New England Patriots: With Legacies Sealed, History Awaits Brady & Belichick
The New England Patriots Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are the greatest ever at their respective positions.
Period. End of debate.
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Older football fans with clamor about the greatness of Vince Lombardi and his five NFL Championships with the Green Bay Packers in seven years in the 1960’s or that Chuck Noll never lost a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers, going 4-4, and wining them all in a six year time frame. Oh sure, and there’s also that Joe Montana fellow who went to four Super Bowls–winning them all–and didn’t throw an interception in any of them.
All are great. All are legends. All can’t hold the Patriots cup of tea, let alone their trophy case.
New England’s accomplishments since the 2001 season have been so eye-popping that they even impress the men who are actively accomplishing them. But therein lies the key to their success: no matter how incredible their past success has been, they aren’t satisfied until they have more.
Fifteen seasons and seven Super Bowl appearances later, and the Patriots are on the precipice of NFL history.
Forget for a moment that the Patriots will be the first team ever to play in nine Super Bowls. Forget, also, that the Patriots have dominated the playoff scene in an era where parody is king, with players moving from team to team like the T moves from station to station. You still are looking at the two emperors of the NFL’s true ruling elite. That amongst all of the chance, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have been the constants that keep this wheel spinning.
14 AFC East championships. 11 AFC Title game appearances. 7 AFC Championships. 4 Super Bowl Championships (with one pending). You take them all away and the Patriots are still dominating because this is how they see their reality: they don’t care about what they’ve accomplished. They’re aiming for the ‘next one.‘ For all intents and purposes, New England hasn’t won a single game in the last fifteen years. They’re only focused on the now–winning Super Bowl LI.
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And with it, history awaits.