Over the last few months, Patriots.com has started compiling a series of “Top 10 All-Time” lists, a series that has included the Top 10 personnel moves, draft classes, rookies and opponents in the history of the franchise.
Now, as their 50th season looms, the Patriots are asking their fans to put together their own list of the 10 greatest moments in franchise history. The voting began earlier this month and closes on Aug. 1, and the results will be announced starting in October with a series of features on “Patriots All Access” and in the pages of Patriots Football Weekly.
Here’s our Top 10:
10. The 1985 AFC Championship Game. The Patriots hadn’t won in the Orange Bowl since 1966, an 18-game losing skid in their own personal house of horrors. But six Miami turnovers helped New England knock off the Dolphins 31-14 and advance to the first Super Bowl in the history of the franchise. When you consider the emotional impact of the streak, as well as the idea of beating the defending AFC Champions in their own building in a conference title game, it was nothing less than a seismic victory for the Patriots.
9. Selecting Drew Bledsoe over Rick Mirer. He’s goofed on a lot around here for not being Tom Brady, but Bledsoe was the face of the franchise for several seasons, and was just as responsible as Bill Parcells and Robert Kraft when it came to making the franchise relevant in the mid-1990s. His signature game? A 1994 effort where he went 45-for-70 for 426 yards and three touchdowns in an overtime win over Minnesota.
8. Bill Belichick naming Tom Brady the starting quarterback in the fall of 2001. The decision to go with Brady over Bledsoe -- even after the veteran was pronounced ready to go after suffering a collapsed lung -- signified a major change in the culture of the franchise. The message was clear: No matter how much money you make, no matter how well established you may be within the confines of the locker room, you are replaceable.
7. Adam Vinatieri’s game-tying field goal against the Raiders in the 2001 AFC Divisional Game. While he has connected for field goals to win Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII, this is the kick they’ll show over and over again when he goes into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In a driving snowstorm, Vinatieri successfully booted a 45-yarder with 27 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 13. Aesthetically, it wasn’t anything to write home about -- a low line drive through the snow that just barely wobbled over the crossbar. But given the overall situation, no kick was bigger, and it closed out Foxboro Stadium in style.
6. Hiring Bill Parcells in 1993. The hiring of Parcells gave a sense of legitimacy to the franchise. The team had just gone through its darkest days -- it had won just nine games the previous three seasons -- and was irrelevant on the NFL landscape. With the arrival of Parcells, things were different. There was suddenly a sincere belief the Patriots could consistently go toe-to-toe with the rest of the NFL
5. Robert Kraft purchasing the Patriots. The turnaround really started when James Busch Orthwein bought the team in 1992 and installed Parcells as the head coach a year later. But Kraft -- a local owner with deep pockets, a first for the franchise -- took the whole thing to another level in 1994 when he purchased the team. Fans responded by purchasing 5,958 season tickets the day after Kraft assumed ownership, a staggering display of faith.
4. Mary Sullivan’s decision to wait on her Cape house. Feels kind of low at No. 4 -- after all, there probably wouldn’t be football in New England if it wasn’t for Billy Sullivan. But after Sullivan convinced his wife to wait on the Cape house he had promised her, he took that dough and put that toward the AFL entrance fee. Fifty years later, the rest is history.
3. The Tuck Rule. When Walt Coleman returned from going under the hood late in the 2001 AFC Divisional Game between the Patriots and Raiders, he made the announcement: “After reviewing the play, the quarterback's arm was going forward…” The crowd drowned out the rest. After years of coming out on the raw end, New England finally got a makeup call. It set the tone for the next decade of good fortune for the franchise.
2. Super Bowl XXXVI. The first of the three championships, it is a watershed moment in the history of the franchise. Until the 2004 World Series, it was the New England sports equivalent of the Kennedy Assassination -- everyone had a story about where they were when Ty Law picked off Kurt Warner, when Brady found David Patten or when Vinatieri connected on the game-winner. Even now, seven-plus years later, a replay of the game is guaranteed to leave you shaking your head in disbelief.
1. Hiring Bill Belichick in 2000. Of course, it took a month of legal wrangling involving the Jets (as well as the surrender of a first-round pick), but the arrival of Belichick was the first move in a four-month process that laid the groundwork for an unparalleled run of success. Shortly after Belichick was hired, Scott Pioli was brought on board as the de facto GM, and a couple of months after that, Tom Brady was drafted. Not a bad few months.
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The NFL Sunday gang wraps up the season predicting the score of Super Bowl 46...and they don't think it's going to be as close as most people do. Go Pats!
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Dustin tells us you can't hustle a hustler, and other funny anecdotes.
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Brad Marchand joins the show to talk about President Obama calling him out on stage and Tim Thomas skipping the White House visit.
Meter talks about the Celtics 88-87 OT loss to the Lakers last night, Kobe Bryant trying to recruit Rob Gronkowski to the Eagles, and Samantha DeFlaco who went to the Giants Super Bowl parade looking for Jets QB Mark Sanchez.
Andrew joins D&C to discuss how he feels about Tim Thomas' political views and how Patrice Bergeron has been the MVP for the team so far this season. Andrew also talks about how they have to regroup and make adjustments to get out this funk the team is currently in.
Tim Thomas is once again in the news for posting his political views on facebook but refuses to talk to the media about it. Is this situation becoming more than a distraction to the team especially with their recent play? D&C react.
Brad Marchand joins the show and talks about if Tim Thomas is a distraction to the team and why the Bruins have been struggling as of late.
Jackie Mac makes her weekly appearance and talks about the Celtics loss to the Lakers, the team's future, and what will happen with Paul Pierce.
In an ugly game, the Celtics lost to the Lakers in OT. Have we seen the last of the current Lakers Celtics rivalry?
We play the soundbite from the NFL Network from Super Bowl 46 where Bill Belichick is telling his defense 'this is still a Cruz and Nicks game'. The Patriots of course were then burned by Mario Manningham on the Giants game-winning drive. We discuss whether it was the right decision or not.
Glenn and Michael debate what, if anything, Shaq is bringing to the table for TNT's NBA pre and postgame coverage.
We talk about Tim Thomas refusing to speak to reporters about his political ramblings on Facebook, and about whether or not this is a media driven controversy, or a genuine distraction for Thomas' Bruins teammates.
The discussion of the Patriots loss in the Super Bowl and just like any other loss, the coaching is called into question and whether a defensive coordinator on staff would have helped Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
Mikey has made no bones about his feelings on Pau Gasol, what will he do if the Celtics trade Rondo for Gasol? Also our buddy LB calls in to talk about the Patriots Super Bowl loss.
Mikey talks to some Patriots fans who are still looking at the loss and breaking down what went wrong but are also looking to the future for the franchise.
Losing the Super Bowl? Terrrrrrrrrrrrrrible.
This week's whine of the week winner. If you are our winner please send an email with which whine you left and all of your information to whineoftheweek@weei.com
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