Patriots' personnel can repeat

Third title might make for dynasty

Ron Jenkins / Fort Worth Star-Telegram CBS commentator Jim Nance, center, interviews Tom Brady, holding up the Lombardi Trophy after winning the Super Bowl Sunday.

Two Super Bowls in three years for the New England Patriots. It sure feels nice, but I have become greedy. I want another title next year — back-to-back. And why not?

The Patriots are just a few days removed from their Super Bowl XXXVIII victory over the Carolina Panthers, and already I am looking ahead to them winning it all next year.

I have been a lifelong supporter of both the Patriots and the Boston Red Sox, and because of the latter, I know my share of disappointing seasons and heartbreaking losses. But, these Patriots are the opposite of the Red Sox. They win when they are supposed to, and, instead of letting the ground ball go between their legs, they kick the game-winning field goal. It is a type of winning that I could get used to over the next few years. Now, don't get me wrong — I am not calling them a dynasty. At least, not yet.

After next year's Super Bowl, we may have to consider them as such. Any football fan would be hard-pressed not to consider New England as a favorite to repeat next year in Jacksonville, Fla. But, maybe our definition of a "dynasty" is too strict.

Of the four major sports, football is perhaps the most difficult in which to perform consistently at a high level, especially as of late. A number of factors — the high number of teams in a league, a salary cap and, most importantly, free agency discourage teams from repeating.

Look at last year's Super Bowl participants — both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders missed the playoffs this year, finishing with a combined record of 11-21. The fact that the Patriots advanced to two of the past three championships, considering the league's current status, is an accomplishment in itself, let alone winning them both.

Over the last three seasons, the Patriots are 34-14, with two well-known Super Bowl victories. This past season, they won at a level we haven't seen since the 1972 Miami Dolphins and their ride of perfection.

During the Patriots' 15-game-winning streak, they were 10-0 against teams with 10 or more wins. And that was just it — they won. New England could score 38 points and beat you or just kick three field goals and still win. Sure, they didn't win pretty, but they won. And there is no reason to think it will stop anytime soon.

For the most part, this team still will be intact come July when training camp starts (although cornerback Ty Law's contract issues still remain unresolved). Their defense allowed the fewest points per game, 14.9, in the NFL this year.

They have what possibly is the best quarterback in the league in Tom Brady, who is 40-12 in his career as a starter and undefeated in both overtime and playoff games he's been in.

The Super Bowl champs have a no-name offensive line, which was criticized by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle/ tight end Warren Sapp, but they never gave up a sack throughout the entire playoffs, keeping Carolina's feared front four at bay.

How many Super Bowl champions can you remember who have had seven picks in the first four rounds of the following year's draft, two of them coming in the first round? But, more important than how many picks you have is what you do with them.

The past few years, the Patriots have had very successful drafts, largely credited to Scott Pioli, vice president of player personnel, and head coach Bill Belichick. Both men have an amazing eye for small-name talent.

Much has been made of Brady's rise from sixth round pick to Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, but he is just one of many stories like that. For example, David Givens, a wide receiver from the University of Notre Dame who had five receptions and a touchdown in the Super Bowl, and who led the Patriots' receivers in touchdowns during the regular season, was a seventh round pick in 2002.

As great of an evaluator of talent as Belichick is, he is an even better coach. Whether it is preparing to play quarterback Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts' high octane offense or running back Stephen Davis and the Panthers' dual back, smash mouth running game, Belichick will stop it. Give him a week, and he can scheme up a game-winning plan.

Like all great coaches though, he does not do it himself. The trio of Belichick, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel make up what is arguably the best coaching staff in the NFL. The two assistants, Weis and Crennel, both should be head coaches by now, but because of the rule that prohibits coaches from interviewing more than once while they still are coaching their current team, they both likely will be back next year.

The Patriots are a Super Bowl-winning team that will, for the most part, return the same group of guys next year. They have the league's winningest quarterback, the best coaches, and enough picks to trade up for someone like University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. A dynasty? Close, but not quite there. Give them one more year and that trip to Jacksonville first.