Patriots leave dynasties to kings, TV
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The New England Patriots operate by a simple premise:
Suppress Success.
It’s what helped them win 31 of their past 33 games. It’s what has them on the brink of winning their third Super Bowl championship in the past four seasons.
“No matter what happened the week before, whether it was a big victory, or a demoralizing defeat, we always put it behind us,” linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. “I think we’ve done a good job of suppressing success.
“We really just want to move on. We want to know what the next challenge is. After this game, you can sort of enjoy it and reflect – but it’s only this game.”
Until today’s game is over, there is one word the Patriots do not want to hear: dynasty.
Unless, of course, you want to talk about the TV show (or Chinese rulers).
“All we care about is Philadelphia,” New England linebacker Willie McGinest said. “The dynasty and all that stuff mean nothing to us. … I’m not a dynasty expert. I don’t really care about the word right now.”
Dynasty may be a seven-letter curse word to the Patriots, but if they defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, the room for their argument would start shrinking.
While the Patriots’ third Super Bowl championship still would trail the Pittsburgh Steelers (four) and the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys (five) for the most in NFL history, only one other team has been able to win three Lombardi Trophies in a four-year span.
That would be the Cowboys, who won in 1993, ‘94 and ‘96.
New England would also become the eighth NFL team to win back-to-back Super Bowls.
“I look at dynasties being teams like the Chicago Bulls in the ‘90s, or the Green Bay Packers in the early years,” New England defensive lineman Keith Traylor said. “I don’t know if three Super Bowls can classify you as a dynasty. We’ve had a good run, but let us win about four more and then ask me that question.
“It’s so hard to get here. When you do get here this many times, some of it has to do with luck.”
Some of it has to do with just being that good, too.
Take New England’s past two playoff games. The Indianapolis Colts’ record-breaking offense was supposed to be too much for a depleted Patriots’ secondary, but was instead held to three points. The Pittsburgh Steelers were supposed to overpower New England with a tough ground game and a tougher defense. The Patriots won that one 41-27.
Whatever your game is, the Patriots have been able to take it away. That’s what great teams do.
If they’re able to beat the Eagles, there will be a spot for them somewhere among the list of greatest teams. But to think about that now wouldn’t be suppressing success. It would only get in the way.
“We are not a dynasty. We’re just a good football team, and we’ve been a good football team for a couple of years,” Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said. “We don’t really concern ourselves with that. We haven’t done anything unless we win the Super Bowl.
“The Chicago Bulls, they were a dynasty. They were a dynasty for six years and then after that, once you lose, you’re not a dynasty anymore. I don’t know how long dynasties last, but it seems they don’t last very long in professional sports anymore. I’m not really worried about that. When I’m retired and an old man, I’ll sit back with my friends and tell how great we were back then.”