Perfect Season

The Patriots did it, and they did it well.

Beating the NY Giants last night gave them a 16-0 perfect season, a record that, for me, speaks louder than any individual mark. Football games are the hardest to win, and doing it 16 times in a row is a stunning feat.

Some have accused the Patriots and coach Belichick of cheating. Spygate was the story early in the season, and Don Shula said that an asterisk should be put beside the Patriots' name in the record books. This was sour grapes, pure and simple. Shula was the coach of the 1972 14-0 Dolphins, and he could not have wanted his record to fall.

I always found it a bit pathetic, watching the ex-Dolphins show up at games in the hopes that a perfect team would fail. The Dolphins were there against the Bears and the Colts, praying for their old team to win the day. I found it pathetic because of the word "old." That's what the ex-players were, and watching them strut the sidelines with bad knees was a strange sight.

No one can accuse the Giants of lying down for the Patriots. They played their guts out, and fans were treated to one of the better games of the entire season. The game wasn't a walk for the Patriots, and they deserve their spot in football history.

Most of the Patriots crew were humble. Belichick admitted to feeling great, but it was time to move on to the playoffs. WR Randy Moss had a different view: in a post-game news conference, he told the press that it was just nice to shut them up. Not politically correct but, if you know my views on sportscasters, then you know I won't hold a grudge against Moss for sticking it to them.

I'm not a Patriots fan, but even I can see the very grudging respect that the team has received over the past few years. Brady will never be Montana in the public's eye, and the Patriots will never be the 49ers, Bears, or Dolphins. Yet all they do is win.

I'm sure Belichick is fine with that. I would be, too. Now it is on to the playoffs, where the pressure will be back on the Patriots, and big time. The sycophants will be braying for their blood, wanting the team to fail so that they can be accused of choking in the final hour.

I'm neither here nor there on whether the team wins. If they cap a perfect season with a Super Bowl, fine by me. If they lose, it makes for an interesting story. Shula's team will retain the "perfect" moniker because his team ran the table on the regular season and went on to win the Super Bowl.

Whatever happens, it has been one of the more watchable and enjoyable seasons in a decade, not in spite of the Patriots, but because of them.

Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty
Bill Kostroun/AP