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- iHaveNet.com: NFL Football
Patriots the Model in Free Agency Era
Photo: Drew McKenzie (SportsPress NorthWest)
Steve Rudman (SportsPress NorthWest)
No team has been as successful as the New England Patriots during the free-agency era than the New England Patriots, who play the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX Sunday.
Seahawks fans watched in various degrees of horror the past March as a parade of operatives key to the 43-8 Super Bowl triumph bolted town, lured by greater dollars than the champions could pay. On March 11-12 alone, the Seahawks lost in free agency DEs Red Bryant and Chris Clemons to Jacksonville, WR Golden Tate to Detroit and RT Breno Giacomini to the New York Jets.
Had the Seahawks not featured the youngest roster to win a Super Bowl, had they not had sufficient depth to replace those lost in the exodus, had they not recovered from a 3-3 start this season to win nine of their final 10, and had they not rallied from a 12-point deficit with 2:13 to play in the NFC Championship game, they would not have become the first team in 10 years to reach consecutive Super Bowls.
It's close to a landmark achievement in the era of free agency (since 1994), which fosters parity and legislates against sustained success. In that time, only Denver (1998-99) and New England (2004-05) have won back-to-back Super Bowls, which makes what the Patriots have accomplished so stunning.
The free-agency era overlaps precisely the ownership of Robert Kraft, an industrialist/philanthropist who purchased the franchise from St. Louis businessman James Orthwein for $175 million. At the time, the Patriots were considered one of the leastvaluable franchises in the NFL, and had gone seven years without a playoff appearance.
The Patriots have made 16 postseason showings -- 12 in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era -- in 21 years under Kraft vs. six in the franchise's first 33 years.
This might be the best way to assess Kraft's stewardship: Since 1994, and despite the constraints of free agency, the Patriots sport a .678 winning percentage (regular season and playoffs), best among all owners or ownership groups since 1960 with a minimum of 200 wins:
Years | Team | Owner | Win Pct. | Playoffs |
---|---|---|---|---|
Source: NFL | ||||
1994-2015 | Patriots | Robert Kraft | .678 | 23 wins, 7 Super Bowls |
1977-99 | 49ers | Eddie DeBartolo | .636 | 19 wins, 5 Super Bowls |
1960-83 | Cowboys | Clint Murchison | .634 | 19 wins, 5 Super Bowls |
1966-89 | Dolphins | Joe Robbie | .609 | 14 wins, 5 Super Bowls |
1984-14 | Broncos | Pat Bowlen | .605 | 18 wins, 6 Super Bowls |
Only Kraft and Denver's Pat Bowlen have a winning percentage above .600 achieved entirely in the free-agent era, with Kraft coming in first with 23 playoff wins and seven Super Bowl appearances, counting Sunday's against the Seahawks.
The Patriots are never a one or two-year wonder. Unlike say, Cleveland, which hasn't made a playoff appearance since 2002, or the New York Jets, who have averaged an 8-8 record for a decade, the Patriots are title contenders every year. Lucky New Englanders: The worst they ever get is a division championship.
New England has reached the postseason six consecutive seasons and 11 of the past 12, missing only in 2008 when the Patriots finished 11-5. In their most recent run, the Patriots have won six consecutive AFC East championships, one shy of the all-time divisional record of seven by the 1973-79 Los Angeles Rams (NFC West). The only other team in AFC East history to win as many as five: the 2003-07 Patriots.
This is a snapshot of the Patriots under Kraft since 1994, how they compare to the No. 2-ranked team in each category, and how they also compare to the Seahawks:
Category | NE | No. 2 | Sea | Skinny |
---|---|---|---|---|
Source: NFL | ||||
Super Bowl wins | 3 | 2 | 1 | NYG, GB, Dal, Den, Bal, Pitt, all 2 |
Conference titles | 7 | 4 | 3 | No. 2 Pitt in 1995, 2005, 2008, 2010 |
Playoff games | 35 | 30 | 20 | No. 2 GB 30 playoff games since 1994 |
Playoff wins | 23 | 17 | 11 | No. 2 GB 17 playoff wins since 1994 |
The Patriots have strung together 14 consecutive winning seasons (the Seahawks just completed their third and have never had more than five such years in a row). In the free-agent era, that's eight more than the next-best team, Green Bay, with six.
Seahawks fans just bore witness to how extraordinarily difficult it is to finish with 12 wins. The Seahawks had to win nine of their final 10 and needed four fourth-quarter or overtime comebacks to do it.
The Seahawks have had four 12+-win seasons since 1976 , including a pair of 13-3 campaigns (2005, 2013). During Kraft's ownership, the Patriots have one perfect (16-0) regular season (2007), three 14-2 years, one 13-3 season and four 12-4s.
These franchises have had the most 12+-win years in the free-agent era:
Team | No. | Skinny |
---|---|---|
Source: NFL | ||
New England | 9 | 12+ wins in each of last 5 years; also 16-0 win 2007 |
Indianapolis | 8 | 7 of 8 12-win seasons came with Peyton Manning at QB |
Green Bay | 7 | 5 12-win seasons with Brett Favre, 2 with Aaron Rodgers |
San Francisco | 7 | 4 of the 7 came under George Seifert and Steve Mariucci |
Denver | 7 | 12+ wins last 3, 2 1st-round ousters, blowout loss in SB |
Pittsburgh | 4 | Last 3 12-win seasons resulted in 2 SB appearances -- '08, '10 |
Baltimore | 4 | 2 12-win years under Brian Billick, 2 under John Harbaugh |
Tennessee | 4 | Back-to-back 13-win seasons under Jeff Fisher in 1999-00 |
This is more far impressive than a franchise making an occasional Super Bowl appearance, especially considering that while the Patriots have nine 12+-win seasons under Kraft, Buffalo, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Washington, Detroit and Arizona have zero 12-win years over the same span.
From Kraft on down, the Patriots have had a better handle on how to win in the modern NFL than any other franchise -- even if they have trampled the rules a few times to get it done.
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Super Bowl History
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Super Bowl I
Packers 35 Chiefs 10 -
Super Bowl II
Packers 33 Raiders 14 -
Super Bowl III
Jets 16 Colts 7 -
Super Bowl IV
Chiefs 23 Vikings 7 -
Super Bowl V
Colts 16 Cowboys 13 -
Super Bowl VI
Cowboys 24 Dolphins 3 -
Super Bowl VII
Dolphins 14 Redskins 7 -
Super Bowl VIII
Dolphins 24 Vikings 7 -
Super Bowl IX
Steelers 16 Vikings 6 -
Super Bowl X
Steelers 21 Cowboys 17 -
Super Bowl XI
Raiders 32 Vikings 14 -
Super Bowl XII
Cowboys 27 Broncos 10 -
Super Bowl XIII
Steelers 35 Cowboys 31 -
Super Bowl XIV
Steelers 31 Rams 19 -
Super Bowl XV
Raiders 27 Eagles 10 -
Super Bowl XVI
49ers 26 Bengals 21 -
Super Bowl XVII
Redskins 27 Dolphins 17 -
Super Bowl XVIII
Raiders 38 Redskins 9 -
Super Bowl XIX
49ers 38 Dolphins 16 -
Super Bowl XX
Bears 46 Patriots 10 -
Super Bowl XXI
Giants 40 Broncos 20 -
Super Bowl XXII
Redskins 42 Broncos 10 -
Super Bowl XXIII
49ers 20 Bengals 16 -
Super Bowl XXIV
49ers 55 Broncos 10 -
Super Bowl XXV
Giants 20 Bills 19 -
Super Bowl XXVI
Redskins 37 Bills 24 -
Super Bowl XXVII
Cowboys 52 Bills 17 -
Super Bowl XXVIII
Cowboys 30 Bills 13 -
Super Bowl XXIX
49ers 49 Chargers 26 -
Super Bowl XXX
Cowboys 27 Steelers 17 -
Super Bowl XXXI
Packers 35 Patriots 21 -
Super Bowl XXXII
Broncos 31 Packers 24 -
Super Bowl XXXIII
Broncos 34 Falcons 19 -
Super Bowl XXXIV
Rams 23 Titans 16 -
Super Bowl XXXV
Ravens 34 Giants 7 -
Super Bowl XXXVI
Patriots 20 Rams 17 -
Super Bowl XXXVII
Buccaneers 48 Raiders 21 -
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Patriots 32 Panthers 29 -
Super Bowl XXXIX
Patriots 24 Eagles 21 -
Super Bowl XL
Steelers 21 Seahawks 10 -
Super Bowl XLI
Colts 29 Bears 17 -
Super Bowl XLII
Giants 17 Patriots 14 -
Super Bowl XLIII
Steelers 27 Cardinals 23 -
Super Bowl XLIV
Saints 31 Colts 17 -
Super Bowl XLV
Packers 31 Steelers 25 -
Super Bowl XLVI
Giants 21 Patriots 17 -
Super Bowl XLVII
Ravens 34 49ers 31 -
Super Bowl XLVIII
Seahawks 43 Broncos 8 -
Super Bowl XLIX
Patriots 28 Seahawks 24