Foxborough, Mass. – How stacked is the AFC these days? The New England Patriots were 11-5 in 2001, earning them the No. 2 seed in the conference. They finished 12-4 this season and settled for the No. 4 seed.
They won the Super Bowl after the 2001 season and repeated the feat in 2003 and 2004. Now comes 2006, a season when the balance of power in the NFL is a one-sided affair. As in, most of it is in the AFC.
The Patriots obviously know how to win a Super Bowl. Question is, can they figure out a way to beat the San Diego Chargers, the class of the conference? And on the West Coast, no less?
To hear Tom Brady tell it, the Patriots will have no excuses Sunday. They’re healthier than they’ve been all season and they’re playing their best football of the season. And still, it may not be enough to beat the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium, where they finished 8-0 for the first time in franchise history.
“We’re playing the best team in the league over the course of the year, by far,” said Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi. “They have the NFL MVP. They have a heck of a defense. It’s an absolutely huge challenge for us.”
Said tight end Daniel Graham, “We really don’t need to speak much. Watching them, their record speaks for itself. We’re going to have to prepare like it’s a Super Bowl. It’s going to be a huge game for us, but we’ll be ready.”
This is, after all, January, when the Patriots always seem to be ready. But no doubt, things are different this year than in their three Super Bowl seasons.
For one thing, the Patriots didn’t have a bye week to open the playoffs, as they did in each of those seasons. For another, they’ll have to win a road game to get to the conference championship game, an obstacle they didn’t have to contend with in any of those three seasons.
Not that they can’t do it. For whatever reason, the Patriots seem to find power in pillow mints. They were one of two NFL teams – Chicago being the other – to finish 7-1 on the road. And they’ve got some history on this front, too. They won two AFC championship games at Pittsburgh before winning two of their Super Bowls.
But still, this is the Chargers we’re talking about, a team that beat the Patriots 41-17 at Foxborough in October 2005. A team that defied the rules by placing five players on the all-pro team in an era of free agency and a salary cap.
“We’re always confident in our ability, regardless of who we’re playing,” said Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. “But they have the best record in the NFL, and it’s not for a lack of effort. They go out and play hard. They make plays across the board, so it’s going to take a great week of preparation. This isn’t the week to be running around to the club and partying. We’ve got to focus and get ready.”
There’s a sense of destiny permeating the Patriots’ locker room – “It’s our time,” said Graham, a former CU player – but they’ll be facing a team that hasn’t lost since October. By all accounts – the 14-2 record, their first-ever MVP in LaDainian Tomlinson, their perfect record at home – the Chargers are the best team in franchise history.
Talk about your dream matchup. San Diego led the NFL in scoring at 30.8 points per game, but the Patriots were second to Baltimore in points allowed with a franchise-best 14.8 per. Not only that, the Chargers had the fewest turnovers in the league with 15. The Patriots, meanwhile, were fourth in turnovers forced with 35.
Just Marty Schottenheimer’s luck. He finally gets John Elway to retire – today marks the 20th anniversary of The Drive – and now he will have to contend with Brady, a quarterback destined to join Elway in the Hall of Fame. And while we’re on the subject, New England coach Bill Belichick is a bronze bust waiting to happen, too.
The Patriots lost to the New York Jets at home in November, but beat them last Sunday with a no-huddle, quick-pass offense that mitigated the Jets’ blitz packages. Now comes Belichick’s greatest challenge: devising a game plan that can beat the Chargers.
“We try to come up with something different every time, something they’re not expecting,” Brady said. “As a quarterback, that’s what you want, something that will keep the defense off balance.”
Brady will need all the help he can get against the San Diego defense, which includes two of those five all-pros – nose tackle Jamal Williams and outside linebacker Shawne Merriman, who led the NFL with 17 sacks despite a four-game suspension for violating the league’s steroids policy.
Said Brady, when asked after the Jets game whether it was too early to start having Merriman nightmares, “No. I’ve seen what he’s done against other quarterbacks.”
Jim Armstrong can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
