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Patriots hope to stake claim as NFL's all-time best
12:37 AM CDT on Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thirty-one teams are seeking an NFL championship in 2009. A 32nd team is seeking history.
With three Lombardi Trophies in the 2000s, the New England Patriots have staked a claim as the NFL's team of the decade. A fourth Super Bowl and 12 more regular-season victories in 2009 would allow the Patriots to stake their claim as the team for all decades.
New England joined the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams in NFL history to play a perfect regular season, posting a 16-0 mark in 2007. The Patriots also matched the feat of the 1990s Cowboys by winning three Super Bowls in a span of four years (2001-04).
Another Super Bowl in 2009 would allow the Patriots to match the 1970s Steelers and 1980s 49ers with four Lombardi Trophies in a decade. A 12-victory regular season would give New England 114 wins in the decade, breaking the NFL mark of 113 set by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1990s.
The Patriots have qualified for the playoffs six times this decade, well short of the record nine postseason appearances by the Cowboys in the 1970s. But New England has posted the best record in its division for eight consecutive years.
In the two seasons the Patriots failed to qualify for the playoffs in that stretch, New England tied the New York Jets for first place in 2002 with a 9-7 record and the Miami Dolphins for first in 2008 with an 11-5 mark. But the Patriots were eliminated from playoff contention both times by divisional tiebreakers.
New England won those 11 games in 2008 despite the season-long absence of NFL MVP Tom Brady, who suffered a knee injury on opening day. He's back in 2009.
So is starting halfback Laurence Maroney, who missed the final 12 games with a broken shoulder, and veteran Pro Bowl pass rusher Adalius Thomas, who missed the final seven games with a broken forearm.
The Patriots have added veteran stars Fred Taylor, Joey Galloway and Shawn Springs for depth this season. In all, there are 14 Pro Bowlers on the New England roster, plus the 2008 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, linebacker Jerod Mayo.
So the Patriots are loaded, again, and a healthy Brady again makes them the team to beat in 2009. So place New England atop the annual off-season rankings by The Dallas Morning News.
Only three teams finished in the NFL's top 10 in offense and defense last season, and you can find them in the top three slots of these power rankings: the Patriots, Giants and Eagles. New York and Philadelphia have played the Patriots in Super Bowls this decade, with the Giants winning in 2008 and the Eagles losing in 2005.
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