Remembering the 1990 New England Patriots

By Os Davis  |   Wednesday, June 11, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

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Another title has been given to the New England Patriots this week, and this one even comes from the fans; unfortunately, it’s not of the enviable sort.

Through the magic of the Internet, revisionist history has spoken over at USAToday.com, whose recent “Worst Team of the Super Bowl Era” tournament closed on Monday with the 1990 New England Patriots declared winner over those classic 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Clearly a sheer product of the seething critical mass of animosity for the Patriots in 31 NFL markets, the final vote was abject nonsense. Come on now: The ’76 Bucs were the only ohfer of the era, and they wore the sherbet-colored uniforms replete with a ridiculous pirate logo. And how can the 2001 Carolina Panthers, with their 15-game losing streak and a QB some have called the worst ever to start in the NFL, not be in the finals? And not one Detroit Lions squad in the entire bracket?

But I digress.

The USA Today tournament provides the opportunity for us to look back at those 1990 Patriots, and for Boston fans to again appreciate how their times have changed for the better. Heck, 10 years ago, the '90 season was still taboo to speak of in the six-state area and the ugliest four-letter word to ears up there was “Rust.”

As in Rod Rust, he of the mighty Rust era in Foxborough, exactly one season of bottoming out for Victor “I liked the team so much, I bought the company” Kiam’s franchise. Rust actually has quite an impressive resume aside from his only campaign as NFL head coach. After starting as an assistant at Os Davis’ alma mater the University of New Mexico under Marv Levy, Rust served in various high-level coaching capacities in the professional ranks for the Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Rust was part of the Patriots’ coaching staff for Super Bowl XX and twice coached the Montreal Alouettes into the Grey Cup.

Six years after the power struggle with then-head coach Ron Meyer (all those who find Bill Belichick boring and unlikable don’t remember this guy; all right, all right, Belichick wins, but still ...) which resulted in Rust’s firing, then his rehiring and Meyer’s firing, Rust was named head coach for 1990. And the rest is history.

How bad were those Patriots? The numbers say that, despite actually winning a game, the average 1990 New England game had the team beaten 28-12. By a good margin the lowest-scoring team in the NFL (the next-lowest wattage team, the 3-13 Cleveland Browns, put up 47 more points), the Patriots never topped the 24 put on the board in a Week 1 loss.

How bad were those Patriots? Hope for the future was pinned on the immortal Tom Hodson, a third-rounder who never went beyond the third rate. In his rookie season, Hodson started six games and managed career highs in TD passes (four) and passing yards per game (138.3). Oh, and he was sacked 20 times. Yes, 20. Pitching relief was creaky Marc Wilson, who managed to throw 11 picks against six TDs (but they were a good six TDs), before the Pats exhumed the corpse of infinitely maligned Steve Grogan to start the final four games; Grogan ended up the team’s most efficient passer with a quarterback rating of 76.1.

How bad were those Patriots? Only four defenders managed an interception, with the team totaling 14. By comparison, three players on the offense – Wilson, Hodson and leading rusher John Stephens – alone turned the ball over with a combined 16 fumbles.

How bad were those Patriots? They were ugly off the field, too: The sexual harassment story, Kiam’s subsequent commentary, say no more.

How bad were those Patriots? So bad, apparently, that NFL fans' remembrance somehow eases the sting of what the hated New England contemporaries are allegedly illegally doing to 31 other beloved franchises. And so bad that they help New Englanders realize how good it is to be alive in the 21st century.

By the way, super simulation Web site WhatIfSports.com tells me that on a neutral site (the L.A. Coliseum, for no good reason) the 1990 Patriots top the 1976 Buccaneers, 27-10, behind an awesome 14-of-27, 177-yard, two-TD, zero-interception performance by Hodson. So there.

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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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