From glitz to grind; Pats do big and small perfectly
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- They have glamour and bikini models and VIP sections and will likely soon add undefeated to their list of accolades and records. Yet one of the many things that make the New England Patriots so formidable is the way they take care of the unglamorous, small details.
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| While Randy Moss gets a lot of the press, he knows that guys like Matt Light are a big reason. (AP) |
Tom Brady immediately spotted him. Nothing says "ding, ding, ding" to a pass thrower like a limping corner. The Patriots, on the very next play, went directly after Goodman. Brady threw for a nice completion to Donté Stallworth. The small things.
Not long after that, the Miami Parcells found themselves with 10 men on defense -- this is what happens when a team has won a single damn game. Again, the Patriots noticed. They hurried to the line of scrimmage forcing the Parcells to utilize a timeout.
It is, of course, easier to dominate when a team has Brady and Randy Moss. It is even easier when you play a team as broken and blithering as Miami whose players afterwards unbelievably stated they were doomed by only a few big plays. That's like saying the moon has been hit by only a few big asteroids.
The way New England coaches, blocks, calls plays, tackles -- everything and anything associated with what it takes to be successful in football -- you just get the feeling no team has been as close to perfection as these Patriots.
Even the great Don Shula-coached Dolphins must feel like they should crack the champagne as a way of saluting these Patriots, not toasting to a demise that will never come.
"You'd like to think it won't happen," said Miami's Will Allen when asked if he thought the Patriots would go undefeated. "But they went this far ..."
"I just want to win a ballgame," said New England's Rodney Harrison when asked about the possibility of going 16-0. "The media has made a big fuss about it but it's business as usual for us."
Yeah, 16-0 is a media created storm, Rodney.
It's all on us. We're such turds.
The Patriots are one game away from 16 wins. The question is: Will Bill Belichick mostly rest his players next week against the New York Giants or not?
Several team sources said they don't believe Belichick if he says he is unsure of how he will handle the game. He has been studying different scenarios for weeks and it is Belichick's studious nature that makes him the best coach in history. (Can't you see Belichick in a darkened room combing over flow charts and rosters like Colin Powell going over war plans before Desert Storm?) These sources also claim Belichick -- at least for now and this could change -- has plans to play his starters somewhat extensively.
