The New England Patriots are one week away from playing in the big game in Houston and football teams from cities such as Miami and New York are already weeks into their time at the golf courses. Yet I still hear from countless fans of those teams how 'much of a fluke the Patriots are,' or that 'it's all luck'' that they've won 14 straight games. That's pretty impressive to get lucky 14 straight times. While Brady and his receivers will not be playing in Honolulu in two weeks in the Pro Bowl, they will be playing in the Lone Star State in the only game that matters.
Where to begin. How about offense? The Patriots don't have the most talented offensive team in the league on paper. There is not a single Pro Bowler and it's hard to imagine many teams in the NFL wanting to trade their set of receivers for New England's. The Pats have a solid running game, but nothing flashy, and our quarterback may not throw for endless yards and touchdowns, but he is efficient at winning.
The offensive line is very solid, but it's by no means an elite o-line. The Patriots are not a flashy team, and sometimes their offensive strategy of short passes seems boring to the average fan. But a closer look reveals that the Patriots are a very disciplined team that strives to execute plays and have everyone perform his role efficiently.
Defense is a slightly different story as the Patriots do boast three Pro-Bowlers: cornerback Ty Law, defensive end Richard Seymour and linebacker Willie McGinest. But there could easily be several more on this side of the ball for the Patriots.
The Pats are very deep in nearly all positions on defense, especially at linebacker. The defense is quick and does not make many mistakes. It constantly puts pressure on opposing quarterbacks, while providing efficient pass coverage and rarely getting fooled on play fakes.
The defense embodies the concept of a team and although it doesn't have any Jason Taylors or Michael Strahans, it does have a group of very talented and experienced veteran players who simply get the job done.
Although I understand it is frusterating to watch the Patriots be victorious weekend after weekend without much star talent on the field, they do have a star on the coaching staff. Defensive wiz Bill Belichick works with Romeo Crenell to keep confusing quarterbacks and drawing up schemes that stifle nearly every offense in the NFL.
Not to mention Charlie Weiss who plans an impressive offensive strategy that constantly mixes up plays and keeps the opposing defense off guard. The Patriots certainly have a solid group of players on the field, however it is rather unlikely that without these three gentlemen they wouldn't be among the other 30 teams in the league that are going to be watching the Super Bowl at their homes this coming Sunday.
What seems evident is that the issue of stats vs. winning is prevalent in this situation. I would gladly trade in the number of Pro Bowlers for a chance to go deeper into the playoffs and I believe any true fan would feel the same way.
This may not be the most talented team in NFL history and Brady may not be the most talented quarterback in NFL history, but this is a team that somehow finds a way to win. Some people are already drawing comparisons between Tom Brady and Joe Montana, which in due time may prove to be worthy, however I like to think of Brady as a Bill Russell of football.
The former Celtic center never had the most gaudy statistics, he simply found a way to win en route to winning more championships than any other player in NBA history. Sooner or later Brady will have to be viewed as one of the elite Boston athletes solely on his ability to win.
I don't want to say right now the Patriots have the makings of a dynasty. However; with many draft picks in next year's deep NFL draft, the Patriots look to be strong for some time.
If there is one indication that this success will endure, it is that the Pats have the same number of Pro Bowlers (two, in Law and Seymour), as the number of MVPs (McNair and Manning) that they knocked off two weeks in a row in the playoffs.