During the three-game winning streak that has vaulted them
two games clear of their nearest competition in the AFC East, the New England
Patriots (6-2) have displayed an old, familiar look.
Quarterback Tom Brady has placed additional distance between himself and the
serious knee injury he suffered last September, completing a blistering 74.8
percent (77-of-103) of his passes for 1,020 yards, 10 touchdowns, and just
three interceptions over his past three games,
Top wideouts Randy Moss and Wes Welker have been Brady's enablers and
beneficiaries, much like in '07, with Moss going over 100 yards twice and
scoring four touchdowns during the three-game stretch, and Welker catching an
eye-popping 29 balls over that span.
Meanwhile, a defense that is always going to live in the shadow of Brady and
the offense has added immense value, forcing eight turnovers and allowing a
total of 24 points in wins over the Titans (59-0), Buccaneers (35-7), and
Dolphins (27-17).
But is Bill Belichick's team a legitimate Super Bowl contender, one ready to
ease the lingering sting of that Super Bowl loss to the Giants in February of
2008?
We'll get back to you around December 1st.
Between now and then, New England will play three massively telling contests,
beginning with one against the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts on the road this
week. After traveling to Indy, the Pats will host a New York Jets team that
dealt them a much-publicized 16-9 loss back in Week 2. Then, it's on to New
Orleans to face a rocking, rolling Saints club that is likely to be 10-0
heading into that Monday night contest (the Saints face the 1-7 Rams and
Buccaneers the next two weeks).
Far be it from Belichick or any of his charges, however, to talk in terms of a
three-game stretch. As the NFL's trend-setters in the field of pretending no
future exists beyond this week's game, the Patriots will talk only about
Indianapolis. And perhaps rightly so, since the Colts have owned New England of
late.
The Patriots are just 1-4 against Indianapolis since beating Peyton Manning and
Co. in the 2004 playoffs, including an 18-15 loss for the Matt Cassel-led Pats
last season. The last three games in the not-so-friendly series have been
immensely close affairs, including a 24-20 New England win in a mid-season
battle of unbeatens in '07, and the 38-34 thriller won by the Colts in the 2006
AFC Championship.
For his part, Brady acknowledged the difficulty of beating Indianapolis.
"I think the one thing about that game is you've got to play a great
game to win," said Brady just after this past Sunday's Miami victory. "You
can't go out there and play your 'B' game, because you won't beat those guys.
They're good. They can rush the passer. They cover. Obviously, they can score a
lot of points. They run it, they throw it, they have very good special teams,
so we've got to match them."
"I think, right now, the most important thing is what it means to our
football team," said Belichick of the matchup. "We're 6-2 and it's a big game
for us on the road. We know it's an outstanding team. They are undefeated this
year, they've won 18, 19 in a row - however many it's been. They're pretty
good. It's a big challenge for us."
BILLS: As they come off a bye that was preceded by a dispiriting home loss to
the Houston Texans, the main storyline coming out of Buffalo Bills camp
revolves around the quarterback position.
Of course, the discussion has less to do with Dick Jauron's decision to start
either Trent Edwards or Ryan Fitzpatrick, and more with a quarterback that is
not currently on the Buffalo roster: Michael Vick.
During his weekly appearance on NBC's Football Night in America this past
Sunday, former Colts head coach and Vick confidante Tony Dungy discussed the
prospects for the QB's employment beyond this season. The former Pro Bowl
quarterback, who spent two years out of football while serving a federal prison
sentence as a result of a dogfighting operation, has played sparingly as a
"Wildcat" quarterback with the Philadelphia Eagles this season.
Vick has a one-year option with the Eagles for next season, but the team is
highly unlikely to exercise that option.
"I told Michael to just worry about this year," said Dungy. "It's technically
up to Philadelphia. If they want him back, he has to stay there. If they don't,
there are some teams looking for quarterbacks: Cleveland, St. Louis and
Washington.
"But I think a dark horse is Buffalo. They talked originally. There was some
communication there. I think that could be a good spot."
Given the struggles of an attack that ranks 28th in points and 29th in yards
with Edwards and Fitzpatrick in command, the athletic Vick could be called upon
to provide a spark for the Buffalo offense.
However, that move would be highly contingent on who the next coach is,
provided Jauron is fired at or before the end of the season, as expected. As
evidenced by the "coach killer" comments that surfaced in regard to Vick during
the end of his run in Atlanta, it would seem a long shot that a new coach would
want to his tie his fate to that of Vick.
DOLPHINS: What may have been perceived as a Waterloo of sorts for the Miami
Dolphins went about as well for Tony Sparano's team as it did for Napoleon's
forces in that famous 1815 battle.
Instead of heading into the second half at 4-4 with a win over the New England
Patriots, a victory that would have left them with a 4-0 division record and
just a game out of the AFC East lead, the Dolphins dropped to 3-5, and into a
tie for last place, with their 27-17 loss in New England.
With an inexperienced quarterback at the helm of an offensive attack that is
highly efficient but hardly explosive, and an emerging but far-from-perfect
defense that includes two rookie cornerbacks, the notion of Miami climbing from
3-5 into the playoff battle might seem a little far-fetched.
Then again, there is some positive momentum to be achieved in the wake of the
loss at New England.
The Dolphins' next three games - against the Buccaneers (1-7), Panthers (3-5),
and Bills (3-5) - all look winnable. Should Sparano and company take care of
business and get to 6-5, they just might head into a Dec. 6 home meeting with
the Patriots in a position to do some damage.
Entering that game, New England will be coming off a difficult stretch
including road tilts against the currently-unbeaten Colts and Saints and a home
tilt against a Jets team that handled the Patriots back in September.
So even at 3-5, hope springs eternal in south Florida, a message that Sparano
will attempt to impart to his team as it prepares to host Tampa Bay this week,
before heading to Carolina for a Thursday night showdown.
"My message is that we have two games right now in ten days, and I think that
can change an awful lot," said Sparano on Monday. "What we can worry about and
control is what we control, I really could care less about any of that other
stuff right now. My concentration is on [that] we have one football game at
home this weekend, but we do play two games in ten days, so there's a body of
work that has to go into that right now and I just want them to understand,
watch the tape, and know that we are pretty close to being a good team.
"I think you are what your record says you are, but from my end, I know in my
heart that we are pretty close to be being a pretty good team. I don't know
what 'pretty good' means, I really don't. We have played some teams that are
supposed to be 'really good'. I don't know what is 'pretty good' and what is
'really good' and what the difference is. But I do think we are pretty close."
JETS: Four losses in five games have not dampened the enthusiasm of the ever-
optimistic Rex Ryan, who returned to work following the Jets' Week 9 bye doing
his typical routine of accentuating the positive.
"Our guys are ready," said Ryan. "Everybody wanted to get back here, I know I
did. I couldn't wait to get back to work. It seemed to me like our players, our
coaches felt the same way."
Despite the recent stretch of 1-4 football, Gang Green (4-4) sits just a game
out of the final wild card spot in the AFC, and will have a good chance to get
back above .500 when Jacksonville visits the Meadowlands on Sunday. The Jags
are 4-4, but their last two wins were three-point nail-biters over the one-win
Rams and Chiefs, which sandwiched a 30-13 loss to the then-winless Tennessee
Titans.
Beat the Jags, and the Jets will have some positive momentum heading into their
second matchup of the year with New England. The Jets posted a memorable 16-9
win over the Pats in Week 2, and will be trying to win in Gillette Stadium for
a second straight season.
Next will come three teams with losing marks at the moment - the Panthers
(3-5), Bills (3-5), and Buccaneers (1-7), so the notion of New York gathering a
head of steam heading into the season's home stretch is certainly within the
realm of possibility.
"We're capable of beating any team in this league and I believe that," Ryan
said. "I've said it before, if we don't play our game and we keep making
mistakes, we can get beat by anyone as well. That's the challenge to us. I
really think if we can improve little steps - I don't think we need to improve
a great deal - but just make improvements in all areas and we'll be just fine.
"We have a heck of a lot that we can accomplish. Nobody said it was going to be
easy. Our goals are still intact and we've just got to go for it. We open with
Jacksonville and they're the ninth-rated offense in the league. They can run
the football. They've got Maurice Jones-Drew, a little bowling ball. We're
going to be challenged. I'm excited because we're going to be a huge challenge
for anyone we play, including Jacksonville."
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