THE fact the New England Patriots are undefeated and the Miami Dolphins winless this late in the season is a testament to both how good and bad they are, respectively, but for reasons you probably haven't even considered.
While I've never won 13 games in a row like New England has so far this year (only 12), I do understand why it is seemingly getting harder and harder for them to remain unblemished as they move down the stretch. It's not, like everyone is suggesting, that their vulnerabilities have been exposed and teams have found a way to play them and compete with them. And it's not that their defence isn't as good as everyone thought until they struggled against Philadelphia, Baltimore, and now, to some extent, Pittsburgh.
In my opinion, they are a better team than anyone ever believed even at the high point of their dominance, because at this point in the season and near the end of their streak, every team they are now facing is playing against them like they are their Super Bowl opponent.
No one would ever deny that on any professional football team, attitude and ego are not in short supply. So when you are that cocky and have a chip on your shoulder because your team hasn't gotten the amount of attention or respect you think it deserves and things haven't gone your way the entire year, when the unbeaten New England Patriots show up on your doorstep, there is no bigger game on your schedule, period.
Because of this ego, few football players ever actually think that any particular team is just too good for them to beat. You can even beat a team three times in a row, like we did to Montreal this season, but you can bet they thought that when they faced us in the Eastern semifinal playoff at our house this year, they could win the game just as easily as we could.
They almost did.
But because the Patriots have to find new ways each week to motivate themselves to continue winning, since they have practically clinched everything and are less than motivated by playing for "the streak," as many of them have attested, every team they now face has a chance to be part of history as the only club to defeat them in the 2007/08 season.
Adoration
When you are talking about athletes who thrive on the attention and adoration of the fans and media, nothing hypes you up more for a game than playing some strutting, undefeated football team that thinks they are exponentially better than you. And that is why the Patriots are even better than they were at the said "pinnacle" of their play this year.
They are still finding ways to win, no matter how much more motivated and meaningful the game may be to their opponents.
Of course, the reverse can now be said about the Miami Dolphins -- they are even worse than anybody ever thought. Because when you are bagel and 12 for the season and playing other teams that really aren't that good -- like the Buffalo Bills on Sunday -- and you are only four games away from becoming the only NFL team never to win a game in a season, and you still get blown out by marginal competition, you really are that bad.
Again, the reason for this is the size of the egos these players carry.
There is nothing more motivating for a player in professional football, including playing the undefeated Patriots, than realizing you are on the precipice of becoming one of the worst teams EVER in the history of the game. And if you are that motivated and that desperate for a win and you still can't buy one, you are an even worse team than anybody ever gave you credit for.
Doug Brown, always a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays in the Free Press.
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