Originally Posted by JD10367
The past 36 participants in the AFCCG (since 2001):
Patriots: 13
Steelers: 6
Colts: 4
Broncos, Ravens: 3
Jets: 2
Raiders, Titans, Chargers, Jaguars, Chiefs: 1
Common threads:
- solid QBing (Brady, Roethlisberger, P. Manning, Luck)
- solid organizations (Patriots, Steelers, Broncos)
- solid defenses (Ravens, Broncos)
- long tenured coaching (Belichick, Tomlin, Dungy, Shanahan, Billick/Harbaugh)
Everyone likes to point out how Marino only made it to the SB once in his 2nd year (1984). While the Fins dominated the AFC East for much of his tenure, he did have to deal with both the Bills dynastic years as well as a few pesky Patriots ones (the two years they went to the SB, 1985 and 1996). And they never had a truly dominating defense (whereas the Bills had a pretty good one to complement Kelly and the offense). I don't see Mahomes going the Marino route.
Fact #1: Mahomes is going to be the next NFL superstar, dominating the league the way Brady has.
Fact #2: Despite their playoff missteps, the Chiefs are a solid organization.
Fact #3: Despite his playoff failures, you're not going to find a better coach than Reid.
So that leaves your defense. Which is nowhere near as bad as it has looked. The front four is solid. You need a little help at linebacker and defensive back and you'll be fine. The Patriots have never had a studly defense, only a few occasional solid players (McGinest, Seymour, Bruschi, Law, Wilfork). If Reid gets rid of Sutton and gets himself a really solid DC, you'll be fine.
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