Over the past decade, the New England Patriots have been widely regarded as the most successful franchise in football. As it turns out, players around the NFL have bought into that idea, too.
A group of 103 NFL players from 27 teams across the league voted the Patriots as the “best organization in the NFL,” according to a poll from Sporting News. The Patriots received 34 votes in the poll, 13 more than the second place Pittsburgh Steelers.
A trio of titles over the past decade surely had an impact on the Patriots perception around the league. The legacy and tradition in New England are major motivating factors, especially for players looking across the NFL
“Patriots. Just their history of winning — it speaks for itself,” one NFC defensive player was quoted as saying in the piece.
But there’s also a general consensus that New England is just a more enjoyable franchise to play for. Even after players leave the confines of Gillette Stadium, whether for other NFL teams or retirement, there always seems to be positive feelings toward the organization.
“New England Patriots. The organization does a good job of bringing guys in and plugging them in different places and getting it done,” another NFC defensive player said. “The backfield for instance — they’re shuffling that around. And some of the receivers when Tom Brady won the Super Bowl, they weren’t huge names, but that got it done.”
The Patriots perch atop the NFL is pretty interesting given that the same players voted Bill Belichick as the second most overrated head coach in football. Apparently, Belichick isn’t responsible for the Patriots success over the last decade or making them such an appealing franchise. Weird how that works.
Have a question for Luke Hughes? Send it to him via Twitter at @LukeFHughes or send it here.
