The Rocket

Issue date: 1/18/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: MCT Campus [Click to enlarge]

There are a lot of things I hate in life.

The Yankees, cold weather and rain, just to name a few. But there is one thing I hate more than anything in the world.

The New England Patriots.

Anyone that read the sports section of The Rocket last semester knows that I have a deep-seated hatred for the cheaters from clam chowder country. I don't like Tom Brady or Bill Belichick, and despite all of the begging and pleading and praying to the football gods, the Patriots keep right on winning.

But it's how they're winning that intrigues me. For the better part of the regular season, the Pats sealed the victory in the first halves of their games and racked up the stats and piled on the points in the second halves. So it's easy to see why Brady had 50 touchdown passes and why, as a team, they broke a lot of offensive records.

As of late however, starting with the game against the Ravens in which a few questionable calls went the way of New England, Belichick and his boys have had some close games. Yet, despite the close games and everyone saying that there are chinks in the Patriot armor, they keep on winning.

How? In the last several games the score at halftime has been relatively close. It has remained close for much of the second half, basically until the end of the third quarter. But then the Patriots pour it on and seal the deal in the fourth.

Why?

As much as I hate to admit it, Belichick is a good coach. Sure he cheated, but game tapes won't help you at halftime of a 17-17 game. Whether your team will win or not has a lot to do with adjustments made during the break. And there's no one in this league better than Belichick at making second-half changes.

Another reason they are so successful is that they make the best of what they have. Brady-and again, I hate to say this-is a great player. No doubt, end of story. I hate him, but I would take him on my favorite team, the Miami Dolphins, any day. He just knows where to put the ball. And while we all know about Randy Moss, it's Brady's ability to find his other receivers that makes him great.

Before this year, had anyone heard of Wes Welker?

I did. He was a Dolphin the last two seasons, and I personally thought he had the ability to be a special player. And if I'm not mistaken, he just tied for the league lead with 112 receptions. That's pretty good if you ask me.

Hey Miami, how did trading Welker work out for us? No answer? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Speaking of players nobody has ever heard of, how about Jabar Gaffney? Coming into this year, the guy had only eight career touchdown receptions. He hauled in five this year alone, including the game winner with less than a minute to play in that Week 13 nail-biter at Baltimore.

Their defense is not to be overlooked, however. Mike Vrabel had 12 sacks and Asante Samuel had six interceptions (boy is he going to strike it rich in free agency this offseason). This all comes as part of a defense that only gave up 288 yards of offense a game, putting them fourth in the entire league. Combine that with the league's most prolific offense and it's no wonder they don't lose.

Currently they stand at 17-0, and are two games from becoming only the second team in NFL history to go undefeated for an entire season. While I hope and pray they don't, I have to face the facts and realize they probably won't lose this season.

In the AFC Championship this Sunday, they face the banged-up Chargers, who could be without their top three offensive threats playing at 100 percent. And to make matters worse, the Chargers started smack talking. Say, let's ask the Steelers what happened the last time someone talked smack on the Pats. How did that work out for you, Anthony Smith?

The best threats to the Pats, the Colts and the Cowboys, are now sitting at home with the rest of us. The Packers don't have the defense to keep Brady in check, and while the Giants' Eli Manning has been playing out of this world as of late, he's bound to come back to earth at any minute.

So as much as it pains me to say it, the Patriots will go 19-0.

Don't get me wrong, I still hate them and I still think they're cheaters, but they're good. The only thing about the Patriots that doesn't look good on the field is Belichick's stupid hoodie.

God I hate that thing.


Brandon Fox is an English graduate student and sports editor for The Rocket.

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