In my opinion, that division is ruining football and making it a less watchable game.
If you look from a pure numbers standpoint it's astounding.
Since 2001, the Patriots have participated in 52% of Super Bowls. Ridiculous.
Since 2001 the Patriots have won the AFC East 16 out of 18 years. The only OTHER AFC East playoff participants in that time fared as follows:
In 2002, the Jets had 1 victory in the playoffs, and in 2008, Miami lost immediately. That's it.
1993 was the last time an AFC East team OTHER than the Patriots participated in a Superbowl, The Bills who lost to the Cowboys. In 1993 Bill Clinton BECAME President for the next 8 years. Pretty sure BBI didn't even exist.
The last team other than the Patriots to WIN a Super Bowl from the AFC East was in 1973, The Miami Dolphins.
Going back this far, to 1993 and 1973, the Patriots didn't have "IT" yet, but there was already a void.
This is RIDICULOUS. The Patriots have a team building system and it's much better than other NFL teams systems. It's not a team. It's a computer program. It's an algorithm. The Patriots do not scout players. It's probably 1000 or more different player characteristics, criteria, attributes. It's almost cheating. The system spits out a player. If he's not there, the system spits out the next player. These players are puzzle pieces, and they have unique shapes which fit into the New England system, plug them in elsewhere, and the net effect just isn't the same.
I wish somebody would hack the Patriots and figure out what they're doing.
Is my supposition of how they do it completely out of bounds? If you think about it, and look at those numbers, am I really crazy about how they do it?
Rant over.
But give me a guaranteed 5-1 record in my division every year and I like my chances to be in the conference championship game. And then you are 50/50 to be in the Super Bowl.
Now the argument here seems to be would the Patriots be 5-1 in ANY division EVERY year. I have a hard time accepting that. And yes, there is a difference between 5-1 and 4-2... it may mean another playoff game, a road playoff game, etc.
The bottom-line results strongly suggest the modern-day Patriots are just as imposing as the 1960s Packers, 1970s Steelers, 1980s 49ers. But are they? Or is the league more watered down?
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2009 and 2010 from history. The Jets went to back to back AFC Championship games.
they lost to the Colts and Steelers.
The AFC East is better top to bottom than the NFC East during the Patriots dynasty.
And did you ever consider it's the Patriots being so good that makes the other AFC East teams records worse, not the other way around.
To support my comment you only need to look at the Patriots record out of division (better than in division) and out of conference (better than in division).
Delete this post.
What are you basing the AFC East being better than the NFC East?
Pats > Giants
Eagles > Jets
Cowboys > Miami
Washington > Buffalo
Now do it again with their actual standings from last year. It's a lot easier to make the NFC East look good if you waste the worst team against the AFC East's best.
Was that intentionally misleading or you just didn't understand how that would skew your comparison?
The Packers, Steelers, Raiders of the '60s and '70s could horde players and didn't have to deal with free agency or just more teams in the way.
San Fran is the only dynasty in the conversation with the Pats. But they also did it without the cap. However, they were incredible innovators and played during an amazing era in the NFC.
I claim no crystal ball but do think it advisable to see what happens Sunday before proclaiming who, exactly, is making football less watchable.
I feel like people have been saying this for 5, 6 years.
They have won 78.5% of their non-AFC East games since 2004, and that includes considerably more game.
What we have here is envy - pure and simple. The Pats are the sports greatest dynasty and people just can't reconcile that. I suggest you table your jealousy and enjoy this Haley's Comet of football...
It would be interesting to see what the winning percentage is for the other 3 teams during the same period
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The Pats have won 79% of the AFC East games since 2004.
They have won 78.5% of their non-AFC East games since 2004, and that includes considerably more game.
What we have here is envy - pure and simple. The Pats are the sports greatest dynasty and people just can't reconcile that. I suggest you table your jealousy and enjoy this Haley's Comet of football...
It would be interesting to see what the winning percentage is for the other 3 teams during the same period
The combined record for the rest of the AFC East is .443, the near equivalent of having a 7-9 record.
Put another way, over the last 7 years, the combined win percentage of the 3 teams from the AFC East is higher than the Giants win percentage the last 7 years (.431 vs. .419).
Bill, "Skunk Works" Ernie Adams, OL Genius Coach Dante Scarnecchia and Tom.
They morph, take the head cases from other teams and clean them up, discard the losers quicker than anybody else. They simply DO everything that other teams wish they had the guts to do better and with more efficiency.
Since 2001:
Buffalo: 5 seasons of 8-8 or better
Best season: 9-7 on 3 occasions
NY Jets: 9 seasons of 8-8 or better
Best season: 11-5 in 2010
Miami: 7 seasons of 8-8 or better
Best season: 11-5 in 2008
Basically, the Dolphins and Jets have been essentially average franchises with the Jets being a bit above average based on their W/L records. Just based on their yearly records, if you replaced the Patriots in their schedule with just a somewhat above average team, their records likely would be better.
If you compare the Bills and the Redskins the last 18 years, they are about the same team.
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The Pats don’t have a sense of urgency in the division because none of those teams are ever a threat. It’s like the Pats use division games to warm up for tough conference games and late season games because those games mean more in terms of byes/tie breakers and playoff readiness. Usually by week 12-13 the Pats have already locked up the division. They’re rarely in a dogfight to win the division.
Yeah, Bill Belichick clearly overlooks the rest of the AFC East. He's not the greatest coach or anything because he doesn't take anyone for granted. Nope. Bunch of bullshit.
When was the last time the Pats were a dog in a division game?
The Pats would be dogs on the road plenty vs Steelers/Ravens/Eagles/Cowboys etc if those games were considered division games.
The Pats will have the AFC least locked up in November. That shit wouldn’t happen in a more consistently competitive division.
Do people just come on here and not read anything and then post? This is rhetorical.
Reading is actually fundamental, it's not just a catchy phrase, reading is fundamental to learning.
the Jets went to TWO AFC title games back to back in 2009 and 2010. Those teams had really good defense and decent offense.
that's the same number of titles game appearances the Giants have been to and two more than either the Redskins or Cowboys have been to in that time frame (as an example).
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In comment 14570096 WillVAB said:
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The Pats don’t have a sense of urgency in the division because none of those teams are ever a threat. It’s like the Pats use division games to warm up for tough conference games and late season games because those games mean more in terms of byes/tie breakers and playoff readiness. Usually by week 12-13 the Pats have already locked up the division. They’re rarely in a dogfight to win the division.
Yeah, Bill Belichick clearly overlooks the rest of the AFC East. He's not the greatest coach or anything because he doesn't take anyone for granted. Nope. Bunch of bullshit.
When was the last time the Pats were a dog in a division game?
The Pats would be dogs on the road plenty vs Steelers/Ravens/Eagles/Cowboys etc if those games were considered division games.
The Pats will have the AFC least locked up in November. That shit wouldn’t happen in a more consistently competitive division.
Do you think any of the Steelers/Ravens/Eagles/Cowboys could go over to the AFC East and duplicate the Patriots success within the division?
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and I think both sides are right. The Pats do beat everybody - and their AFC East opponents have simply been lousy for most of the seasons since 2001. What was the best Dolphins/Jets/Bills season since then? Other than the Browns and Raiders, have any AFC teams been as bad as the Jets/Dolphins/Bills since 2001?
Do people just come on here and not read anything and then post? This is rhetorical.
Reading is actually fundamental, it's not just a catchy phrase, reading is fundamental to learning.
the Jets went to TWO AFC title games back to back in 2009 and 2010. Those teams had really good defense and decent offense.
that's the same number of titles game appearances the Giants have been to and two more than either the Redskins or Cowboys have been to in that time frame (as an example).
if those TWO Jet seasons are the two best seasons out of the last FIFTY FOUR combined Jets/Bills/Dolphins seasons....I rest my case.
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In comment 14570350 Enzo said:
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and I think both sides are right. The Pats do beat everybody - and their AFC East opponents have simply been lousy for most of the seasons since 2001. What was the best Dolphins/Jets/Bills season since then? Other than the Browns and Raiders, have any AFC teams been as bad as the Jets/Dolphins/Bills since 2001?
Do people just come on here and not read anything and then post? This is rhetorical.
Reading is actually fundamental, it's not just a catchy phrase, reading is fundamental to learning.
the Jets went to TWO AFC title games back to back in 2009 and 2010. Those teams had really good defense and decent offense.
that's the same number of titles game appearances the Giants have been to and two more than either the Redskins or Cowboys have been to in that time frame (as an example).
if those TWO Jet seasons are the two best seasons out of the last FIFTY FOUR combined Jets/Bills/Dolphins seasons....I rest my case.
Ok. It's the same as the NFC East. the Giants have been to two title games and then there's the Eagles. none for Redskins or Cowboys.
How is that better than the Jets going two title games and then there is the Patriots?
I'm glad you rested your case though.
best might have been Pennington for both the Jets and Dolphins?
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In comment 14570107 LawrenceTaylor56 said:
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In comment 14570096 WillVAB said:
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The Pats don’t have a sense of urgency in the division because none of those teams are ever a threat. It’s like the Pats use division games to warm up for tough conference games and late season games because those games mean more in terms of byes/tie breakers and playoff readiness. Usually by week 12-13 the Pats have already locked up the division. They’re rarely in a dogfight to win the division.
Yeah, Bill Belichick clearly overlooks the rest of the AFC East. He's not the greatest coach or anything because he doesn't take anyone for granted. Nope. Bunch of bullshit.
When was the last time the Pats were a dog in a division game?
The Pats would be dogs on the road plenty vs Steelers/Ravens/Eagles/Cowboys etc if those games were considered division games.
The Pats will have the AFC least locked up in November. That shit wouldn’t happen in a more consistently competitive division.
Do you think any of the Steelers/Ravens/Eagles/Cowboys could go over to the AFC East and duplicate the Patriots success within the division?
Definitely. Would those teams have the same playoff success and rings? No.
This isn’t to take anything away from the Pats. They’ve put together the most impressive dynasty in sports. But the division they’re in has definitely made their path a lot easier.
Coughlin on the other hand, knew BB and prepped the Giants accordingly.
As someone pointed out, Belicheck and Ernie Adams, combined have re-written everything there is to know about how teams are built and coached at this level yet 99% of the league is too stupid or scared to attempt to do what they've done.