Franchise Envy

I think it would be an appropriate time to give the Patriots' franchise major props for their continued excellence. I've been chatting with some friends who are Jets fans, and they're talking like the run is over and the Pats were all hype, no substance, blah blah blah. I thought some bigger picture perspective might be in order.

Since 2001, here's what the Pats have on their resume:

- 3 Super Bowl titles
- 4 AFC titles
- 8 division titles (10 times they were in 1st place, but twice they missed the playoffs due to tiebreakers; never in this stretch have they had a record worse than the division winner)
- 8 trips to the playoffs
- 121-39 regular season record (.756) - Indy is #2 at 115-45 (.719)
- NFL record regular season winning streak of 21 games
- best 2-year run in NFL history (2003-04) when they won 34 games in two seasons, winning two consecutive titles
- first team to go 16-0 in a regular season
- NFL record for points scored in a single season
- 14-5 playoff record (.737)
- 181 consecutive home sellouts (dating back to 1994)

In other words, this team has been, without question, the premier franchise in the NFL for the past decade. With a very young roster and a ton of draft picks and financial flexibility, the window of greatness should extend another 5+ years (so long as Brady remains healthy).

What franchise in the league would *not* trade their fortunes over the past decade for this resume? Not a single one. You ask any owner back in August of 2001 if they would sign up for this (above) over the next 10 years, and every single one of them says yes in a nanosecond.

No, they don't always win it all. Neither did the great Steeler teams or Cowboy teams or Giant teams or 49er teams or Redskin teams. Those great teams all suffered far more playoff losses than Super Bowl titles won. That's what happens when you have a competitive league and crown only one champion each year.

Friends, this has been an unbelievably great ride. Fortunately, it's not over yet. We should be enjoying this experience for years to come, though, a word of caution: the Brady window is starting to slowly close (he's closer to the end of his run than the beginning). One day the Pats will once again be a mediocre (or even a bad) team. Enjoy this golden age of Patriots football.

I sure am.