The Blueprint For The New England Patriots
by Andrew Pasquini – Sports 1140 KHTK
Not only are the New England Patriots the blueprint for building a Super Bowl team, they could be the blueprint for building a dynasty. At the same time, they might not be the best blueprint to a dynasty because of how easy they made it happen.
The Patriots built their dynasty in three simple steps. Step one: have Robert Kraft buy the franchise in 1994 for $172 million (the franchise is worth $3.4 billion now according to Forbes). Step two: hire Bill Belichick to be the teams head coach in 2000. Step three: draft Tom Brady in the sixth round in the NFL Draft. Just like that, the dynasty begun.
Since 2001, the Patriots have won nine AFC Championships and five Super Bowls thanks to the core of Kraft, Belichick, and Brady. To show how successful the Patriots have been with Brady and Belichick, since Brady took over the Patriots starting quarterback job in 2001 after Drew Bledsoe got hurt, the Patriots have been in the Super Bowl nine times in 18 seasons. Since Brady has been the quarterback, the Patriots have had a 50/50 chance to get to the Super Bowl.
The Patriots have also be great the past two decades because of how they’ve built their teams and 2018 was no different.
Of the 22 offensive and defensive starters for the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs, eleven were drafted by the Patriots and three more were undrafted free agents. Belichick has had a knack for finding talent through the draft and turning late round players and turning them into house hold names.
Brady is the most obvious, being selected 199th in the 2001 NFL Draft but some other key players for New England weren’t first round players. Julian Edelman was taken in the sixth round, Rob Gronkowski was a second round pick, as was Patrick Chung. While Brady and Belichick have been a mainstay for the Patriots, so has Belichick’s ability to find diamonds in the rough.
What the Patriots have done the past two decades is nothing short of amazing. The Patriots have been able to stay consistently great with a now 41-year-old quarterback because of Belichick and his ability to get the best out of every player that’s ever worn a Patriots jersey. They take on a Los Angeles Rams team that was built in a two-year time span. The Patriots have been built since 2001 with rotating pieces.
