All hail the mighty Pats!

10/18/07

At the conclusion of Sunday’s “Duel in Dallas,” NFL teams all around the league had to have one thought on their minds…

“Uh-oh.”

For those who did not see the game, you missed two amazing displays of football. The first took place over the first two and a half quarters, and it was as if two heavyweight fighters were trading blows back and forth, with Dallas asserting temporary control halfway through the third quarter 24-21. The second display happened in the remaining quarter and a half and what ensued was one of the most impressive displays of dominance I have ever seen. The Patriots took their game to another level and outscored Dallas 27-3 to end the game, winning in a rout 48-27.

In answer to the question many people are asking themselves, no, Dallas is not that bad. They are the best team in the NFC, and the third best team in the league. The Steelers and Packers could give them a run for their money, but when Pitt lost to Arizona and the Packers lost to the very Bears team the Cowboys annihilated, I can not put them ahead. At this point, I would say that Jacksonville is better than both Pittsburgh and Green Bay, and close to on par with the Cowboys. They are my dark horse AFC South pick, and I expect them to beat Indianapolis at home on Monday night.

With all of this being said, where does this leave New England? At least in the salary cap era, this year’s Patriots are fast becoming the greatest team ever assembled. This is the same team that was a first down away from last year’s Super Bowl, even with Reche Caldwell as their number one receiver and a slew of defensive injuries. Now, they feature Adalius Thomas (the most coveted off-season free agent), Donte Stalworth (Philly’s number one receiver last year), Randy Moss (the best receiver in the league when he wants to be), and Wes Welker (a man who is fast making his case for being the Pat’s best pick-up). And I can not stress this enough: this is all within the parameters of the salary cap. What that means is that they can not be referred to as football’s version of the New York Yankees, or another version of the 1996 to 1998 Denver Broncos (ergo, they aren’t buying championships).

The Patriots, who have won three Super Bowls often with average talent, true teamwork, and amazing game plans, have long been the smartest team in the NFL. Belichick drafts and evaluates talent better than anyone else in the league. Up until the aftermath of “Spy-Gate,” the Patriots were due to have two first-round draft picks in 2008; so not only did they attract all of the off-season top-shelf talent, they were also poised to have this year’s most bountiful draft. Now, after two years of injuries and middle-of-the-road talent has left the Pats just short come playoff time, they decided to drastically beef up their team.

The Pats have long been known for having the most clutch quarterback (I, along with many people, would argue that he is the greatest, but I’m not touching that one right now) and a gritty defense. Now they have a prolific offense (on pace to shatter a ridiculous amount of NFL records) and a rejuvenated defense. Take a look at some of these numbers:

Tom Brady has completed 72.5% of his passes for 1,771 yards and 21 touchdowns (with only two interceptions! My God!). His current completion percentage is 72.5…the all-time record is 70.6. He is on pace to throw for 4,723 yards, which is only 300 yards short of Dan Marino’s single season record; it is not inconceivable to believe that Brady could find a way to get to this record. His 21 TDs have him on pace to throw 56, which is seven more than Peyton Manning’s 2004 record. Some experts believe it is not possible for Brady to break these records (namely John Clayton a.k.a. Gollum) because the Pats will wrap up their division so quickly. Let’s keep in mind that New England will not only be playing for a division title, but they will also be after home field advantage in the playoffs. Depending on how Indianapolis does, the Pats could very well need 14 or 15 wins (of course if they beat Indy, they will have the tie-breaker, so that would cut down on the number of games needed to win), and would have to play the starters through the last week of the regular season.*

A less publicized reason that Brady could break these records? Bill Belichick is a student of the game. He understands the legacy he could have if he wins his fourth title in seven years (in the free agency era, no less), especially if his team tops the ’72 Dolphins and runs the table (even though the Pats already have a more impressive streak than those Dolphins). So I would not put it past him to have his starters play the entire season, even if home field advantage is clinched. Plus, after enduring two weeks of EVERYONE questioning his legacy, character, and football intelligence, Belichick has a HUGE chip on his shoulder, and his players are playing with that same chip as well.

I for one would applaud it. I take great delight (with the exception of the Dallas game) seeing Brady and Co. picking apart opposing defenses. We are witnessing quite possibly the greatest team to be put on a football field (I personally will stick with the ’92 Cowboys). Everyone should enjoy the dominance that they are getting the privilege to see. Everyone, that is, except the other 31 NFL teams. What should they do? They should take a good look at themselves and then the Patriots, and think one thing:

“Uh-oh.”

NFL Picks:

Tennessee at Houston
After their lightning quick start, it appears that the Houston Texans are falling back to earth in a hurry. Tennessee has not looked good in their past two games. I still feel that for whatever reason, Vince Young just finds a way to win. I do not know how big of a difference he would have made against Tampa Bay (but keep in mind, Kerry Collins’ scoring drive featured an interception in the end zone that ended up getting called out of bounds), but I think if he plays, he will put the team over the top against Houston. That being said, if Young is out, I think Houston wins the game, but I have a hunch that VY plays.
My pick: Tennessee

Baltimore at Buffalo
Don’t let last Sunday’s game deceive you, this year’s Ravens club are nowhere near as good as last year’s squad. That is not to say that they do not have the tools to dominate a hapless Buffalo Bills team. The defense will set the tone and the offense will do enough to put the game away. Hell, I’ll be surprised if the Bills score an offensive TD.
Baltimore

Minnesota at Dallas
After seeing Adrian Peterson viciously rape the Chicago Bears defense on Sunday, I am a bit concerned about the Cowboys’ ability to stop him. Still, Dallas’ defense can be brilliant when it wants to be, and I have a feeling that the Cowboys offense will do a bit more than the Bears did, thus the Vikings will have to use their passing game to keep up. Cowboys will win it going away.
Dallas

Tampa Bay at Detroit
Much like Houston, the Detroit Lions have, collectively, as a team, woke up and dried themselves off. Couple that with the fact that Jeff Garcia is coming out of nowhere for the second year in a row and is playing like one of the five best quarterbacks in the league, and I think Tampa Bay can do some damage. With all of the weapons the Lions possess, and the fact that the Bucs have no running game, it might be close. But I think that Garcia will find a way to grind out the win.
Tampa Bay

Arizona at Washington
The Washington Redskins can do one of two things after Sunday’s tough loss to Green Bay. They can let it eat away at them, lose this week’s game, and possibly start to slide down a slippery slope, or, they can come out pissed and ready to play. If their opponent was of a little higher caliber than the Arizona Cardinals, I think that Washington could be in trouble. But thanks to the mini-miracles that every NFL team gets with scheduling (and the fact that Arizona does not have a quarterback), Washington will move past the adversity.
Washington

San Francisco at New York Giants
Alex Smith or not, the 49ers are not that good of a football team (the worst 2-0 football team ever? Okay, I am not qualified to answer that). The New York Giants are fast becoming one of the hottest teams in football. I can not put too much stock in their win over Atlanta on Monday, but they are 4-2 and winners of four straight. I don’t know if they are for real, but their streak will continue for at least another week. Giants win big.
New York

Atlanta at New Orleans
I know that they are playing in the NFC, which allows a team to have a mulligan as far as playoff qualification is concerned, but I still think that New Orleans is not going anywhere (they do not have the cozy last place schedule that they did last year). The win at Seattle was somewhat impressive, but the Seahawks are a far cry from the team who went to the Super Bowl two years ago. That being said, Atlanta is God-awful. The Saints will get their second win of the season by taking advantage of a (soon-to-be) struggling Byron Leftwich.
New Orleans

New England at Miami
For most teams, this is a trap game. This, however, is New England.
New England

Kansas City at Oakland
Oakland may not be the worst team in the league, as they were last year. But they just do not have what it takes to topple the Chiefs. With the exception of Daunte Culpepper’s redemption game against Miami, the Raiders offense has been MIA. The Chiefs will have what it takes to get the ‘W.’ (Seriously, have you seen the routine criticism of the Chiefs? For supposedly being so terrible, they are winning a lot of games. Poor Herm Edwards just can not get any love.)
Kansas City

New York Jets at Cincinnati
Wow. The battle of the two most disappointing teams in the AFC (the Saints might be the most disappointing team in the NFL, but I had my doubts about them). It will be a close game, but I’ll go with the home team. I do not really have any basis for the Bengals winning, so, since it is a such an evenly matched game, I will let my hate for Eric Mangina put Cincy over the top.
Cincinnati

Chicago at Philadelphia
This was the hardest game for me to pick. I still do not know if Chicago will get their shit together. And even if they do, they still have no offense so they are capable to losing to anyone in any given week. Conversely, Philly is coming off a much-needed win and (as long as his injury does not regress) Donovan McNabb will only get better as the season continues. The McNabb era Eagles have proven me wrong time and again over the years (until you get to a huge playoff game, then they are very predictable), so I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Still, have the ominous feeling that I will be way off on this game.
Philadelphia

Pittsburgh at Denver
Somewhere in Wyoming, Jake Plummer is watching this game and thinking to himself, “hey Shanahan, I could be doing what Cutler is doing.” It’s still early in Jay Cutler’s career, but the great offensive evaluator may be off base in his assessment of the pride of Santa Claus. Either way, the Broncos are not going to do anything on Sunday. I’m not sold on the Steelers, but they are good enough to beat Denver. It may not be as big of a blowout as the SD/DEN game was but it sure will not be close.
Pittsburgh

Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Ah! I have looked forward to picking this game so much. Jacksonville is fast becoming an elite team in this league (I guess Jack Del Rio was right about David Garard). They are also peaking at the most inopportune time for Indianapolis. Once again, however, Indianapolis can take advantage a scheduling break. The Jaguars are by far the Colts’ toughest test so far this season, but they have the advantage of getting the bye week to rest and prepare for them (DAMN YOU, NFL!). Nevertheless, Jacksonville always plays Indy well. It will be a close, ugly game, but I think the hometown team will pull it out.
Jacksonville

Random notes, facts, observations, and questions from the past week in sports:

--One more interesting story about the whole Spy-Gate scandal. Apparently when Bill Belichick sent in the surveillance tapes that the league offices requested (okay, demanded), he also sent in documented cases of other teams using video equipment to spy on his team. Most notably, he supposedly supplied video proof of the Jets using this tactic.

--Eric Gagne is turning into a dead ringer for Seth Rogen.

--Something that occurred to me watching the TB/TEN game (it has probably been mentioned, but I have not heard anyone say anything about it, so I’m treating it like it’s my idea) when Jeff Fisher was given the opportunity to use the cheap timeout call to throw off the kicker. What happens when a coach calls a timeout and the field goal is missed? (For the record, Fisher showed some class and did not call the TO.)

--I think you could replace Jay Mariotti with Patton Oswalt on Around the Horn and I would never know the difference.

--Since when did J.D. Drew have my vertical?

--Ridiculous fact: Manny Ramirez is hitting almost .600 this postseason when facing an 0-2 count. Ramirez hit .400 when facing the same situation in the 2007 regular season.

--Why in the hell are John Clayton and Sean Salisbury so sure that Brady won’t break Manning’s touchdown record?

--One final note, I may or may not get around to writing a running diary of the Cleveland/Boston game, but I will at least let you know if Joe Buck utters the words “Jub-Jub.” (And I’ll provide an explanation for what “Jub-Jub” means.)