New England Patriots: Debunking the myths of past futility

The New England Patriots’s 80’s, 90’s and first Super Bowl

The 1980’s for the New England Patriots were overall a good decade. They tallied 6 winning seasons, two at 11-3 and one trip to the Super Bowl.

Those great teams in 1984 and 1985 were coached by NFL legend Ray Berry. The Patriots beat the Jets, Raiders and Dolphins that year to advance to the Super Bowl.

Grogan and Tony Eason were the quarterbacks. Running back Craig James was there as well as Hannah, and great defensive talent including the future Hall of Famer Andre Tippett, Julius Adams, Raymond Clayborn and Don Blackmon.

Unfortunately though, as in 1963, the 1995 Patriots ran into another powerhouse, arguably the best defense in NFL history in the Chicago Bears. They were crushed 46-10.

Again, the Patriots had reached the pinnacle of their league, this time the NFL but couldn’t get the ball across that Super Bowl win goal line. The team had three more winning seasons after that before they hit their next skid of 5 down years until 1994 when they went 10-6 and made their next playoff appearance.

Drew Bledsoe was the quarterback of the 1994 team that also included tight end Ben Coates and wide receiver Troy Brown. On defense, Willie McGinest and linebacker Vincent Brown were stalwarts on defense.

In 1996, the Patriots rolled to an 11-5 record, beat Pittsburgh and Jacksonville in the playoffs and went to their second Super Bowl. Playing on that team were Bledsoe, the great running back Curtis Martin and Coates on offense.

The defense was also littered with stars including McGinest, future Hall of Fame cornerback Ty Law, safety Lawyer Milloy and linebacker Ted Johnson. They couldn’t overtake the Green Bay Packers in that game, however, as Brett Favre and company topped the Patriots 35-21.

Parcells bolted for the New York Jets after that season and Pete Carroll replaced him with two more winning seasons, then an 8-8 season after which he was fired and replaced by Bill Belichick.