Five-TD win doesn’t answer questions

By Os Davis  |   Wednesday, November 22, 2006  |  Comments( 3 )

New England Patriots
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It's amazing how just a little five-touchdown win can change public perception. Heck, those who were picking apart all that was wrong with the New England Patriots before the navy blue-and-silver boys methodically had their way with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau are backing down faster than the FOX decision-makers who gave "If I Did It" the green light.

Indeed, the Patriots' bandwagon has ridden quite the roller coaster track this season. Going through old RealFootball365 power polls maps the trail. (Try it with any NFL coverage-mongers and surely similar results will result.)

In the "kickoff special," the RF365 power poll gave the Pats the No. 8 ranking: "as long as New England has Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, it will be a force in the AFC."

Week 2, No. 12 ranking: "For the first time since their dynasty began in 2001, the Patriots are beatable every week."

Week 3, No. 14 ranking: "...the Broncos managed to neutralize [the Patriots' running game], forcing Tom Brady to throw a whopping 55 times. Guess what? The Pats scored only seven points."

Week 4, No. 4 ranking: "So much for the notion of New England having fallen off. ... they're still very much a title contender."

Week 7, No. 3 ranking: "No team in the NFL rips off wins more effortlessly than the Patriots. The scariest part? Tom Brady and Co. aren't even playing their best football yet."

Week 10, No. 7 ranking: "Over the first nine weeks of the season the Patriots went from vulnerable to great, then back to vulnerable."

Week 11, No. 5 ranking: "This is still one of the best teams in the AFC..."

So the Patriots have gone from being slightly outplayed by the Denver Broncos in last year's playoffs to proclamations of their dynasty's end to second-best team in the AFC behind the dreaded rival Indianapolis Colts to maybe merely playoff bubblers to today. The Patriots have been off the radar, rediscovered, probed and examined in the wake of a two-game streak, and will most likely fall back off the radar after the Chicago Bears leave Foxborough.

How can a team with three titles in the last five years still be so inscrutable? And with six games left, this is only the tip of the iceberg of questions floating between us and a clear picture of how good this New England Patriots team is. To wit:

Are Bill Belichick and Tom Brady enough to keep this team a winner? Were the Patriots as badly gutted in the offseason as it seemed then? Can they recover? Since a playoff spot now looks pretty likely, can this team make it to Super Bowl XLI or could they be bounced early again by the guys from Denver who seemingly have their number? Is Brady pleased that the money Patriots, Inc. saved by trimming his salary hasn't signed any big-money free agents (like, say, um, Deion Branch) isn't going anywhere or is he happy with what he has? Are the Patriots vulnerable or still ever-adaptable? And finally, what in the name of Butch Songin is the Vinny Testaverde signing about?

The answer to these questions is "yes." Sure, even the one about Vinterception. This team has somehow remained elusive to statistical measure and psychological barometer. Which Patriots team shows up next week? Well, for good or bad, it'll most probably be one you haven't quite seen before.

Despite the all-important wins and losses, however, the truth is a 7-3 record doesn't hide a few facts. This ugly list includes:

The Patriots have no big-play capability. Why, why, why, cry the New England faithful, did Branch escape? Doubtlessly Belichick could create the Greatest Two-minute Drive Ever Seen on a few Sundays a year, but reality in the argot of Madden dictates that, without gamebreakers, no games are broken.

No big-play capability means no points. An interesting stat that emerged at the conclusion of the shutout was New England's no. 2 standing in points allowed, having allowed just 11 more than Chicago. And that includes the 38 points the Pats surrendered to the Indianapolis Colts. Now how have they lost three this season? Um, no offense?

There's more (and therefore less) to the Patriots' halfbacks than is commonly known. A couple of Boston sportswriters and some ESPN minds alike have hinted that Corey Dillon was unhappy at the possibility that Laurence Maroney could get too many touches. Notice how one of the most exciting players in the league was mostly left to special teams after the breakout game against the Cincinnati Bengals? We won't know the true story maybe ever, but if true, here's a couple of predictions: Come playoff time, the Pats' run game becomes 70 percent Maroney; come the offseason, Dillon will soon become zero percent Patriot.

Those six wins include exactly zero against reputable teams. These wins have come against teams with a combined record of 26-34. And while the Pats' schedule beginning in December reads like a cakewalk - Detroit Lions, at Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, at Jacksonville Jaguars, at Tennessee Titans - a loss to Dah Bearssss on Sunday should sink the Beaneaters right out of the top 10 in any power rankings list.

The fact that the Patriots have compiled a 7-3 record to this point actually indicates an admirable effort on the part of this skeleton crew led by Belichick and Brady. With an incredible linebacker corps, this stripped-down New England team is left with little more than an almighty system and lots of willpower.

And right now, not even a 35-0 win should be justification to proclaim that the Pats have enough to make another serious Super Bowl run. Wait 'til next week, after the Chicago game. Then we'll know for sure.

Or we won't.

But we'll probably never understand the Testaverde acquisition.

Insights into the murky New England Patriots at RealFootball365.com
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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