The History and Making of New England Patriots

The New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professionally trained American football team, nicknamed the "Pats" by sports writers and their fans. They are located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The football team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). In 1971, the owners changed the name of the football team from the original Boston Patriots after they relocated the team to Massachusetts.

The New England Patriots are an original member of the American Football League (AFL). The team joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of those leagues. In January 1986, the New England Patriots advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in the Super Bowl XX; however, they lost to the Chicago Bears. The New England Patriots also made it to the Super Bowl XXXI in 1997.

The New England Patriots considered a NFL Dynasty
Following the Dallas Cowboys, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history, between 2000 and 2005, to win three Super Bowls in four years (Super Bowl XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX). They were also the eighth team to win consecutive Super Bowls. Their recent success has impelled many to hail the team as a modern day NFL dynasty empire.

The 2006 off-season, however, resulted in the departure and arrival of several personnel. The team finished the 2006 regular season with a 12-4 record and they won the AFC East four consecutive times. The New England Patriots went on to defeat their rival, the New York Jets 37-16 in the wild card round. The next game, Brady, despite throwing 3 INTs, engineered a 4th quarter comeback to conquer the San Diego Chargers by the score of 24-21.

In the team's 2007 off season, the Patriots traded for wide receiver Randy Moss of the Oakland Raiders and brought on linebacker Adalius Thomas of the Baltimore Ravens.