The Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders are all teams that have climbed to the highest perch in the NFL, and fallen like an anvil off a roof top.

Phil Bengtson looked so feeble on the Packers sideline in the wake of Vince Lombardi’s move to Washington. The Dolphins were the best team in 1972, 73 and 74. Winning the Super Bowl the first two years, including the perfect 17-0 season in 1972, and a 14-2 record in 1974 before losing to the Raiders in Oakland in a classic AFC playoff battle.

The Dallas Cowboys under Tom Landry lived the entire breath of worst, to best, and back to bad. The original coach of the NFL expansion Dallas franchise, Landry was 0-11-1 in 1960, and 18-46-4 before he coached his first non-losing record in 1965. But, in 1966, Landry led the Cowboys to their first winning season, and collected 208 eight wins over the next twenty campaigns, all winning season, and picked up two Super Bowl Championships on the journey.

Yet, once Landry lost in a season, in 1986, he put three straight losing campaigns in the record books including a 3-13 mark in his final year on the Cowboys’ sideline, 1988. His successor, Jimmy Johnson, was 1-15 in his first season after replacing the legendary Landry.

In 1969, Chuck Noll took command of a Steelers franchise that had long been the weakest team in the National Football League. In his first season, Noll led Pittsburgh to a 1-13 campaign, and had three losing years before guiding the Steelers to an AFC Central title with an 11-3 record in 1972.

The Steelers combined magic with talent when they burst upon the postseason scene with the “Immaculate Reception” to beat the Oakland Raiders. In 1973, the Steelers were ousted in the first week of postseason action by the Raiders, but got revenge the following season with an AFC Championship Game win in Oakland. The Steelers won the first of their record six Super Bowl titles in Super Bowl IX, a 16-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Between the Steelers winning their first four Vince Lombardi Trophies with Terry Bradshaw running the offense, and the two that Ben Roethlisberger engineered from behind center in recent years, Pittsburgh struggled through some lean years.

My point is this: NFL teams that excel at the top for a number of years invariably suffer through some difficult times when, as Don Merideth used to sing from the announcer booth on Monday nights, “The party’s over.”

Which brings us to the 2010 New England Patriots, a team that built a dynasty under Head Coach Bill Parcells and Quarterback Tom Brady by winning three Super Bowls in a four year span beginning in 2001. Their rise to the top of the NFL began with an upset win over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, and while they fell short of the playoffs the following year, Belichick and Brady combined for back-to-back Vince Lombardi Trophy wins to complete the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Brady had won 10 postseason games without a loss before falling to the Denver Broncos to end their 2005 season. New England fell short of their Super Bowl goal the following year when they allowed a 21-3 lead over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game to dissolve into a loss on the road against Peyton Manning and company.

The following year, the Patriots regrouped, and became only the second team in history to earn a Super Bowl berth without losing a regular season game … but they lost their bid for a fourth Super Bowl ring when the two touchdown underdog New York Giants upset the Patriots to conclude the 2007 season.

Was that the end of Patriots glory? Could the Patriots recover from that blunted date with destiny and make another run at a Super Bowl title in 2008?

Not without Brady, who was injured and lost for the season on opening day in a year in which the Patriots fell short of a playoff berth. Last year, with Brady back, the Patriots struggled on the opening weekend with a narrow come-from-behind win over the Buffalo Bills, and although they advanced to the playoffs by winning the competitive AFC East, they were eliminated from the Super Bowl race with a loss on their home field to the Baltimore Ravens.

After winning his first ten playoff games, Brady is only 4-4 in his last eight postseason contests, games in which New England is only 2-6 versus the point spread. The once unbeatable combination of Brady and Belichick suffered their first and second playoff losses on the road, at Denver and Indianapolis. Their third, in the Super Bowl, was on a neutral field, and last January Brady lost his first ever home playoff game.

Do you see the picture here?

Are the Patriots an anvil ready to fall?

Historically, we have seen teams rise and fall throughout the decades, and this appears a likely spot for another respected champion to drop from their perch. The offense relies on many of the same pieces that fed their greatest successes; the offensive linemen, Randy Moss and Brady … but, they are all older and past their prime. On defense, the stars that made the plays to earn four trips to the Super Bowl are gone, and the question of whether the Patriots are rebuilding or retooling their once proud defense appears more of an overhaul than a tune-up.

Physically, the Patriots are not nearly as dominate as in past years, but, motivationally, they are in a perfect spot for one last hurrah.  Brady wants to prove he is back from his season ending injury of two years ago, and is much better primed for success this year than he was last season. The Patriots are also clearly under the radar in their own division, the AFC East, where much of the preseason hype is focused on the New York Jets, who rode a rookie quarterback and head coach all the way to the AFC Championship Game last season.

Once the Patriots suffer a losing season, history tells us Belichick will be gone before they win another championship. On our charts, that day is nearing, but before it arrives, the Patriots have the possibility of one more stellar season … and this could be it.

In June, the Patriots are still alive for a surprise run to the Super Bowl, and how their draft choices contribute and their old veterans round into shape, will be scrutinized by my staff before we declare our Super Bowl matchup in September.

NEXT WEEK: VIKINGS VIEW