A lot has been said lately about the Patriots’ “Dynasty.” It’s time to set the record straight and understand just how high the Packers set the bar for what a dynasty is.
First, lets take a look at the last ten years for the Patriots. The table below outlines, not only the years they made it to the Super Bowl, but how many points they were away from possibly reaching another Super Bowl.
| Year | Points Shy | |
| 1 | 2005 | 14 points away from the conference championship. |
| 2 | 2006 | 4 points away from the Super Bowl. |
| 3 | 2007 | Made it. Lost. |
| 4 | 2008 | Didn’t make the playoffs. |
| 5 | 2009 | 19 points away from the divisional round. |
| 6 | 2010 | 7 points away from the conference championship. |
| 7 | 2011 | Made it. Lost. |
| 8 | 2012 | 15 points away from the Super Bowl. |
| 9 | 2013 | 10 points away from the Super Bowl. |
| 10 | 2014 | Made it. Won. |
The Patriots were in the playoffs all but one year during this stretch of time, but they only played in three Super Bowls and they lost two of them. In this stretch, the Pats needed 69 points more just to move on in the playoffs.
Now let’s look at the Packers of the 1960’s and see how they compare.
| Year | Points Shy | |
| 1 | 1960 | Made it! |
| 2 | 1961 | Made it! Won. |
| 3 | 1962 | Made it! Won. |
| 4 | 1963 | 8 points away from the championship. |
| 5 | 1964 | 8 points away from the championship. |
| 6 | 1965 | Made it! Won. |
| 7 | 1966 | Made it! Won. |
| 8 | 1967 | Made it! Won. |
| 9 | 1968 | Didn’t make the playoffs. |
| 10 | 1969 | Didn’t make the playoffs. |
Let that sink in for a while. The Packers were 16 points away from being in every single championship game from 1960 through 1967 and they won five championships in that time.
Just some food for thought.
I’m from South Dakota been a Packer fan sense the 60’s . My fathers parents were from WI. My son also a Packer fan got turned on during the Farve years. Got to scratch off an item from my bucket list this year when we were able to go to Lambeau Field see the Packers vs Patriots game,!!! Was one of the best things I’ve ever done . Just AMAZING! Trip of a life time. GO Pack GO!!!!
Great stats and point J.R. 🙂
I use similar arguments for Starr being the greatest QB of all time, vs Brady.
Brady has 4 championships in 16 years, and he joins an elite group of (4?) QBs to have 4 or more championships. He also has 2 losses. Montana and Bradshaw also have 4 championships, and never lost a championship game. They’re all 1 championship behind Bart Starr. Starr won 5 championships in 7 years and never lost a championship game. Starr’s 104.8 QBR in playoff games is 1st in the NFL, Brady’s 89.0 is 12th. Both Brady and Starr won 2 championships in row, but Starr also won 3 in a row. Starr called his own plays, Brady does not.
And then there’s the fact that many experts feel that the talent level of every team was diluted with the addition of the AFC and later expansion teams. New teams were allowed to pick the best players of the existing NFL teams. Remember Hornung retiring, rather than being forced to play for another team? That’s not to say players haven’t become bigger, faster, and stronger. It means that instead of having the best 2% of football players spread across 14 teams, we now have the top 5% spread across 32 teams. Thus, games were harder to win in the old days. I agree with that philosophy.
Lastly, every game in the pre-Super Bowl era counted much more than they do today. Back then, a team had to finish with the best record to win their conference and play in the Championship Game. Today, a team can finish with a losing record and still make the playoffs. It’s like 2 completely different seasons, 1 being a qualifying round for the real show. Teams of today only have to have the best record between 4 teams, instead of 7, and even not winning your division can result in a wild card spot. So Brady does not have as tough a challenge as Starr did to win championships.
The only argument for placing Brady ahead of Starr is his MVPs and Pro Bowls. Personally, I don’t place much value on the popularity contests of today. The ’60s Packers did not receive the media attention of the bigger cities, let alone today’s teams, and the fans did not vote for Pro Bowls. I remember well having up to 3 families gathered at my Grandmother’s house to watch Packers games on Sundays, as they didn’t have TVs of their own. So impossible to compare those awards over the differences of the times.
Brady has not, and never will match Starr’s accomplishments. And the Patriots are nowhere near a dynasty. Go Pack go! 🙂
Bart Starr was and is the GREATEST.
I have been a Packer fan since the late 50’s. Several of Starr’s Championships were won under the worst possible weather conditions, not in sunshine states or a climate controlled dome.
Being a Packer fan in Bears country, I take a lot of abuse, but it is worth it.