On Wednesday night after Patriots coach Bill Belichick won his third Coach of the Year award, it sparked a twitter debate of where each season of BB’s tenure ranked.
Here’s my ranking and why I put each one where I did.
1. 2001 – in just his second year with a back-up quarterback he won a Super Bowl, shutting down the “Greatest Show on Turf” in the process with a game plan that currently resides in the Hall of Fame.
2. 2010 – with a difficult schedule, a bunch of rookies and second year players on both sides of the ball BB led the Pats to a 14-2 season, ending in a disappointing playoff loss at home to the Jets. On paper this team looked like they’d be around 10 wins and on the playoff bubble. They ended up being the best team in the NFL during the regular season. Unheard of with such a young defense and so much inexperience. Having Brady’s MVP season certainly helped.
3. 2004 – yes they had talent and experience on both sides of the ball, but they also played the Super Bowl with a makeshift defensive backfield that included such players as undrafted rookie free agent Randall Gay and off-the-street free agent Earthwind Moreland. When you factor in the pressure of defending a Super Bowl title and taking every team’s best shot, this Super Bowl winning team was a special coaching season.
4. 2007 – This was a veteran team that came within 3 minutes of being the undisputed greatest team of all time. Between the addition of so many veteran newcomers and the circus known as Spygate that swirled around them, this team’s 16-0 record was an epic achievement, especially against a tough schedule that included sweeping the NFC East and AFC North. Making it to the Super Bowl was no small achievement either, especially considering how they seemed to run out of gas at the end of the season. A special season, no matter how it ended.
5. 2003 – it’s weird to have a Super Bowl winning team ranked below two non-Super Bowl winning teams but the fact is that this was a veteran team that was peaking especially on defense. BB did win Coach of the Year in 2003, but his job was a lot easier based on the quality and leadership of his personnel. Still, winning a Super Bowl is never easy, and the Pats shutdown both NFL MVPs on the way. They also pulled out what was possibly the best Super Bowl game of recent memory.
6. 2006 – This team had it’s fair share of injuries and departures to overcome, especially Rodney Harrison, Willie McGinest and Deion Branch. Brady didn’t have much to work with at receiver (remember Doug Gabriel?), Corey Dillon was at the end of the road, and the linebacker corps had begun to get thin. Still this team pulled it together and came within a quarter of the Super Bowl. They just ran out of gas at the end, but this was an impressive coaching season to even get to that point.
7. 2008 – A lot of people have this season ranked a lot higher than I do (Felger had it as maybe BB’s best) but just because they won 11 games with Matt Cassel doesn’t do it for me. They beat one playoff team (Dolphins… who were BARELY a playoff team) and missed the playoffs on a tie breaker. You couldn’t get a more cake schedule than the AFC and NFC West. Cassel was surprising but let’s remember in 2001 they WON the Super Bowl with a backup, and far less talent around him.
8. 2005 – Injuries and departures really killed this team. Gone were Ty Law, Roman Phifer, and Ted Johnson. Tedy Bruschi suffered a stroke and didn’t return until late October. Rodney Harrison and Matt Light were both lost for the season against the Steelers. When you added it all up it was too much to overcome. Though they played some good football in December and beat the Jaguars in the AFCWC they just didn’t have the horses to win in Denver.
9. 2009 – The highlight of this season was Tom Brady’s first game back where he had the best comeback of his career. After that it was all downhill. The 2009 team just didn’t have the Patriots magic. Maybe it was the retirements of Bruschi and Harrison coupled with some toxic locker room presences. They sputtered down the stretch, going 4-4 in their last 8 before getting wiped out in the wild card round by the Ravens. I suppose the fact that they still won the AFCE is a testament to where our expectations are, but no one should’ve been surprised to the this team’s season ended early.
INC: 2000 – I give BB a pass on the 2000 season, it was a team he inherited so it hard to really judge it.
