Finally, the players can admit it, if even just a little. No more cliched quotes about one game at a time, no more saying an unbeaten record didn't become part of their goal.
Now, heading into Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3 in Glendale, Ariz., the 18-0 New England Patriots can focus on history against the New York Giants.
This will be Pats' fourth Super Bowl in seven years. They won championships in the 2001, '03 and '04 seasons but will climb several notches higher in history by beating the Giants if they complete the perfect season and finish at 19-0. The 1972 Miami Dolphins were 17-0, including playoffs and a Super Bowl championship. No team has gone undefeated since.
"It's exciting. It's exciting," QB Tom Brady said after the Patriots beat the Chargers on Sunday despite his season-high three interceptions and with the help of his two touchdown tosses. "There's been so much energy expended each week with the expectations and the pressure that our coach (Bill Belichick) puts on us. So I'm glad we have a week off here to regroup a little bit and try to elevate our game for one last performance.
"We had a few letdowns or times where we didn't play our best," Brady said. "But we overcame them; 18-0 is a great feeling."
Brady is now 14-2 in playoff games and, of course, undefeated in three Super Bowls."There was history on the line," Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "We recognize it, we acknowledge it."
Belichick, 55, in his 33rd season as an NFL coach and his eighth as head coach in New England, would match Pittsburgh's Chuck Noll as the only NFL coaches to win four Super Bowl victories. And a win against the Giants would rank the Patriots as perhaps the greatest champion in NFL history - and help people forget Spygate.
"Now we can look ahead," Belichick said of the matchup with the Giants, in which New England is a 12- point favorite on WagerWeb.com.
``Now we have a chance,' said linebacker Junior Seau, ``a chance to be part of ever.'
THOUGHTS FROM '72: What do some of those former 1972 Miami players think of how their squad would match up against the current Patriots?
Dolphins radio analyst Jim Mandich, a tight end on that 1972 team, doesn't even need to give the question much thought.
'They would kick our [behinds] from one side of the field to the other,' Mandich said.
Another '72 alum, former safety Dick Anderson, concurred: ``Based on their speed and size, we would get our butts kicked.'
And '72 alum Jim Kiick conceded, ``Physically, it would be tough to compete. Today's athletes are a lot better.'
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