As captivating as the New England Patriots' 18-0 run to next Sunday's Super Bowl has been for fans, the observers who are most astounded by what the Patriots have done are those who have played and coached in the NFL, where the accepted wisdom in recent years had come to be that crafting an unbeaten season today, in a time of free agency and a salary cap, was virtually impossible.
“I never thought it would happen,” Dan Reeves, the former coach of the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, said last week.
“Never, never, never. It's unbelievable what they've accomplished. You have to be very, very good and have a lot of good fortune. But they've played through adversity. They've had injuries. They've had games where they've had to come from behind. They've just found a whole bunch of ways to win. It really is amazing to me.”
The Patriots will arrive in the Phoenix area for Super Bowl week with far more than a prospective fourth Super Bowl title in a seven-year span on the line.
History is at stake. If the Patriots win, a case could be made that Tom Brady has had the best season ever by a quarterback, and that he already has done enough at 30 to be remembered as the greatest quarterback ever.
An argument could be made that Bill Belichick is the most accomplished coach in history. And the Patriots, if they go 19-0, would have made a convincing case that they are the best team ever seen on a football field.
Reeves said that, in his mind, there would be “no question” that these Patriots would be remembered as the greatest team in history with one more victory.
“It's so much more difficult now,” Reeves said. “The league is not set up for great teams to stay together. You're talking about the best team, not just the best offense or the best defense or the best special teams. They've won games so many different ways.
“They've got a great organization. They never took any team that they played for granted. They never beat themselves, which is amazing. You hear people talk about approaching it one game at a time. Well, they actually do it. Bill makes sure of that. They're so well prepared. They adjust well. If you put good talent and good coaching together, you end up with a great football team.”
Former Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil agreed.
“I believe it is the best team,” Vermeil said in a telephone interview last week.
“It's a performance-based league and they've won all their games, more than anyone has ever won. If you look at their offensive numbers, they're better than anyone else's, and they've done it in a more sophisticated league. If you take the old Pittsburgh Steelers championship teams and put them in today's NFL, they would still be capable of doing what they did. But some of the winning teams prior to that couldn't. It's just a more sophisticated game today. As a coach, you get more time with your players. I like to say that the 1976 Cadillac was a beautiful, wonderful car. But compared to the 2006 Cadillac, it can't compete.”
Perhaps the biggest story of Super Bowl week will be Brady's injured right ankle. He created a stir when he was photographed in Manhattan last week wearing a protective boot on his right foot as he walked near the apartment of his girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen.
But photos surfaced later of Brady out on the town that night minus the protective boot, and he told a Boston radio station that his injury was no big deal and there was no doubt he would be ready to play in the Super Bowl.
It won't be Brady's first experience in dealing with an injury during Super Bowl week. A sprained ankle also created questions about his status leading up to his first Super Bowl.
Brady probably is the Patriots' one indispensable player; their backup quarterback is the untested Matt Cassel. But the Patriots certainly are no strangers to dealing with injuries and other disruptions, even this season.
They began the season with perhaps their best defensive player, lineman Richard Seymour, hurt and safety Rodney Harrison suspended for four games after admitting to NFL officials that he'd used a performance-enhancing drug, reportedly human growth hormone.
The opening game of the season yielded the Spygate scandal that drew penalties against Belichick and the franchise imposed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and sparked a debate about whether the team's accomplishments were tarnished.
There were midseason accusations of unnecessarily running up the score and embarrassing opponents.
The playoffs brought the disappearance of wide receiver Randy Moss, who had two catches in two games and spent time defending himself publicly against a battery allegation by a Florida woman, and now Brady's injury.
Through it all, the Patriots lived and breathed the cliches that everyone in football mutters but doesn't always practice. Belichick ensured that.
He kept his players from feeling too self-satisfied during highly critical video reviews on the days after games.
Belichick could be so scathing during those sessions that the players took to wearing shirts with the slogan “humble pie” on them because that, they said, is what they were fed by Belichick every Monday, in huge slices.
Belichick navigated the pitfalls of the unbeaten season-in-the-making just as flawlessly as he, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and front-office chief Scott Pioli have maneuvered their way around the salary cap and free agent gains and losses over the years.
When the Patriots were labeled cheaters by some observers for using videotaping equipment to steal the play signals of the New York Jets' coaches in the season opener, Belichick no-commented his way through the scandal and his players closed ranks around him.
When he was accused of running up scores in unsportsmanlike fashion, Belichick shrugged and said he and his team were just playing.
When some observers wondered whether Belichick was risking the well-being of Brady and other front-line players by leaving them on the field in lopsided games and late-season contests with no bearing on the playoff seedings, Belichick dismissed the suggestion and kept his foot on the accelerator.
There would be no letting up, ever.
Thanks to their unyielding coach, the Patriots embodied a one-game-at-a-time approach and never were consumed by the attention they received for chasing history and the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went 17-0 and are the league's only undefeated team.
“If I felt any pressure this year,” veteran linebacker Tedy Bruschi said after last Sunday's triumph over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC title game, “it was before the Giants game (in the regular season finale) when we realized it's possible to be achieved, that we could achieve the undefeated regular season. I think you could see it on our faces a little bit before the game, how we knew that this was a huge game and there was history on the line, so you recognize that and acknowledge that. But once the postseason comes around, we've been in the postseason so many times. It's about winning the next game, surviving the next play. ... So that's really our focus now.”
The Patriots rolled through the AFC playoffs, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chargers at home with relatively little difficulty.
During the regular season, they were pushed to the limit in four games, needing fourth-quarter comebacks against the Indianapolis Colts, Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and the Giants in a regular season finale that was carried on three TV networks.
Giants Coach Tom Coughlin, to the surprise of many, matched his best players against Belichick's best players even with nothing to be gained in postseason positioning.
The result was a stirring game won by the Patriots, 38-35.
Now there's one more game to be played for history.
Reeves said he lists Belichick alongside Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Don Shula and a few others as the greatest coaches ever and ranks Brady at or near the top among quarterbacks.
“Without question, Bill Belichick is in my top five,” Reeves said.
“It would be hard for me to say number one, but he's in my top five. Look at Chuck Noll. He won four Super Bowls with the Steelers and I don't think a lot of people give him credit for being one of the greatest coaches ever. But he's in my top five, too. I put Coach Lombardi up there, Coach Landry, Coach Shula, Noll, Bill Walsh, Bill Belichick. They all get number ones. They're one, one, one, one, one. It's the same way with quarterbacks. You can put Brady up there with Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, (John) Elway, (Joe) Montana, (Troy) Aikman and some others. Peyton Manning, too. You can put ones by all of 'em. Brady is so young. He's still got a lot of winning left in him.”
“Never, never, never. It's unbelievable what they've accomplished. You have to be very, very good and have a lot of good fortune. But they've played through adversity. They've had injuries. They've had games where they've had to come from behind. They've just found a whole bunch of ways to win. It really is amazing to me.”
The Patriots will arrive in the Phoenix area for Super Bowl week with far more than a prospective fourth Super Bowl title in a seven-year span on the line.
History is at stake. If the Patriots win, a case could be made that Tom Brady has had the best season ever by a quarterback, and that he already has done enough at 30 to be remembered as the greatest quarterback ever.
An argument could be made that Bill Belichick is the most accomplished coach in history. And the Patriots, if they go 19-0, would have made a convincing case that they are the best team ever seen on a football field.
Reeves said that, in his mind, there would be “no question” that these Patriots would be remembered as the greatest team in history with one more victory.
“It's so much more difficult now,” Reeves said. “The league is not set up for great teams to stay together. You're talking about the best team, not just the best offense or the best defense or the best special teams. They've won games so many different ways.
“They've got a great organization. They never took any team that they played for granted. They never beat themselves, which is amazing. You hear people talk about approaching it one game at a time. Well, they actually do it. Bill makes sure of that. They're so well prepared. They adjust well. If you put good talent and good coaching together, you end up with a great football team.”
Former Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil agreed.
“I believe it is the best team,” Vermeil said in a telephone interview last week.
“It's a performance-based league and they've won all their games, more than anyone has ever won. If you look at their offensive numbers, they're better than anyone else's, and they've done it in a more sophisticated league. If you take the old Pittsburgh Steelers championship teams and put them in today's NFL, they would still be capable of doing what they did. But some of the winning teams prior to that couldn't. It's just a more sophisticated game today. As a coach, you get more time with your players. I like to say that the 1976 Cadillac was a beautiful, wonderful car. But compared to the 2006 Cadillac, it can't compete.”
Perhaps the biggest story of Super Bowl week will be Brady's injured right ankle. He created a stir when he was photographed in Manhattan last week wearing a protective boot on his right foot as he walked near the apartment of his girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen.
But photos surfaced later of Brady out on the town that night minus the protective boot, and he told a Boston radio station that his injury was no big deal and there was no doubt he would be ready to play in the Super Bowl.
It won't be Brady's first experience in dealing with an injury during Super Bowl week. A sprained ankle also created questions about his status leading up to his first Super Bowl.
Brady probably is the Patriots' one indispensable player; their backup quarterback is the untested Matt Cassel. But the Patriots certainly are no strangers to dealing with injuries and other disruptions, even this season.
They began the season with perhaps their best defensive player, lineman Richard Seymour, hurt and safety Rodney Harrison suspended for four games after admitting to NFL officials that he'd used a performance-enhancing drug, reportedly human growth hormone.
The opening game of the season yielded the Spygate scandal that drew penalties against Belichick and the franchise imposed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and sparked a debate about whether the team's accomplishments were tarnished.
There were midseason accusations of unnecessarily running up the score and embarrassing opponents.
The playoffs brought the disappearance of wide receiver Randy Moss, who had two catches in two games and spent time defending himself publicly against a battery allegation by a Florida woman, and now Brady's injury.
Through it all, the Patriots lived and breathed the cliches that everyone in football mutters but doesn't always practice. Belichick ensured that.
He kept his players from feeling too self-satisfied during highly critical video reviews on the days after games.
Belichick could be so scathing during those sessions that the players took to wearing shirts with the slogan “humble pie” on them because that, they said, is what they were fed by Belichick every Monday, in huge slices.
Belichick navigated the pitfalls of the unbeaten season-in-the-making just as flawlessly as he, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and front-office chief Scott Pioli have maneuvered their way around the salary cap and free agent gains and losses over the years.
When the Patriots were labeled cheaters by some observers for using videotaping equipment to steal the play signals of the New York Jets' coaches in the season opener, Belichick no-commented his way through the scandal and his players closed ranks around him.
When he was accused of running up scores in unsportsmanlike fashion, Belichick shrugged and said he and his team were just playing.
When some observers wondered whether Belichick was risking the well-being of Brady and other front-line players by leaving them on the field in lopsided games and late-season contests with no bearing on the playoff seedings, Belichick dismissed the suggestion and kept his foot on the accelerator.
There would be no letting up, ever.
Thanks to their unyielding coach, the Patriots embodied a one-game-at-a-time approach and never were consumed by the attention they received for chasing history and the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went 17-0 and are the league's only undefeated team.
“If I felt any pressure this year,” veteran linebacker Tedy Bruschi said after last Sunday's triumph over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC title game, “it was before the Giants game (in the regular season finale) when we realized it's possible to be achieved, that we could achieve the undefeated regular season. I think you could see it on our faces a little bit before the game, how we knew that this was a huge game and there was history on the line, so you recognize that and acknowledge that. But once the postseason comes around, we've been in the postseason so many times. It's about winning the next game, surviving the next play. ... So that's really our focus now.”
The Patriots rolled through the AFC playoffs, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chargers at home with relatively little difficulty.
During the regular season, they were pushed to the limit in four games, needing fourth-quarter comebacks against the Indianapolis Colts, Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and the Giants in a regular season finale that was carried on three TV networks.
Giants Coach Tom Coughlin, to the surprise of many, matched his best players against Belichick's best players even with nothing to be gained in postseason positioning.
The result was a stirring game won by the Patriots, 38-35.
Now there's one more game to be played for history.
Reeves said he lists Belichick alongside Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Don Shula and a few others as the greatest coaches ever and ranks Brady at or near the top among quarterbacks.
“Without question, Bill Belichick is in my top five,” Reeves said.
“It would be hard for me to say number one, but he's in my top five. Look at Chuck Noll. He won four Super Bowls with the Steelers and I don't think a lot of people give him credit for being one of the greatest coaches ever. But he's in my top five, too. I put Coach Lombardi up there, Coach Landry, Coach Shula, Noll, Bill Walsh, Bill Belichick. They all get number ones. They're one, one, one, one, one. It's the same way with quarterbacks. You can put Brady up there with Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, (John) Elway, (Joe) Montana, (Troy) Aikman and some others. Peyton Manning, too. You can put ones by all of 'em. Brady is so young. He's still got a lot of winning left in him.”
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