Insider: Five who could overtake Patriots
Insider | Notebook
No team has ever won three consecutive Super Bowls.
Las Vegas says the New England Patriots will be the first.
The Patriots, fresh off their second Super Bowl victory in two years and third in four, are the favorites to win it again in 2005 -- and why would you question that?
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A broken leg and a late playoff push slowed J.P. Losman's development in 2004. (Getty Images) |
Aside from losing two coordinators, two very important coordinators, the Patriots will have essentially the same team back next season that just won it. The one concern might be that age is starting to become a factor for players like Ted Johnson, Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest and Rodney Harrison, but even that's akin to looking for a pimple on a beauty queen.
The Patriots are the class of the league right now.
That doesn't mean we can just pencil them in as the AFC rep for Super Bowl XL in Detroit, or fit them for rings again after that game.
The rest of the league's 31 teams will be doing all they can to find ways to unseat the two-time champions, and, of course, there's always the injury factor.
But it won't be easy.
To help figure out the team that could challenge the Patriots in 2005, we have decided to take a look at five, some playoff teams from this past year, some not. It would have been easy to simply list the top teams, such as the Steelers and the Eagles. They'll be in the thick of it again.
But we went elsewhere to look at five teams that have a chance to get to the Super Bowl if they make a few minor improvements.
The next six months will go a long way in determining how real a chance these teams have. The addition of a free agent or two, plus a good draft, could be the difference for all of them.
We know the Patriots will make a strong push for three in a row.
