Pats beating bound

Midnight tolls for AFC's Cinderella

I recently saw a statistic on ESPN's SportsCenter that American Football Conference teams in Super Bowl games at domes are only 1-8 (for those of you wondering, it was the Raiders in 1980). Coupling that statistic with the fact that New England is already 0-2 in that category (with both losses coming in New Orleans, no less), I'm beginning to wonder how the Custer-like Pats will be able to muster any sort of sensible attack as they wander helplessly into the buzz saw known as the St. Louis Rams. Let's give it a shot, shall we?

They say that defense wins championships, but the Pats are going to have to rely on a lot more than clichés to pull them through this one. Although New England's cornerback tandem of Ty Law and Otis Smith could pose problems for Kurt Warner's passing plans, the speed of the Rams receivers may simply be too much for them to handle. Tory Holt and Isaac Bruce are two of the biggest "big game" receivers in the league, and Az-Zahir Hakim, clearly the fastest of the three, seems to provide match-up problems for whoever is covering him.

The Pats interior defense really needs to step up production as well. The leading sack-man for New England, Bobby Hamilton, recorded only seven sacks during the regular season, tied for no better than 21st in the NFL. And with the Rams offensive line playing more focused now than ever, allowing only three sacks all postseason, getting to Warner will be no easy task.

In the first meeting between the two teams, a game that St. Louis won 24-17, the Pats showed that they definitely could hang with the Rams, at least at that point in the season. After the game, St. Louis coach Mike Martz referred to New England's defense as "Star Wars" because of the number of guys "flying" at Warner from various directions. However, the playoffs are a completely different game, a game the Rams know all too well.

And despite Warner's second MVP award in three years, the Patriots real task will be to see if they can contain Rams' versatile running back Marshall Faulk. Seeing the way Faulk ran all over the Eagles' highly touted, second-ranked defense this past weekend, it seems very unlikely Bill Belichick's bunch, who haven't faced a true running test yet in the playoffs (remember, Bettis was injured), will fare much better on Sunday.

But these are the Patriots, a team of "destiny" as some like to put it. And in the playoffs, anything can, and has, happened, especially for the Pats (how can we forget that Oakland game?). That "anything" for New England on Sunday most definitely will have to be quarterback Tom Brady.

Brady, who had the 10th best quarterback rating this year at 86.5, will have to shake off his sore ankle in order for the Patriots to have a chance against St. Louis' revitalized defense. His main target, wide receiver Troy Brown, will most likely see coverage from the Rams' Pro-Bowl-bound cornerback Aeneas Williams, so Brady simply will have to do what he's done all year – improvise.

Don't be surprised to see Brady going to wide receiver David Patten and newfound weapon, tight end Jermaine, "don't call me Ralph," Wiggins early and often, especially if running backs Antowain Smith and J.R. Redmond can't get it done on the ground.

All things considered, I give the Patriots a fighting chance for about the first minute of the game. While New England has upended some of the league's top teams in Pittsburgh and Oakland, the Rams seem to be playing on another level than either of those teams. To Brady and all you loyal Patriot fans waiting in the wings, I'm sorry, but the magic carpet ride is over. Sitting Bull awaits you at the Super Dome.