It doesn't seem possible that the New England Patriots could win a third consecutive Super Bowl. After all it has never been done before and the way the team has played this year it would seem that they have suffered in a way that a typical high performing NFL team does after an extended stay at the top. Football is a brutal physical game that eventually wears down even the most superbly conditioned athletes.
If you are the reigning champion in the NFL, the regular season is one of more intense competition game after game because football is a game of dominance and the team that can beat the champs is on its way to making a name for itself.
At the beginning of the season it appeared as though this heavy load had begun to decimate the champs by attrition. Player after player was knocked out by injury to the point where 45 different people had been starters at one position or another. Rodney Harrison, Matt Light, Dan Koppen, Randall Gay, and Tyrone Poole have all been lost for the season. Many other starters were lost for varying amounts of games.
It was against this backdrop that the team began the season at 4 and 4 and some thought that the dynasty might be in a bit of trouble. The fan base began to breathe a little easier as a play off spot became more of a possibility in the weak division the Patriots live in. That glimmer of hope turned into a little bit of enthusiasm as the Belichik boys finished December in typical Belichik fashion. They finished winning six of the last eight and would have been 7 of 8 if the last game of the season had not been a meaningless exhibition game played by second and third string players against the Miami first team.
Some would argue that it wasn't meaningless because the loss allowed the Patriot' s to open up against Jacksonville instead of Pittsburgh. I have to put some stock in this because if Belichik thought the game did have meaning he would have won it.
The road to the Super Bowl is still heavily defended but at this point the Patriots have sent a very strong message that they should not be overlooked in the mix. Last night's performance against Jacksonville should leave no doubt that the season ending resurgence of the defense and the now fully healed offense should not be taken lightly.
Jacksonville came in 12 and 4 and had some attributes that could sorely test the Pats. They are a big and very physical team with a bruising ground game. Unfortunately for the Jaguars they simply were not physical enough against the Patriots.
Belichik is a master strategist from play to play but his over all plan is generally the same. Take away the thing the opponent expects to beat you with and then make them one dimensional in the phase of the game they are not as good in. For the Jaguars that meant that the running game was completely shut down and if they were going to win they would have to do it on the arm of Byron Leftwich. Byron finished 18 for 31 with one interception and no touch downs. Most of the evening he had Willie McGinest draped over him as McGinest broke the career playoff sack record held by Bruce Smith and Reggie White. Willie ended with 4 1/2 sacks for a career total of 16, however it should be noted that Richard Seymour had a lot to do with the success of the defense.
After missing a number of games this season with a knee injury, Seymour appears to be rounding into shape. Seymour's numbers in the stat sheet look very modest with one tackle one assist, a half a sack and a fumble recovery however these numbers don't reflect the impact that he had on the game. Playing from any number of different positions on the defensive line, Seymour had to be accounted for on every play by two Jaguars. Seymour is plain and simple a certified stud. His speed and power was on display every single play.
The first half of the game finished at 7 to 3 and looked every bit that close. The Jaguars defensive tackles were stalwart and were after Brady with consistency hurrying the passing game and for the most part shutting down the run.
All of that changed on the Patriots first possession of the third quarter as they took the ball at the 13:55 mark and consumed 6:42 as they drove 81 yards in 12 plays, culminating in a three yard beautifully executed play action pass to David Givens. Many games can turn on a key play and for the Patriots this drive would have been stalled were it not for Andre Davis recovering a Ben Watson fumble on the Jaguars three yard line. Davis aquitted himself in one carry as well as some nice special teams work. He could be a factor later on in the season.
Later Watson would redeem himself by taking a routine 10 yard reception and banging his way through three tacklers to a scintillating 63 run into the end zone. Assante Samuel put an exclamation point on the defense's night with an interception of Leftwich that went 63 yards for a touchdown.
So what seemed improbable a month or two ago is not out of the question. The defense has been absolutely stifling over the past 6 weeks and Brady has all his offensive weapons available to him. It is still a very difficult road but after watching this crew for the past few years nothing would surprise me.
