From Worst To First

From Worst To First

By Austin B.

       Boston's 98.5 the Sports Hub host Michael Felger describes the ups and downs for the organization who went through several name changes but eventually settled on the New England Patriots. A tale of an organization that has survived financial crises and horrendous coaching staffs but overcame the oppression once Bill Belichick arrived in 2000 and drafting Tom Brady in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft (199th pick) out of the University of Michigan.

      Billy Sullivan, who was the first owner of the Boston Patriots at the time, paved the way for the Patriots and his sons Pat and Chuck helped run the organization. Pat took the title of general manager and Chuck was given the title of executive vice president. Sullivan bought the team for $25,000 but for that investment, it would be worth every penny. Coaches like Clive Rush(1969-70), John Mazur (1970-72), and Phil Bengtson(1972) and others flew in and out of the doors of New England while reliable and winning coaches like Chuck Fairbanks (1975-78), Ray Berry (1984-89), Bill Parcells (1993-96), and last but not least Bill Belichick (2000-present) saved the reputation of the once horrendous Patriots to a franchise that is built on winning.

      Quarterbacks impact the game of football tremendously. Sullivan and the rest of the Patriots staff had the desire of drafting the best of the best quarterbacks out of the colleges they respectively came out of.  Jim Plunkett was the first QB taken by New England with the #1 pick in the 1971 NFL Draft out of Stanford. Trading him four years later to San Francisco proved to the Sullivans that Plunkett wasn't the answer along with QB Tony Eason who wasn't a winning quarterback either. Steve Grogan and Tom Brady were quarterbacks picked late in their respective draft classes but were overlooked as chumps and barely clinging on but in reality, they surpassed the criticism and performed to their highest peaks.

      This book which is written by Michael Felger but forwarded by Steve Grogan and epilogue by Bill Belichick gives the reader the background knowledge of what this organization was at one point in time and I enjoyed every page of this book. It may seem confusing at times with how quickly coaches were hired and dumped along with players but that's what a business is in the NFL and that's why this book is important in my opinion to those who are interested in learning about the business side of football and Patriots fans alike. Give this book a try, you may see yourself reading this book over 20 times.