![]() ![]() The ’01 Patriots defense relied heavily on turnovers, finishing with 22 interceptions, tied for sixth in the league. But the former first-round pick quickly reached a new echelon under his new coach, earning Pro Bowl nods each year from 2001 to 2003. One of the higher-profile holdovers from the Bill Parcells era in New England, Law was an established talent when Belichick was hired. The Pats have fielded offenses since 2007 that can at least hold a candle to that unit in terms of efficiency, but none has ever matched the paralyzing fear that the Brady-Moss connection could instill in the soul of a defense. Moss caught all nine of Brady's passes to him in that game, finishing with 183 yards and scoring a 51-yard touchdown that looks like it was digitally enhanced by David Fincher. “You start off Week 1 against the Jets, and what and Tom did in Week 1 kind of let the league know, ‘Hey, y’all are in trouble,’” -Heath Evans “You start off Week 1 against the Jets, and what him and Tom did in Week 1 kind of let the league know, ‘Hey, y’all are in trouble,’” NFL Network analyst and former Patriots fullback Heath Evans tells The Ringer. And while Moss never won a championship in New England, he was the player who transformed the franchise from a contender defined by defense into an offensive juggernaut. It speaks to the 2007 Patriots’ dominance that they remain the most memorable group from this dynasty despite not winning the Super Bowl. The Patriots thrashed Indianapolis 44-13 and, well … we know the rest. Bledsoe walked away from his thunderous collision with Lewis with a concussion and internal bleeding that sent the quarterback to the bench ahead of New England’s Week 3 clash with Peyton Manning’s Colts. With 5:03 remaining in the fourth quarter at Foxboro Stadium, Lewis changed all that. With that sort of commitment in place, the team had no intention of giving key reps to its sixth-round pick from the 2000 draft. The guarantees in the extension financially tied Bledsoe to the Pats for at least the next four seasons. Barely six months before New England’s Week 2 clash with the Jets in 2001, the Patriots handed quarterback Drew Bledsoe a 10-year, $103 million contract extension that was then the richest deal in NFL history. ![]() Lewis never played for the Pats, but it's impossible to leave him off this list: He delivered the hit that started it all. It wasn’t easy, but something tells me Vince is enjoying retirement too much to notice. To pare this down to 16 names, Wes Welker, Romeo Crennel, and Vince Wilfork just missed the cut. Beyond those future Hall of Famers, who deserves the most credit for the Patriots’ remarkable reign? To commemorate the start of the 16th season since New England lifted its first Lombardi Trophy, I took my best shot at ranking the 16 most important figures in its dynasty.īefore we begin a quick recognition of some honorable mentions. The period from New England’s first Super Bowl run in the 2001 season to now is known as the Belichick-Brady era, and it goes without saying that the pair has had more to do with the franchise’s sustained success than anyone.įootball is a team game, though, and Bill Belichick and Tom Brady didn’t win five Super Bowls by themselves. The two names most responsible for bringing about this golden age of Patriots football are obvious. So, welcome to - ugh, yes - Patriots Week ! Ahead of what could be the most dominant New England season yet, read along as we take a look at the good, the bad, and the Jets-y of modern football’s defining dynasty. Sixteen years since their first Super Bowl win and 10 since their 16–0 regular season, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are still the class of the NFL. But here’s the thing: Can anyone stop them? Five weeks before the season kicks off, New England is favored to win every game it plays in 2017. We all - well, most of us - agree with you: The Patriots are an insufferable football machine that must be stopped. ![]()
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