The more things change, the more Brady and Belichick stay the same
Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have been here before. It was Feb. 6, 2005, and they were facing the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots won that game, Super Bowl XXXIX, 24-21.
Since then, so much has changed in the NFL, from the commissioner to the rules to the shoulder pads. On the eve of Super Bowl LII, there’s one thing that hasn’t: Brady and Belichick are still on top.
Here’s a look at how the league, the players and the game have changed, for better or worse, since 2005:
Tagliabue’s Out, Goodell’s In
Paul Tagliabue was nearing the end of a 17-year run as the NFL commissioner in 2005. He was widely praised as a rock of stability in the highly popular and profitable league, lauded in particular for removing the 1993 Super Bowl from Arizona when the state would not recognize Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
His successor, Roger Goodell, has been unable to shake controversy. The league remains the country’s biggest, team values continue to rise, and Goodell recently signed a contract extension. But to many, he has made a number of missteps, often involving discipline.
The penalties he gave the Patriots for Deflategate incensed their fans and one of his closet allies, owner Robert Kraft. The suspension of Ezekiel Elliott antagonized Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and shifting discipline in the Ray Rice case confused and annoyed many fans.
Concussions Have Changed the Game
Tagliabue and Goodell have both been criticized for not taking strong enough action against concussions. Perhaps the most significant difference in the league today is the awareness of the issue. In 2005, it was still common to hear announcers laughingly enthusing over a player “getting his bell rung” from a big hit.
Intense media scrutiny, including a series of articles in The New York Times, brought new attention to the seriousness of the issue, and the league has responded. In 2009, it implemented a concussion protocol; in 2016 it reached an agreement with the NFL Players Association to fine teams that violate it. The NFL continues to adjust the protocol, which requires players with potential concussions to be removed from the game and examined by an unaffiliated doctor. If a concussion is diagnosed, the player cannot return to the game.
In addition, the league is much more actively punishing hits to the head. Players can be immediately ejected if the hit is especially egregious. Still, there are those who feel the power is not used enough. Ferocious head hits by Danny Trevathan of the Chicago Bears on Davante Adams of the Green Bay Packers and Kiko Alonso of the Miami Dolphins on Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens this season did not bring ejections.
The Rise of the Evil Empire
Going into the 2005 game, the Patriots had won two of three Super Bowls and were building a dynasty, but they were not necessarily more hated than any other successful team. Then came Spygate and Deflategate. There were two more Super Bowl wins in 2015 and 2017, and a rising perception that New England was getting an undue amount of calls, most recently against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC championship.
The Patriots have become the team that many fans love to hate.
Go Ahead and Celebrate
An old joke is that “NFL” stood for “No Fun League.” Stiff rules limiting celebrations prevented spontaneity and made for a somewhat joyless experience, many fans felt.
But this season, some of those rules were loosened, leading to the possibility of more colorful expressions of jubilation. Among the newly legal celebrations were “using the football as a prop” after a touchdown, “celebrating on the ground” and “group demonstrations.” But those deemed “offensive,” “prolonged” or “directed at an opponent” could still be penalized.
Players did their best to take advantage of the more permissive environment. The Minnesota Vikings played duck-duck-goose, the Eagles mimed baseball, and JuJu Smith-Schuster locked his bicycle.
The stage is set for some Super Bowl celebrations that 2005-era players could only have imagined (or been fined for).
A Smaller, Sleeker Look
The hulking pads that once engulfed players are mostly gone.
Shoulder pads have become lighter by as much as 50 percent over the past 10 to 15 years. Advances in technology and design, increased emphasis on speed and an eagerness to give opponents less to grab onto were all factors in the rise of the more streamlined pads.
The result is a sleeker, more athletic look for the game.
Goodbye, Metrodome
U.S. Bank Stadium, site of Sunday’s game, did not exist in 2005; it wasn’t until 2013 that ground was broken on the stadium that replaced the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
The home of the Super Bowl in 2005, Alltel Stadium (named after a mobile network), is still there in Jacksonville, Florida, but is now called EverBank Field (after a financial services company).
In all, eight NFL teams are playing in stadiums built since 2005.
What Is a Catch? Who Knows?
It’s not true that football, or anything else, really, was a lot simpler in the old days. But it sure seems like catching a football has become more complicated since 2005.
A catch that looks a lot like a catch is ruled not a catch because the catcher doesn’t hold the catch after he hits the ground — even if that ground is the end zone.
Goodell has said he wants to revisit the rule in the offseason, so perhaps, in this way, the clock will be turned back to 2005.
The Up-and-Down Eagles
The Eagles quarterback then, Donovan McNabb, was on a run of five straight Pro Bowl seasons and was also a popular Chunky Soup pitchman alongside his mother, Wilma. He never made it back to the Super Bowl and moved on to a broadcasting career.
His coach, Andy Reid, made it eight more years in Philadelphia but was finally dismissed after a 4-12 season. He landed with the Kansas City Chiefs and had four playoff appearances in five years but no Super Bowls.
Last month, McNabb was suspended by ESPN in the face of sexual harassment allegations.
The Eagles’ current head coach, Doug Pederson, was in his final season in the league in 2005, as a backup for Brett Favre with the Packers.
New Faces on Both Sidelines
No Eagles remain from the 2005 squad, although current punter Donnie Jones (Seattle) and the injured Jason Peters (Buffalo) were in the league at the time.
Which brings us to …
As Always, Belichick and Brady
The duo was already well-established by the Super Bowl in 2005: Brady was in his fourth year as starter and Belichick in his fifth as coach.
As The Times wrote after the Patriots’ 24-21 victory:
“This is the lasting image of a team lording it over the National Football League, Brady in control of an efficient machine seemingly without defect.” The Patriots’ run was said to have been “forged by a coach without peer.”
No one would blink to see the same words written again this weekend.
