5 takeaways from episodes 3 and 4 of 'The Dynasty: New England Patriots' (2024)

Patriots

From the rift created between Robert Kraft and Bill Parcells to a deep dive into 'SpyGate', the latest episodes of 'The Dynasty' were jam-packed.

By Colin McCarthy

February 23, 2024

Apple TV+ rolled out the highly anticipated third and fourth installments of “The Dynasty” on Friday after a well-received debut of the 10-part Patriots documentary on Feb. 16. Fans clamored for more candid information about the greatest dynasty of this century, and it was delivered in spades.

While the first two episodes focused almost entirely around 2001 and the humble beginning of the Patriots dynasty, episodes 3 & 4 captured New England’s first three Super Bowl victories, and all of the fame, drama, and scandals that followed.

There was also important background information layered into the episodes that gave extra glimpses into what the Patriots organization looked like in the 1990s, pre-Bill Belichick.

Here are five takeaways from episodes 3 & 4:

Eric Mangini’s role in uncovering ‘SpyGate’

While it wasn’t explicitly stated — at least by the man himself — in the series, it seems former New York Jets head coach and New England assistant Eric Mangini played a major role in helping the NFL uncover ‘SpyGate’, a major scandal that cast a dark cloud over the beginning of the Patriots’ dynasty.

Mangini was the Jets’ coach during the game the Patriots were caught cheating in, and before that, he spent time under Belichick in Foxborough. According to the documentary, Mangini knew he and his staff would be filmed giving signals, and ratted him out to the league.

“The unspoken rule is when you leave the family, you leave the family,” Scott Pioli, the Patriots’ vice president of player personnel at the time, said. “You honor the opportunity that was given, you don’t make a mess. You remember how you got your first step in the door, you don’t make a mess.

“Bill was very close with Eric, and his very normal human reaction was a feeling of betrayal. And he distanced himself from those of us that were closest to him. You could feel a certain type of energy in that building. A certain type of anger. A certain type of vengeance.”

That vengeance came out the following week against the San Diego Chargers, and Belichick gave a brief but passionate pep talk to his players before the game which showcased his emotions.

“I don’t wanna say anything about this jet thing. OK? Just shut the [expletive] up, just worry about ourselves, our team,” Belichick said. “Everybody else is gonna say what they wanna say, we can’t control that. But we can control what we’re talking about and what we’re doing.”

Robert Kraft’s reaction to ‘SpyGate’

Robert Kraft wasn’t thrilled about the criticism his team was suddenly facing, after cementing themselves on top of the NFL so quickly.

Though Kraft did use his good standings within the NFL to help lessen the punishment for New England in any way he could, his initial reaction to ‘SpyGate’ was blunt.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Kraft said. “I went right over to Bill and I said, ‘let me ask you something Bill: how important to us is something like that on a scale of 1 to 100?’ And he said to me, ‘one’.

“And I said to him, ‘Well then you’re a real shmuck’.”

The savvy business move that helped secure Kraft’s ownership of the Patriots

During most of Kraft’s days as a fan of New England, the Patriots were one of the NFL’s worst teams. An eventual sale was inevitable, and there were many potential suitors who could have bought the team.

None of them did. And it was because of business ventures Kraft made that set himself up perfectly to purchase the team, even if he couldn’t match the price others might’ve offered.

Kraft realized that a lot of the money made on game days came from the stadium itself and the parking lots. So, he bought the Patriots’ stadium and surrounding areas, giving him a lot of leverage right out of the gate.

“There must have been 20 buyers who came in and tried to buy the team,” Kraft said. “But once they figured out I had control of the revenue, they walked away.”

The rest was history for the Kraft family.

Why Kraft and Bill Parcells didn’t work out

Bill Parcells was a well-regarded coach before and during his time in New England. But it was clear that his pairing with Kraft wasn’t going to work out.

Kraft didn’t want to let Parcells run the draft, which seemed to be one of the main points of tension between the coach-owner duo.

Before the Patriots took on the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl in 1996, word got out that Parcells was heading to New York the following season to coach the Jets. Drew Bledsoe voiced his frustration in that during episode three, as it took focus off the game itself and how impressive it was for New England to reach that point.

“With coach Parcells, I didn’t feel he always put the team first,” Kraft said. “He was making decisions that were best for Bill Parcells, as opposed for the New England Patriots. I promised myself in the future, I would find a coach that truly put team first.”

Drew Bledsoe embodied ‘The Patriot Way’

After Tom Brady went down at the beginning of the AFC championship game, Drew Bledsoe returned to the field for the first time since his Week 2 injury. He led the Patriots to an unlikely victory and a chance to play in the Super Bowl.

But, even after his heroics, he didn’t get to play in the biggest game of the year.

Once Brady was cleared for action, Belichick let Bledsoe know Brady was the guy. Rather than checking out and getting ready for his next chapter, Bledsoe remained supportive of the young Brady, and gained a lot of respect from his teammates in doing so.

“All the stuff Belichick says, like doing your job and putting the team first, Drew was like, living that,” Teddy Bruschi said. “I mean, there’s a $100 million quarterback doing what’s best for the team. And that’s when I think the ‘Patriot Way’ started.”