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Close to being un of a kind

Finishing 19-0 would leave Patriots in rarefied position

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 28, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.

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Patriots coach Bill Belichick traded for Randy Moss during the offseason, and the receiver finished with 23 touchdown catches.

Photo by Winslow Townson / Associated Press/2007 (Above); Associated Press/1973 (Below)

Patriots coach Bill Belichick traded for Randy Moss during the offseason, and the receiver finished with 23 touchdown catches.

Don Shula was coach of the last unbeaten team in the NFL, the 1972 Dolphins, who went 17-0 and beat Washington in Super Bowl VII.

Don Shula was coach of the last unbeaten team in the NFL, the 1972 Dolphins, who went 17-0 and beat Washington in Super Bowl VII.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick traded for Randy Moss during the offseason, and the receiver finished with 23 touchdown catches.

Photo by Winslow Townson / Associated Press/2007 (Above); Associated Press/1973 (Below)

Patriots coach Bill Belichick traded for Randy Moss during the offseason, and the receiver finished with 23 touchdown catches.

Don Shula was coach of the last unbeaten team in the NFL, the 1972 Dolphins, who went 17-0 and beat Washington in Super Bowl VII.

Don Shula was coach of the last unbeaten team in the NFL, the 1972 Dolphins, who went 17-0 and beat Washington in Super Bowl VII.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick traded for Randy Moss during the offseason, and the receiver finished with 23 touchdown catches.

Photo by Winslow Townson / Associated Press/2007 (Above); Associated Press/1973 (Below)

Patriots coach Bill Belichick traded for Randy Moss during the offseason, and the receiver finished with 23 touchdown catches.

Don Shula was coach of the last unbeaten team in the NFL, the 1972 Dolphins, who went 17-0 and beat Washington in Super Bowl VII.

Don Shula was coach of the last unbeaten team in the NFL, the 1972 Dolphins, who went 17-0 and beat Washington in Super Bowl VII.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick traded for Randy Moss during the offseason, and the receiver finished with 23 touchdown catches.

Photo by Winslow Townson / Associated Press/2007 (Above); Associated Press/1973 (Below)

Patriots coach Bill Belichick traded for Randy Moss during the offseason, and the receiver finished with 23 touchdown catches.

Don Shula was coach of the last unbeaten team in the NFL, the 1972 Dolphins, who went 17-0 and beat Washington in Super Bowl VII.

Don Shula was coach of the last unbeaten team in the NFL, the 1972 Dolphins, who went 17-0 and beat Washington in Super Bowl VII.

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They've helped turn parity into parody.

Perhaps the most remarkable statistic for the New England Patriots, other than their unblemished 18-0 record, might be the fact they outscored opponents by a whopping 315 points during the regular season.

Eleven NFL teams failed to reach that scoring output in 2007.

The lopsided margin of victory came during a season, too, when more than half the league - 18 franchises - won seven to 10 games, the kind of level playing field free agency and the draft are supposed to foster.

But the Patriots have defied convention and beaten everyone heading into Super Bowl XLII on Sunday (4:17 p.m., Fox 31) in Glendale, Ariz., positioning themselves as perhaps the greatest team ever in the process.

"The league is so highly competitive, and all the rules are designed for competitive balance," said Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, who led the Miami Dolphins to the last perfect season, 35 years ago. "And it's tougher to stay on top, because the team that finishes last gets the first draft pick and has first place on waivers. Everything is done to keep the team from having a dynasty and staying on top. That's why it's so remarkable when a team does stay on top over a period of time. New England winning three of the last six Super Bowls, it's remarkable."

And the Patriots, if they beat the New York Giants, will make it four of seven, potentially cementing their place as a dynasty.

"Separating is key in history," Patriots linebacker Junior Seau said recently. "We have a chance."

The salary cap is supposed to prevent teams from stockpiling talent and building that kind of juggernaut.

Since the collective bargaining agreement in 1993 gave teams operational spending limits for players, the Dallas Cowboys (three) and Broncos (two) are the only teams other than the Patriots to win more than one Super Bowl.

It helps provide context for what the Patriots are on the brink of accomplishing.

"I think what makes them unique is, Bill Belichick is exceptional at what he does. He's surrounded himself with people he's very comfortable with, and they've been very fortunate," said Ron Wolf, who helped build title teams with the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s and Green Bay Packers in the 1990s.

"The (Philadelphia) Eagles did the same thing. No one wants to give the Eagles any credit. The only difference is, the Eagles lost. But they went four straight years to the NFC Championship Game (2001 to 2004 seasons), even if they only won it once. And it's the same era. They changed the personnel around and operated effectively. But New England has a pretty good thing going in that guys want to play there."

And, Wolf added, in Tom Brady, the Patriots have the league's best quarterback, a huge key in the professional game.

Built through draft

The foundation of New England's roster, including Brady, has come through the draft. It has 25 of 53 homegrown players, including five No. 1 picks since 2001 starting on the offensive and defensive lines.

Other first-day picks include running backs Kevin Faulk and Laurence Maroney, tight end Ben Watson, tackles Nick Kaczur and Matt Light, cornerbacks Brandon Meriweather and Ellis Hobbs and linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

Free agency has played a big part, too.

New England has given second life to aging veterans such as tight end Kyle Brady, safety Rodney Harrison and Seau, all of whom have rewarded New England's faith by playing major roles.

The Patriots also weren't afraid to gamble, betting a fourth- round pick to acquire Randy Moss in a trade. The mercurial receiver responded with a league- record 23 touchdown catches.

"Free agency can run both ways. It can spread out all the teams and make them equal. But New England this year, they can go out and get guys like (Donte) Stallworth, Moss, a Wes Welker, Adalius Thomas. They were a good team without these guys," said Bob Griese, a quarterback of the 1972 Dolphins, whose 17-0 record was passed by New England in the Patriots' AFC Championship Game victory against the San Diego Chargers.

"It's almost like an all- star team when management - the general manager and player personnel guy - can go out and get free agents or get them for a fourth-round pick or a second- round pick.

"You can certainly see why New England has gone undefeated with all their additions offensively and a good defense from years past."

The Patriots this season weathered "Spygate," the videotaping episode that resulted in Belichick getting docked $500,000. The team also was fined $250,000 and lost its first- round draft pick in April.

The Patriots won blowouts in compiling a league-record 589 points and, more recently, closed out nail-biters.

New England rallied from 12 points down in the regular-season finale Dec. 29 to beat the Giants 38-35, then recorded hard-earned postseason wins against Jacksonville (31-20) and San Diego (21-12).

"We now have one more game to be part of that 'ever,' " Seau said after advancing to the Super Bowl.

But where will history place the Patriots, should they again persevere?

Do they match the 1972 Dolphins or surpass them at 19-0? Do they hold a candle to the 1960s Packers teams or the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s, the San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s or the Cowboys of the early 1990s because of their accomplishments in the free-agency era, when it has been more difficult to keep rosters intact?

"Right now, I don't think is a time to sit and reflect and go back over what has or hasn't happened in the past," Belichick said last week, sticking to his seasonlong, one-game-at-a- time mantra.

"Right now, we've got a huge challenge ahead of us, and that starts with the whole preparation for the entire event. . . . There will be a time and a place maybe to do that at some other point, but not right now, not for me anyway."

Two thoughts on 'dynasty'

The 1972 Dolphins drew comparisons with the Chicago Bears teams of 1934 (11-0) and 1942 (13-0) when they were making their unbeaten run.

But those Bears teams lost in the NFL championship game; Miami sealed the deal.

Shula believes the Patriots also would cement their place in history with a win Sunday.

"It would be a dynasty like the Yankees were in baseball over a long period of time," he said.

But Wolf, while not discounting New England's accomplishments, isn't ready to throw around the "D" word with Brady's bunch.

"I'm not pooh-poohing what they're doing at 18-0. It's remarkable and they get every credit for everything they have earned and deserve," he said. "But to me, it's not a dynasty team. Dynasty teams are those teams that put players in the Hall of Fame. How many Hall of Fame players does New England have? After Brady, where do you go?

"But with the Steelers, just look at that team. Take it back to the Packers; they had 10 or 11 guys in the Hall of Fame and others that should be. The Patriots aren't close to those teams. But it is a different era and it's remarkable what they've done and how they've done it."

rasizerl@RockyMountainNews.com

Best of the best

With a win Sunday in Super Bowl XLII, the Patriots could make a claim as the best team in NFL history. Some other teams that figure in that conversation, in order of victories:

* 1985 Chicago Bears (18-1): Jim McMahon's headbands, the Fridge's plodding touchdowns (above) and a "46" defense that nearly was impenetrable - with 61 takeaways.

* 1972 Miami Dolphins (17-0): Led league in offense, defense, points and fewest points allowed - and didn't lose, with coach Don Shula's iron hand in charge.

* 1989 San Francisco 49ers (17-2): Two 1,000-yard receivers (Jerry Rice and John Taylor), one 1,000-yard back (Roger Craig) and a quarterback (Joe Montana, above) orchestrating it all with a 70 percent completion rate.

* 1991 Washington Redskins (17-2): Big-play offense with Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders at receiver, Earnest Byner toting the ball and Mark Rypien (above) having a career season.

* 1996 Green Bay Packers (16-3): Outscored opponents 456-210, becoming the first team since the 1972 Dolphins to lead the league in points and fewest points allowed.

* 1999 St. Louis Rams (16-3): "The Greatest Show on Turf" rampaged through the NFL, averaging 32.9 points a game. Quarterback Kurt Warner (above) went from grocery store clerk to cult hero.

* 1977 Dallas Cowboys (15-2): The cool of Roger Staubach (above) and the cuts of Tony Dorsett spurred the No. 1 offense. Randy White, Harvey Martin, Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters led a defense that allowed 15.1 points a game.

* 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers (15-4): Loaded on offense (Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, etc.) and especially on defense (Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert and Co.).

* 1962 Green Bay Packers (14-1): Who's who of Hall of Famers: Herb Adderley, Willie Davis, Forrest Gregg, Paul Hor- nung, Henry Jordan, Ray Nitschke, Jim Ringo, Bart Starr, Jim Taylor and Willie Wood. And coach Vince Lombardi (above).

* 1958 Baltimore Colts (10-3): Defensive line anchored by Hall of Fame players Gino Marchetti and Art Donovan, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker and Raymond Berry. And Johnny Unitas (above) spearheaded the offense.

KICKOFF

NUMBERS GAME

7 is the overall pick the New England Patriots will get in the first round of the draft, regardless if they win or lose Sunday. The Patriots, who lost their first-round pick as part of their penalty for "Spygate," obtained the pick in April in a trade with San Francisco.

POPULAR MAN

When Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels took himself off the market by saying he would not interview for a new job, Giants defensive coordina- tor Steve Spagnuo- lo, right, became the assistant in demand in the game Sunday.

The Giants denied the Atlanta Falcons permission to talk with Spagnuolo earlier this month. The Washington Redskins are believed to be waiting to speak with him.

Spagnuolo is in his first season with the Giants.

EXPERIENCE THE EXPERIENCE

If previous Super Bowl trips count, Sunday will be a no-contest affair.

The Patriots have 20 players who have made a total of 46 trips to be in the Super Bowl with the team (they have 23 players who have played in a Super Bowl and a total of 48 rings).

The Giants have only two players, Amani Toomer and Michael Strahan (below), who were on their previous Super Bowl team, at the end of the 2000 season.

HE SAID IT

"I'm not big on pregame celebrations. I'm big on postgame celebrations."

Richard Seymour, Patriots defensive end, at a rally in Foxborough, Mass., before the team left for Phoenix.

Jeff Legwold