Factoid of the Week

[BernietheKid]

Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me

Peter King> MONDAY MORNING QB

Posted: Monday November 15, 2010 8:34AM ; Updated: Monday November 15, 2010 11:42AM

In looking into the performance of great coaches in NFL history and losing streaks this week, I have even more respect for Paul Brown than ever. That's difficult for me to fathom, because I already considered him the best pro football coach ever.

I set out to look into how Bill Belichick's teams performed after a loss, which, since 2003, has been fairly remarkable. After the bad loss at Cleveland last week, I thought it merited a look, particularly since a treacherous road game lay ahead last night at Pittsburgh. So I decided to look at two-game losing streaks by the great coaches of our time. I picked out five: Paul Brown, Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Bill Walsh and Belichick. And I compared their greatest eight-year runs as NFL coaches with Belichick's current eight-year run. How many two-game losing streaks did each one have over their eight-year span. What I found:

Coach 8-Year Period 2-Game Losing Streaks Brown 1950-57 1 Lombardi 1960-67 4 Shula 1970-77 5 Walsh 1981-88 6 Belichick 2003-10 2

Belichick had one in 2006 and one in 2009. New England's 39-26 victory over the Steelers on Sunday night staved off number three. That's it. And no three-game losing streaks for Belichick either.

Here's what amazes me about Brown's record. His Cleveland Browns played four dominating seasons in the All-America Football Conference, then joined the NFL in 1950. In his first six years as an NFL coach, Brown never had a two-game losing streak. Roll that around in your brain. Not 'til 1956 did the Browns lose two straight. I find it amazing, especially since Brown's Browns entered the league with a bulls-eye on them, with the NFL wanting to put the upstart kids in their place. The established league never could.


Read more: Patriots? Jets? Giants? There are no super NFL teams this*season - Peter King - SI.com