History

• Though they may be standard-bearers in the present, the Patriots were anything but that when they came into existence with the original American Football League in 1960. In a league that barely got by in its early years, the Patriots under owner Billy Sullivan were at or near the bottom. They had no home stadium of their own early on and they played at venues like Fenway Park, Harvard Stadium and Boston University's Nickerson Field. Lacking coaching and playing talent, the Patriots struggled for wins. They won one playoff game during the 10-year run of the AFL.
  Things turned around in the 1970s as the Patriots built a home of their own in suburban Foxboro, Massachusetts. Unlike the palace that they moved into in 2002, that stadium was a bare-bones edifice that consisted of backless metal benches.The Patriots improved with Steve Grogan at quarterback, the legendary John Hannah at guard and Steve Nelson at linebacker. The 1976 Patriots finished the regular season with an 11-3 record and were matched with the 13-1 Oakland Raiders in the first round of the playoffs. While the Raiders were heavy favorites, the Pats were brimming with confidence because they had handed the Raiders their only defeat of the season. The Pats held a lead late in the fourth quarter of the game and appeared to be on their way to an upset. However, a questionable roughing-the-passer call went against them and gave Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler a chance to throw a late touchdown pass to Clarence Davis to give the Raiders a 24-21 lead.
  New England would make a splash in 1985 by catching fire in the second half of the season and making the playoffs with an 11-5 record. New England beat the Jets, Raiders and the Dolphins on the road to earn their first AFC title and gain a spot in the Super Bowl against the 15-1 Bears. The great run came to an end in Super Bowl XX as the Chicago Bears registered an overwhelming 46-10 victory.
  The Patriots had several ups and downs after that season and did not start to become a consistent team until the mid-1990s. With Bill Parcells on the sideline, New England won the AFC title in 1996 but was beaten again in the Super Bowl. This time the Packers and Brett Favre kept the Pats from gaining their first title.
  Bill Belichick was hired as head coach in 2000 and the team was in outstanding form by 2001. When starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe got hurt early in the season, backup Tom Brady took over. The former sixth-round draft choice from Michigan proved to be the model of consistency and the Patriots shockingly won the AFC. They were huge underdogs in the Super Bowl against the high-scoring St. Louis Rams. However, Belichick's aggressive game plan deprived the Rams of their quick-strike ability and the Pats scored a 20-17 upset when placekicker Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-winning field goal with no time remaining on the clock.
  The Pats would win the Super Bowl against the Carolina Panthers in 2003 and beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2004 Super Bowl. They made a brilliant run in 2007, going undefeated during the regular season and beating the Jaguars and Chargers in the postseason. They were favored to beat the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, but they fell just short as New York quarterback Eli Manning threw a last-minute touchdown pass to give New York the championship and stun the Patriots.
  
  

Significance

• There were serious questions of survival for the Patriots during their early years. Most of the AFL teams struggled to get by, but few had more problems than Sullivan and the Patriots. Unlike many of the owners in professional sports today, Sullivan was not a well-heeled businessman with deep pockets. Instead, he had to hustle and scrimp just to get by. The Pats seemed to be a shoddy organization, but the arrival of head coach Chuck Fairbanks in 1973 helped change that image. Fairbanks had been the head coach at college football powerhouse Oklahoma and his decision to take Sullivan's offer and become New England's head coach was a major upgrade. Fairbanks' departure in 1978 was another story. He signed a contract to return to college football and coach at Colorado in 1979 and Sullivan suspended him for the final regular-season game, a 23-3 loss at Miami. He was reinstated for the playoffs, but the Pats appeared disorganized and disinterested in a 31-14 loss to the Houston Oilers. The end of the Fairbanks regime marked a downturn for the franchise. Sullivan eventually had to sell the team following some questionable business decisions by family members and the franchise did not regain its footing until Kraft bought them in 1994. Since then, the Pats have been among the most consistent and respected franchises in the league, and Kraft's leadership ranks with the best in the game.
  
  

Considerations

• The Patriots started out their existence as a poor fourth in sports-crazy New England. While they now approach the Boston Red Sox, they used to trail basketball's Celtics and hockey's Bruins in addition to the Red Sox in popularity. They were seen as a third-class operation with little chance to compete successfully with teams like Pittsburgh, Dallas, Miami and Oakland. New England seemed to have much more passion for baseball, basketball and hockey than it did football. That changed during the 1970s when the fans were stirred by Grogan, Hannah and an overachieving group of defenders that came within one tough call of beating the Raiders in the 1976 playoffs and possibly advancing to the Super Bowl. When that finally happened in 1985 and the Patriots earned a spot in the Super Bowl, the team's place in the New England sports hierarchy was set. The Pats would never be an afterthought again.
  
  

Misconceptions

• The leadership of Belichick regularly places New England in the role of villain. Belichick is not one to crack jokes with the media or tell memorable football stories. Some view him as cold and distant. However, he is merely focused on his job of preparing his team as much as possible for the game each week. He was under attack in 2007 for the so-called "Spygate" controversy, in which the Patriots used cameras to film the signals of opposing coaches and gain an edge on their opponents. The NFL took a first-round draft choice away from the Patriots as punishment.
  Belichick clearly ranks with the greatest coaches the game has ever seen. Not only has he won three Super Bowl titles, but he is a great defensive coach who uses his instincts in that area to help his offensive players come up with schemes to defeat opposing defenses. He ranks with Vince Lombardi, Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll and Don Shula as one of the game's greatest coaches.
  Tom Brady overcame the belief that he was little more than a backup quarterback when he was given an opportunity to play. Scouts thought he had decent skills in all areas--arm strength, accuracy, quickness, a quick release and athleticism--but be excelled at none of them. However, once Brady got into the lineup, his competitive nature and willingness to work hard and learn helped him progress from a decent quarterback to a record-setting one.
  
  

Expert Insight

• This team has taken dramatic steps to become one of the model franchises in the NFL. Belichick may not win many friends in the media but he excels at gameplanning and motivating his players, while the Patriots management team continues to provide him with outstanding players to work with. Kraft is what many consider to be the ideal owner. He does not interfere with his coaches or player personnel people on "football" decisions, but he handles the team's business with insight and vision. Gillette Stadium is considered to be one of the finest sports venues in the country and it was built under Kraft's leadership. The Patriots have all the ingredients needed to remain one of the top teams in the NFL for the foreseeable future.