Patriots the greatest, even if they still won't admit it

"We aren't going to be the ones to decide that," guard Joe Andruzzi. "But we know what we've done is special."

The Dallas team that won three of four was built before free agency turned the NFL into a game of jumping players, putting an even bigger premium on coaching.

New England's coach can now be considered almost Invinci-Bill.

Bill Belichick has now cemented himself as the game's best coach, his team winning 34 games and losing just four the past two years. By beating the Eagles, Belichick moved past Vince Lombardi as having the best postseason record in NFL history, improving to 10-1 (.909) ahead of Lombardi (9-1).

But he wouldn't dare cross the dynasty line.

"I'll leave the comparisons and the historical perspectives to everybody else," Belichick said.

Sometime early Monday morning, when the coach's head hits his pillow, he will acknowledge the greatness of his team on his own. Of course, it will be done in his mind, never to be shared.

Tom Brady is now 3-0 in Super Bowls, has two MVPs in those games, and is 9-0 in the postseason, the best winning percentage of any quarterback.

After a jittery start against the Eagles -- including a lost fumble on a botched play-action fake -- Brady settled into another masterful performance, completing 23 of 33 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating was an impressive 110.2

Brady failed to win the MVP for the third time in three tries because one of the guys catching his passes, Deion Branch, did. Branch caught 11 passes for 133 yards. Brady seemed to find Branch every time he needed a key completion.

Much like their past two Super Bowl victories, this one wasn't easy. The Patriots trailed 7-0, then scrambled to tie it at 7-all at the half before taking a 14-7 lead in the third quarter. The Eagles tied it at 14-14 before New England scored 10 points to take a 24-14 lead late.

Philadelphia had a late score to make it 24-21, but when the Patriots recovered the onside kick, the dynasty talk began for real. No more speculating like we had all week. The "D" word won't ever go away now.

But you can bet the Patriots will forget any mention of it by the time they report for offseason work in March. Remember, this is a team to a man that doesn't allow itself to look back.

Last summer as they readied to repeat, Belichick put up posters on the walls reminding his players not to "believe the hype."

He need not worry.

You can't get them to even acknowledge their own greatness on the night they achieve it. Then again, that's why they are so great. Team is what this success is all about.

Someday we'll all look back and tell our kids and grandkids all about what we saw, how a team void of many stars turned the league's equality formula upside down.

As NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue stood on the podium to give out the Lombardi Trophy, he praised the Patriots and offered these words of advice.

"Keep it up," Tagliabue said.

Don't worry. That shouldn't be a problem -- not for this dynasty.