Pats post-mortem points

It’s hard to imagine that, for the most part, Patriots and Red Sox fans are one and the same. Case and point: Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. The Red Sox had surged ahead of the Yankees, 8-1 (their historic comeback clearly just a formality) in the fourth inning, yet not a soul throughout the Nation dared utter the words, World Series. However, on Sunday night in Indianapolis, with the Patriots holding a 21-3 lead and driving in the second quarter, New England fans near and far had collective visions of South Beach dancing in their heads.I was one of them. Talked to and text messaged my friends about more impending glory. Even declared out loud that the day the Patriots blew an 18-point lead in a playoff game would be the day I declared the end of the dynasty. And I sort of am. But not really. Just wait.

See that’s the difference between Patriots and Red Sox fans: two polar opposite psychological dynamics operating within the same fan-framework. In other words, we’re real screwed up, so cut us some slack.

Back to the original point. Ask any Sox fan if they’ll ever have to hinge great chunks of their personal and professional lives on a Red Sox playoff run. Ask them if life will ever be as good as it was during those eight nights of baseball in October, 2004. Answers will always be some variation of: Nope, Sox got the one, did it unprecedented, now my father/grandfather/son/pet can die having lived a fruitful existence. I’m saved.

While we obviously want to see the Sox succeed (and not get five-game swept by the Yankees), that familiar chill and snicker when recalling the ’04 playoffs will never cease to be. It is there in that Sox-psyche, forever embedded.

But it’s different with the Patriots. Much different. We saw this team rise from the ashes of NFL futility. A team that for over two decades didn’t even merit discussion on the Boston sports scene. The Patriots played home games 26 miles from the hub, could rarely be seen on TV, and had appeared in one thrashing of a Super Bowl in their history. With the Celtics and Bruins hanging banners in the 70s and 80s, and with the Red Sox losing in Shakespearean fashion, the Patriots were blander than white toast.

But after its acquisition by a savvy businessman with a passion and a plan, the New England franchise grew so fast and so decisively that suddenly it could only be compared with the all-time greats.

Which brings us to Sunday night. The Patriots, driving for a fourth-first half touchdown, saw their drive halted on an offensive pass interference call against Troy Brown. A possible 28-3 lead and assured 24-3 advantage was nixed by one play. But that didn’t really matter. If a lead in a playoff game against a great opponent has ever been airtight, it’s a Patriots lead. And we know that from past experience (17-3 in the 2001 AFC Championship at Pittsburgh; 17-3 in Super Bowl XXXVI against St. Louis; 21-3 in the 2004 AFC Championship at Pittsburgh).

In all those games the opponent made a strong push, but our defense never gave up a lead and Tom Brady did what was necessary to win. We had no reason to believe the Patriots would allow a new ending to be written. But hindsight’s 20-20.

And hindsight tells me the Patriots had to play three quarters of tough, playoff football against the Jets before traveling 3,000 miles to beat a team that was nine times better than they were on paper. (Well nine Pro Bowlers at least.) It was the proverbial “game they had no business winning but always win.”

The team then got hit by the flu-bug somewhere in between San Diego and Boston, and it accompanied them to Indy. It put Artrell Hawkins, the backup safety to the injured Rodney Harrison, out of the game. It rendered the steely Troy Brown eerily human (he ran a curl when he was supposed to run an out on the third down play that would’ve essentially sealed the game). Coupled with Rosevelt Colvin’s absence in the second half, along with Eric Alexander and Rashad Baker’s presence in crunch time, the Pats D was, for the first time, vulnerable. Not to mention uncharacteristically ragged and fatigued.

Yet we all feel that with another thirty seconds or so, Brady would have found a way to get the boys into the end zone, and onto Miami, because that’s what he does in January. But not this time. It took a perfect storm to drown the Patriots Sunday night. That is why I am not sticking to my comment from in the moment, that the dynasty is dead, because it isn’t. Unfortunately, this phase of it is. Guys like Tedy Bruschi, Corey Dillon, and Troy Brown all deserve to retire. Especially Bruschi.

I have a feeling we haven’t seen the end of some (maybe all) of that trio, but we certainly have seen their dominant days pass, and that is sad. That said, Brady is staring his prime square in the face. He has an offensive line that is young and cohesive, and most importantly, protects him. He has a budding running back that will emerge as one of the league’s best over the next few years. He has a young wide receiver with all the tools to become his next principal beneficiary, if he can only adopt the Patriot-ethic.

Defensively, the only area without question marks is up front, which is a good thing. With Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour, Ty Warren and Jarvis Green manning the trenches for the next three years, the Patriots will be remain a run-tough defense. They must find a way to get younger and faster at the linebacker position, a notion we’ve never had to embrace in the Bruschi-era. And if they can find a way to keep Asante Samuel opposite Ellis Hobbs, good luck to opposing quarterbacks. If not, there’s still the x-factor, the reason why the Patriots have gone through 500 defensive backs in the last four years and have four AFC East crowns and two rings to show for it.

Bill Belichick. True, after this January good ole Bill may not be recognized as the classiest coach in the league, but he’s still the undisputed best. In Bill we still trust. So too does the Kraft family.

And as I alluded to before, Robert Kraft is not only a class-A businessman, he’s also a passionate Patriots fan who…HATES…LOSING!!!

He gave the Jets a first round pick just to snag Belichick, so don’t be fooled into thinking he’s going to let him get away (translation: the Giants may get Asante, but as for the guru, dream on). And don’t underestimate the mutual dependence Belichick and Brady have on each other. They each saved the other’s career. So with Brady’s best years on the horizon, watch as the Krafts hammer out a new deal for Belichick, and ride what they’ve been patiently waiting to declare as the second wave of the Brady/Belichick Patriots-dynasty.

I said after the second Super Bowl that when history was truly ready to look at the Patriots, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick would each have five rings. With that tandem at the helm you’re going to be hard pressed to find a Patriots fan who doesn’t believe that they’ll win another two. And thus we have revealed the one inherent similarity, rooted somewhere within our vast sports-psyches, between Red Sox fans and Patriots fans. We, more than any other fan base, embody our athletes.

Manny, Pedro, and the Sox got their title, are content with life, and can ride off into the sunset as perpetual champs. Brady, on the other hand, has made it no secret that his most coveted ring is the next one.

On both accounts, we concur.

Pats-Chargers and Class

Class, like many overly thrown around terms in sports, is all relative. On this January 15th, 2007, the New England Patriots are a mean, classless crew of a**holes with an even meaner and class-lacking a**hole at their helm.

To the San Diego Chargers at least.

Back in New England, however, they are the same group of warriors (with some new working parts) that continue to rewrite football history. History, it is often said, is not without a sense of irony. It is human nature to reflect on the past, identifying moments that, for better or worse, inexorably impacted the future. Irony only enters the equation when that future is finally determined, and has been accordingly altered by some seemingly unrelated prior event.

Truly ironic instances tend to be humorous. But for those with big egos and short memories, irony also tends to be a dish best served cold, when prepared by the right chef.

Since history is the impetus of irony, travel back to October 2nd, 2005. The Patriots were two-time defending Super Bowl champions, owners of the longest home winning streak in league history, and battered. Rodney Harrison had torn all the ligaments in his left knee the week before in Pittsburgh, and Tedy Bruschi was still recovering from a stroke. Monty Beisel and Chad Brown were the starting inside linebackers.

The Chargers came into Foxborough, and beat the Patriots, 41-17. But that wasn’t all. They yapped. They disrespected the Patriots’ house. They showed very little class in victory. After the game Marty Schottenheimer made comments about the Patriots’ injuries coming full circle, and pondered how long the team could continue to be a force. It wasn’t so much a sign of disrespect than it was an observation. It was an observation that the traditionally even-tempered Tom Brady took exception to in the media the next week. Brady asserted that Schottenheimer had no right to make comments about his team, and with reason.

While Schottenheimer’s comments were not overtly disrespectful, they may have been the most concrete way for an incensed-Brady to respond to a few other occurrences at the end of that game. When the contest had concluded, with the Chargers scoring the final 24 points, the San Diego players took some time to “take in” the surroundings, and most likely had a few words for the angry and pugnacious Gillette-faithful. In addition, Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was overheard saying, “That was an ass whupping!”

These are all instances of professionals not living up to their titles. Players are paid to play; coaches to coach. For the Chargers to walk onto the hallowed ground of Foxborough and knock off the champion Patriots was impressive. They earned that victory. But for a team that had only appeared in one Super Bowl (a 49-26 thumping at the hands of the 49ers) in over thirty five years of existence, to act the way they acted following that game was simply disrespectful. Disrespectful to the stadium they were competing in, to the three banners waving over them, and to the game they represent.

The Patriots have given new meaning to the concept of team as it applies to the most inherently team game in sport. They have illustrated that MVP’s and Pro Bowls mean squat when it comes to winning football games in January. And yes, from time to time, they fall. When they do, they fall to worthy adversaries. Adversaries that are usually ecstatic for having taken advantage of the opportunity to have played sixty minutes of better football than the Patriots.

After that Week 4 game last year, the Chargers didn’t respectfully bask in their accomplishment. Rather, they did their best to throw it back in the face of the Patriots, which itself became one of the few sour pieces of history embedded in the “Razor”.

Before we get to history turning into cruel irony for the Chargers, let us look at some other history, to better illustrate why San Diego will ultimately look back at that October 2nd with biting regret.

The Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers have been rivals ever since Bill Parcells was matching wits with Bill Cowher in the mid-90s. The rivalry became even more intense following the 2001 season when the Steelers were destined to meet the Rams in the Super Bowl, and Cowher made the grave mistake of overlooking the Patriots. Since that time, it seems nobody except the Steelers have had true reverence for the Patriots.

The Steelers and Pats have battled in the regular season; they’ve battled in two AFC Championships. The Patriots went into Pittsburgh in October, 2004 and had their NFL-record 21-game winning streak snapped. The Steelers, students of the past, barely acknowledged their own end of the game, opting instead to remark at the magnitude of the Patriots accomplishments. The Patriots, meanwhile, got back to business, regrouped, and marched back into the Steel City for the 2004 AFC Championship and ended the Steelers 15-game streak.

Point is, the Patriots have been respected by the Steelers, and reciprocated that respect. The tables were turned after the fateful outcome of the 2001 AFC Championship in Pittsburgh. Never again would the Steelers slight the Pats, and never again would the Patriots have that added incentive to make them eat their words.

The difference between the 2001 Steelers and the 2005/06 Chargers? History!!!!! The ’01 Steelers had no idea what they were getting into. They didn’t respect the Patriots because they had no reason to. They were the best, and the Patriots were that team kneeling in their way.

The San Diego team that came into Foxborough didn’t just disrespect a coach, a team or a fan base. They disrespected a dynasty. So with all that transpired between then and now, with the Chargers this year emerging clearly as the team to beat, I found myself chuckling after listening to everything I heard in the week leading up to this game.

Fate, it would seem, is not without a sense of irony. Another applicable phrase. From the events at Gillette last year, to Shawne Merriman going on TV last Sunday and disrespecting the Patriots, to trying to keep Pats fans out of Qualcomm, to Schottenheimer entertaining hoards of media to openly talk about his atrocious playoff record, I mean, geeez! Is it any wonder that the Chargers a) dropped passes, b) fumbled balls, and c) committed inexplicable penalties? Is it any wonder that Merriman was practically an afterthought? Or that Schottenheimer went for it on a 4th and 11 from the Patriots 30 yard line and had no general control over his players?

Who’s truly surprised that the Chargers lost this game? Was it fate? Maybe on the surface, but at its core it was just another case of a talented group of players losing to a mentally tougher, more experienced, and better coached team.

As for the whole “class” thing that LaDainian Tomlinson referenced, yep, sometimes irony is painfully blatant, especially when you don’t see it coming. But history always precipitates irony. The Chargers refused to look at the 2001 Steelers with a historical and self-evaluating perspective. They opted instead to act classless in an October matchup with New England, a giant that evidently (and within character) put its reactive mechanisms on snooze until the time was right. And as if that wasn’t enough, Merriman did that giant the service of pressing the alarm button just to make sure it woke up in time.

So while the reputable LaDainian Tomlinson wants to point to the Patriots’ lack of class in mocking Merriman’s sack-dance, maybe he should take a step back and look at that jig as an appropriate reciprocation of a winner’s bravado.

Because as we all know, fate and history are not without a sense of irony.

Pats Playoff Points and Picks

How short a memory the NFL has. Just five years ago the New England Patriots were an upstart group of pretenders. They were appearing in the AFC Championship only after the reception of an immaculate call reversal. They were heavy underdogs to a ‘vastly’ superior Steelers team. So superior the city of Pittsburgh had already minted Super Bowl tickets and head coach Bill Cowher was booking hotel reservations in New Orleans.The Patriots won that game, shocked the Rams in the Super Bowl, and became the most disrespected group of world champions in this media-deluged era of the NFL. They were written off as a one year wonder after winning just nine games and missing the playoffs following the 2002 season. They lost the first game of the 2003 season to the Buffalo Bills, 31-0, which led to the famous “They hate their coach” assessment by ESPN’s Tom Jackson. They lost two weeks later to the Washington Redskins, and not again for an entire calender year.

After that defeat against Washington the Patriots ran off the greatest stretch of football in the history of the NFL. They won 32 of 34 games, including 21 in a row. Back to back Superbowls. Second team in league history to win three out of four titles. The common thread? Disrespect. From the Steelers to the “Greatest Show on Turf”, from Jackson to Peyton Manning, the one constant throughout the streak was a systematic denial of the Pats excellence. It came in many forms, but the underlying factor was that nobody outside of New England ever believed in these guys. Vegas didn’t even come around until Super Bowl XXXIX against the Eagles.

The Patriots have always been a very observant, reactive team. They speak minimally in public. But they listen, and stew over what they hear. They’ve turned slights into poster board material, and poster board material into victories. Any hogwash they hear off the field gets cultivated into motivation on the field. Which leads me to the matchup in San Diego this weekend with the Chargers. The Bolts have been the best and most complete team in the league this year, led by the NFL MVP, LaDainian Tomlinson.

The Chargers have been the Super Bowl pick. And now that the draw is New England on Sunday, it appears that San Diego is beginning to stutter. Evidence is in the team restricting ticket sales to fans with credit card billing addresses in southern California. Translation: Patriots nation is vast, and far from sedentary. This is not only preposterous, but possibly illegal. Many Patriots fans who had the intention of making the 3,000 mile trek to San Diego were quite literally turned away because the Chargers feared losing their home field advantage.

What is lost in this ridiculousness is the fact that Qualcomm Stadium seats over 71,000 people, and not once have the Chargers filled it up this year (they averaged around 66,000 per home game). So by taking such action the team has essentially admitted that they fear the Pats fan-factor and would rather sacrifice revenue than threaten their home field advantage. Unfortunately for the Chargers, there are many New England transplants domiciled in SoCal. And they will be heard from.

If anything, the ticket-move was probably a poorly conceived acknowledgment of the Patriots-aura; a concerted effort to not make the task at hand more difficult than it already is. Certainly seems to have backfired.

While the Chargers as a team misstepped in overplaying the venue hand, Shawne Merriman certainly gaffed in the PR realm when he went live on CBS during the Pats-Jets game last week and asserted that the Jets were the better team and would probably win the game.

Merriman later attempted to cover himself by saying that his job as an analyst is different than his role as a football player. Not to the Patriots. PR is PR. A player is always representing his team. And you can be sure that the Patriots took note of this representation. Merriman is a beastly talent, but he is also young and immature. He’s been a marked man since his violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. But not through the eyes of the Patriots. Not until he made it personal.

Obviously one quote isn’t going to swing a game but I wouldn’t be surprised if the scout teamer who’s simulating Merriman this week was wearing that quote on his jersey just to remind Ben Watson, Daniel Graham and David Thomas that the guy they must block thinks very little of them.

It’s these little things that accrue over the week leading up to playoff games that always seem to happen to New England, while they stand pat, gameplan, and wait until Sundays to react. This week is no different, and as opposed to the Chargers gameplan, which is as simple as L+T, the Patriots will surprise a few people offensively come game time. Tom Brady has reached a comfort level with his receivers, mainly because they have finally learned to make the same reads as him. He’s been consistently throwing the deep out with crispness and precision, and Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell have benefited.

Because the passing game has been something of an entrepreneurial endeavor this season, the Pats have yet to open it all up. Sunday’s the time. Chad Jackson has spent countless hours rehabbing his hamstring, getting situational reps, and most importantly, learning the offense. Belichick has kept his progress under wraps, and Brady has even come close to alienating him at times. This is all a calculated effort on their behalf. Watch as Action Jackson hauls in the longest touchdown pass of the season for the Patriots this Sunday. And don’t be surprised to see him take a few handoffs. The time has come to battle speed with speed.

Another trademark aspect of the Patriots offense that they’ve gotten away from recently is the screen game. Last week Kevin Faulk took handoffs in a few situations when Eric Mangini was probably expecting a screen. This week the Patriots are going to bait the ferocious and speedy Chargers front seven with a variety of screens, utilizing Faulk and the tight ends. And if they were able to put a twist on that nifty quarterback throwback…

Screens, bombs, trick plays, the Patriots will do whatever they can to keep the Chargers defense queasy. As simplistic as the offense has been this year, it has been so merely as a conduit for a developing unit. Trust me, they’ve been practicing more than the 13 yard out and deep square in patterns. They just haven’t been ready (or willing) to introduce the craftier and more dangerous aspects of their passing game.

Until Sunday. In the words of Miami Sharks coach, Tony DaMata, the Pats offense is “goin nine nine nine”. New England will come out with superior schemes on both sides of the ball. Defensively, the Patriots front seven will remain committed to their assignments, allowing LT to hit the intended gap, thus giving him a consistent three to five yards per carry. Tomlinson is most deadly when a defensive front has blown up a hole, and he cuts back with unparalleled speed and grace. The Patriots will give him the initial yardage, gang tackle him and force the Chargers into second and sixes, putting the pressure on Schottenheimer and Phillip Rivers.

This will be a one possession affair in the fourth quarter. The interesting thing is that most who are picking the Chargers believe the Patriots will put up a fight, but ultimately fall. I’m sorry, but I’ll run with Bill Belichick over Marty Schottenheimer in a close game. Call me an opportunist. And when it comes down to that “one drive”, I’ll take Tom Brady any day of the week. Especially on Sunday.

Patriots 31 Chargers 26

Other Divisional Picks

Colts 20 Ravens 17 (Bob Sanders transforms the Indy defense into a viable unit that stymies the Ravens offense and Peyton Manning sighs at the relief of playing the underdog role for once.)

Seahawks 17 Bears 16 (Defense wins championships. Quarterbacks lose them. And when was the last time Chicago won a home playoff game?)

Saints 34 Eagles 24 (Reggie Bush can now be considered a sophomore and Drew Brees is just too good for the Eagles banged up secondary. Plus that whole Super Dome thing…)

Pats-Colts Points of Shame

Aright everybody, let’s say it together. Atrocious. Yep, that pretty much sums up the Patriots performance on Sunday night against the Colts.If anything can be taken from this utter embarrassment that doubled as a football game, it is this: once again the Patriots have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that no matter who the foe (see: Miami, Denver, and now, Indianapolis), when the Pats fall it is completely a result of their own doing. Trace it back to the beginning of the 2003 season. The fistful of games they’ve lost (thirteen to be exact) they’ve really, for lack of a better phrase, dropped the ball (or in Tom Brady’s case, repeatedly thrown it to the opposition).

Last night was one of those instances. They turned the ball over five times; committed eight penalties. They consistently gave Peyton Manning the football inside their own territory. They lost their cool at times; had no focus; no semblance of a tempo, no implementation of the game plan they had constructed and honed throughout the week. They pretty much had no chance of winning the football game.

Yet there Tom Brady was, a nifty three picks in pocket, ball in hand, driving down the field with ample time and composure to re-knot this heavyweight yuck-fest and send the game into overtime. Then Kevin Faulk decided to phone into the Pats drop-the-ball-athon, and the line went dead on Week 9 for New England.

On what should have been a seven-yard reception to the Colts 32, the usually unflappable Faulk instead botched the catch, and as if in a tip drill, redirected the ball right into the hands of Cato June. Game, set, match.

(Humiliation.)

In lieu of their usual tape session today, I suggest the entire Patriots team and coaching staff go and see the Borat movie. Not because it is going to make them laugh their tails right off and forget about this pitiful performance. No, rather because it will show them that (alas!) it is in fact possible for a bigger egg to be laid than the one they produced last night. (If you’re scratching your head right now you should join Belichick and Brady at the Dedham Mall cinema.)

But seriously, there’s one question that burns in my dome after this game: just how good are the Colts? Consider this: Peyton Manning threw for over 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Marvin Harrison was Marvin Harrison. The Colts defense a) kept the Patriots offense off the field and b) had its second best player, Bob Sanders, play for the first time since week two. Sanders finished with 11 tackles and was in on every run play at the line of scrimmage.

Hmmm, seems to me like the Colts did implement their game plan; did have some semblance of focus and tempo. They were, more or less, the Colts. So why did they have to wait for Kevin Faulk to formally stamp their second consecutive 8-0 start?

Here’s why: THEY’RE NOT THAT EFFING GOOD!!!!!!!!

Bill Belichick is a man of schemes. And while he’ll never articulate such, he knows in the grand scheme all this game determined was venue of the AFC Championship. Nothing more. Granted, it would be nice to have the number one seed in the AFC, especially in light of the way our beloved most-clutch-kicker-ever performed in his return home (the one true negative in the Colts performance).

But playoff seeding aside, this game won’t have any lasting impact. The Patriots are still going to be playing football next Sunday when the Jets come to town. To be honest, I feel like this meltdown was actually well timed. The Patriots, fresh off a statement-game on Monday night in Minnesota, might have had a little too much swagger, least for this point in the season.

New England isn’t used to early season dominance as they’ve only once before started a campaign 6-1 (2004). The Patriots are a team that gets better as the season progresses; through adjustments, hard work, and intellect the Pats prepare schemes week by week to topple opponents. And in that undisclosed grand scheme, they prepare for what they know will be a 19 game season.

The Colts, on the other hand, are quite accustomed to winning in large helpings before Thanksgiving. Peyton Manning has not lost a game before Turkey Day since October 31, 2003. But then again, he’s also never won his last game. Brady has won his last game three times in the past five years.

Congrats Peyton, you devoured a very subpar Patriots-entree. Hope you’re ready for the main course come January.

Foreword and Patriots

It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have decided to get back to doing what I love: writing about sports. Even if tragedy makes the concept of sport itself seem trivial and insignificant, I believe that the emotional highs and lows that go hand in hand with being invested in a team are a type of conditioning for the mind and body. Whether you find yourself celebrating a championship for a beloved team, or suffering heartbreak at the hands of an adversary, sport helps to give benign perspective to raw emotion.But, inherent to the idea of sport is the understanding that both the ecstasy of victory and the sorrow of defeat are merely precursors to the trials of life itself. So what’s my antidote? I say maintain that vested emotional interest in sport; allow the emotions, when appropriate, to be real, and unimpeded. Allow those tears of joy or disappointment to flow. Because that visceral emotion ultimately helps bring about the realization that at the end of the day, sport is not about life and death. Only life is.

Fortunately, this weekend features the premier game of the NFL season between the Patriots and Colts. This matchup has come to represent football’s greatest rivalry because it is the NFL’s most appealing dichotomy. Both teams are wildly alluring and successful–in very different ways.

The Colts are celebrity in nature, and gaudy in performance. Peyton Manning is the reason. He is the torchbearer of today’s NFL: consummate talent, ridiculously wealthy, and blatantly in the public eye. He carves up defenses for Sunday brunch, throws on a mustache and films a commercial Monday morning, and is back in time to begin meticulously reviewing tape for his next victim. He represents the new age marketing system of the NFL (and pro sports for that matter), a system that relies on an ongoing interpersonal dialogue between the athlete and the fan.

Peyton Manning is more than just a quarterback. He’s a tourist of the ESPN studio who jaws with his brother. He’s a freaking cable repair guy. He’s an icon. No matter where you’re situated as a viewer or person, long as you have one foot in this quarry that has become the media, Peyton Manning will find a way to reach you. His shtick, coupled with his ability to make such an intricate game seem easy, is what puts him on the verge of superhero status.

However, the reason we’re discussing a dichotomy and not a juggernaut is the Patriots. Across the sidelines from the extravagant Colts stand the esoteric Patriots. New England has become the “model franchise in the league” over the last five years. Thing is, that phrase is nothing more than another faux cliche. In this day of further integrating the media into the on-field action, integrating the fans into daily NFL life, and generally glamorizing the entire business, the Patriots surely are not the model franchise.

They keep to themselves. They handle all but a shred of their business behind closed doors. Their players only do television endorsements as a team. Their injury reports are suspect. Their coach is glum. Their quarterback is crafty and adept, not flashy. But because the Kraft family, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady have contributed to win three of the last five Super Bowls, they must be, in theory, the “model NFL franchise”.

Trust me, if Brady wasn’t so photogenic, the only time you’d see any of the Pats in the public eye would be during their duck-boat motorcade down Boylston Street after winning it all. Fact is, the Patriots are only the NFL bar-setters in terms of economics and personnel management. Everything else about this team screams contra-status quo. But they win, thus the powers that govern football deem it necessary to label them the “model”, when in reality, it is the team with the glamor, and not the glory, which is the league’s true model.

Either way, at least once a year, we all get to witness firsthand the NFL’s greatest dichotomy, which also happens to be its greatest rivalry. Also includes a couple of teams who suffer from being tagged with cases of mistaken identity. Deciding which “model” fits which franchise is a matter of semantics. What’s determined is this: come Sunday night you will again get to see the iconic Peyton Manning competing against the stoic Tom Brady, so relish it. And know there is more to come…