It’s a modern day Gold Rush! Ten percent of the NFL teams have decided to break up with their current cities and head on to join the Clampetts in hopes of striking it rich(er) in them there hills.
But has anyone taken a moment and realized what caused this mini-cavalcade of despair in search for trophies and recognition?
2 words.
Tom Brady.
(Well, technically at least 6 words. Tom, Brady, Bill, Belichick, Robert, Kraft.)
All three teams have been mired in mediocrity or worse ever since Tom Brady made his first NFL start.
All three teams have hit the Patriot brick wall in one way or another and, for the last 15 years, have struggled to regain their once, winning ways.
Let’s start with The Oakland (Still Oakland) Raiders.
2 words.
Tuck Rule.
Up until the Patriots legally beat the Raiders on January 19th, 2002, they were arguably the hottest team in the league. The even went on to the AFC championship the next year, but they were still angry about the flawless officiating that occurred during that slightly snowy game. And since then, they have as many playoff appearances as I do. thirteen years of futility, two hundred and fifty starting quarterbacks, thousands of terrifying fans, a subpar economy in their hometown, and one, shiny, perfect, Tuck Rule.
Thank you Oakland for starting our dynasty, and sorry for preventing yours.
Moving on.
Let’s continue with The San Diego (Still San Diego) Chargers.
2006, and 2007. It’s factual that LaDanian Tomlinson had the best statistical season by a running back. Ever. He had 28 rushing touchdowns and averaged over 113 yards per game. TWENTY EIGHT! The league leader in rushing Touchdowns this year? Four players had 11.
The Chargers were on the up and up and were hosting the Patriots in San Diego for the playoffs.
And they lost.
The next year they had an even more balanced attack and the made it all the way to the AFC championship.
And they lost*.
Since then, LaDanian has retired, and still hates the Patriots, and the Chargers haven’t gotten past the Divisional round of the playoffs in only 3 appearances over the last 8 years.
*It’s worth noting, that The Chargers were our 18th win that season.
Unfortunately the Super Bowl was cancelled, so we’ll never know what could have happened.
And Finally,
Let’s end with the Los Angeles Rams.
They’re back! And they do have some hardware to show for their 20 year disappearance
But…they could have had more.
Everyone loves Kurt Warner. His story is pretty damn inspiring, and he’ll go down as one of the better Quarterbacks in NFL history. But. He could have been one of the best.
In 1999 the greatest show on turf captivated NFL fans and reached the pinnacle of professional football in winning their only ring. Interesting to note that in previous 50 years in Los Angeles, they won nothing, except for some rushing titles and a Super Bowl loss as a footnote in the Steelers seventies dominance tour.
After a year in which they unexpectedly sputtered in the playoffs, 2001 was the year they would shift into dynasty mode. And all the wheels were turning. They once again had the number one ranked offense overall, including most points, touchdowns and yards.
But, as I’m sure you’re noticing the pattern here, Tom Brady and The Patriots happened.
It was supposed to be an easy win. It was supposed to catapult the Rams into rarified air. At the time, only eight teams had won more than one ring. It was supposed to be an easy win. The Patriots had, supposedly, controversially, won against Oakland and were starting, controversially, their 199th draft pick quarterback, over their heralded veteran who had come back from a life threatening injury to lead them to victory the week before against the Steelers.
It was supposed to be easy. Fourteen point underdogs. FOURTEEN. That’s the highest vegas has favored a team in twenty years.
But it wasn’t easy. And since that loss, The Rams have only made the playoffs twice, both times losing in the first round, in fifteen years.
So if you’re keeping score. Since those teams played against the Patriots in the playoffs, in the midst of some of their best statistical ever, they are a combined 5–6 with no rings over the last decade plus. To put that into perspective, Tom Brady is 21–8 with 4 rings over that time.
Now of course, it’s not just Tom Brady. It’s Vinateri, Law, Milloy, Bruschi, Wilfork, Gronk, Edelman, Vrabel, Belichick, Kraft and about a hundred more players and personnel that have given us the best 12 year span in professional sports. But that would make the title way too long.
So until the Los Angeles Seahawks make their debut in the next ten years, I hope you enjoy The New England Patriots’ re-zoning of NFL teams. And yes, they’re probably on their way out dynasty wise since “they’re just not that good anymore”, but they’ve made their mark and I don’t think they’ll be leaving New England any time soon. As fans, we stood by our team through 50 years of mediocrity, and the team stood by us. As for moving when the going gets tough? Or when you face Tom Brady? That’s for fairweather owners and teams, it’s just not what champions do.
