's not like we want a QB to suck just to keep the QB contract price cheap.
Not taking anything away from what Pats/BB/Brady have done--credit where credit is due. Just saying they had some help. In the form of a consistently weak division.
I'd compare it to Detroit for Bears fans. Lions haven't won a playoff game since 1991 IIRC. Snuck into a couple wildcards I think over the last 15 years or so but otherwise have been pretty much mediocre-to-just-plain-bad for a long time. How'd ya like to have 3 Detroits as competition every year in the NFCN? Yeah.....I'd take that deal.