Thirteen years ago, the Patriots won their third Super Bowls in four years, joining the 1960s Packers, 70s Steelers, 80s Niners and 90s Cowboys in dynastic lore. The success of those previous dynasties was easy to understand. Those teams had Hall of Fame quarterbacks, superstar skill players, esteemed coaches and playmaking defenders. The Patriots were a motley crew of nobodies. Tom Brady, a 2000 sixth-round pick, still didn’t yet look like a superstar, let alone a legend. His best weapons were glorified role players—guys like Kevin Faulk, Troy Brown and Deion Branch. Head coach Bill Belichick was getting freshly recognized as a “genius,” but only because he’d fielded the NFL’s best defense over that span despite a paucity of dynamic pieces.
How Belichick’s Defense Evolved
