One of the overriding themes for the New England Patriots throughout the 2007 season has been not “eating the cheese” — the ever-increasing series of hosannas tossed the team’s way. From what has proved to be one of the most successful offseasons in NFL history, through a perfect regular season, the Patriots largely have played like a team hoping to sneak their way into the playoffs.
In the week leading up to last Sunday’s game against Miami, New England practiced in pads, virtually unheard of for an NFL team at this point of the year. In addition, the Patriots’ defense took the field stung by the words of coach Bill Belichick, who had incessantly berated the team’s lack of success in the red zone and on the goal line.
Never mind that New England was second in the league in points allowed.
“Do you know how many prideful guys there are in this room? And how we felt when we heard that?” linebacker Tedy Bruschi asked.
Sure enough, the Dolphins had two trips into the red zone, twice facing goal-to-go opportunities for scores. Both times they were thwarted by New England’s inspired defense.
Given that effort in a virtually meaningless game against a one-win team, could there really be any doubt about how the Patriots will approach Saturday night’s season-finale against the New York Giants? Win, and New England will become the first team in NFL history to win all 16 of its regular-season games and extend the possibility of matching the 1972 Dolphins as the only teams to go undefeated through an entire season.
After Sunday’s win, Belichick constantly said his only thought about how to approach the Giants was “doing what’s best for our team.” But the coach is too great a student of the game to deliberately back away from making history, and at this point many of the players say they wouldn’t want to go into the playoffs in two weeks with the taste of defeat lingering in their mouths.
“You just can’t jump to 19-0,” linebacker Adalius Thomas said. “The goal for us is preparing week-to-week, and this week we’re preparing for the New York Giants.”
Having clinched their playoff spot last week and locked into the fifth seed in the NFC, the Giants really don’t have anything to play for themselves, save the undying gratitude of a bunch of former players residing in South Florida. During the week, the thought was that key performers such as wide receiver Plaxico Burress and running back Brandon Jacobs, who have battled injuries all season, wouldn’t play. And there has been talk that coach Tom Coughlin is hesitant to expose quarterback Eli Manning, who has suffered through another disappointing year, to a fired-up New England defense so close to the postseason.
However, Burress told reporters in New York that he hoped the team would approach the game like a must-win contest.
“I don’t think it’s a benefit for us to take off,” he said. “I think the more we play, the better we’ll get. When you get into the playoffs, it’s a different speed — the game is a little bit faster. Decisions have to be made a little bit quicker and I think that’s the mode that we’re trying to get ourselves into — not should we rest, or should we not play, or things like that.”
During his weekly news conference, Coughlin indicated that he agreed with that approach, and that none of his core players would be sitting out against the Patriots.
“The objective for our team as we prepare this week, Week 17, is no different than what the objective would be if it was Week 3 or Week 4,” Coughlin said. “Our objective is to win. That’s what we work for; that’s what we prepare for; that’s what we practice for. And it will be no different this week.”
New England Patriots at New York Giants Saturday, 6 p.m., TV: KCNC-4, KUSA-9, NFL Network
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
