01:00 AM EST on Monday, December 22, 2003

How 'bout them Pats?!

They continue to amaze and impress, if not exactly dazzle.

With Saturday night's 21-16 throttling of the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets, the Patriots now have won a franchise-record 11 in a row for a club-record total of 13 wins in 15 games. Which, with Kansas City's lopsided loss at Minnesota, also gives New England the best record in the AFC with just one game left to play -- Saturday against the reeling Bills in Foxboro.

Just imagine how good the Pats would be if they had some real players. Some genuine stars. Some, you know, Pro Bowl-caliber athletes.

If, back in August, the wise guys in Las Vegas had made a betting line establishing the over-under number on Pro Bowlers on the best team in the AFC (or in the entire NFL, for that matter) at three, I'd have taken the "over," you'd have taken the "over," everybody in America would have taken the "over."

And we all would have been wrong.

As, by the way, most people have been about the Patriots all season.

We would have been wrong because the Pats, certainly the best team in the AFC and arguably the best team in the NFL, are on their way to the playoffs despite the fact they have only two players heading to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.

Which, if there was any doubt, and if there is any logic at all in the voting process, should make Bill Belichick the unanimous choice as coach of the year.

The Pro Bowl voting couldn't have come at a better time for the Patriots, who, since their nine-game winning streak in 2001 that took them from 5-5 to the NFL championship, have been battling the perception that they're really not all that good.

That motivational method lost its effectiveness, however, when media members began placing the Pats atop their NFL power polls in recent weeks. Hey, if you're ranked No. 1, people must think you're pretty good, right?

Then came last week's Pro Bowl balloting.

It angered more than a few New England players, who once again felt slighted, and probably secretly delighted the Patriots' coaching staff, in the unlikely event they were worried even the slightest bit about their team's possible complacency.

Which they needn't have been. If ever there was a team that takes no opponent lightly, that prepares diligently every week, that "comes to play" in every game, it is the 2003 New England Patriots.

But people around the country haven't been blown away by the Patriots because the Pats don't blow out their opponents.

Only one of their 11 straight wins has been by as many as two touchdowns -- the 27-13 victory over Jacksonville last week. Six of those wins were by less than seven points, including two in overtime -- on the road at Miami and in Houston. The Pats have had two shutouts in the winning streak -- over Dallas and Miami, both in Foxboro -- but won each game by a score of only 12-0.

The Dolphins none too subtly let it be known, before coming up to New England to be whitewashed in a snowstorm, that they felt the Pats were more lucky than good.

Well, there isn't a team in the league that doesn't wish they could be so lucky.

The Patriots have just two players going to the Pro Bowl, but they have many more who are playing like Pro Bowlers.

Take Tedy Bruschi, for example. Any team in the NFL would jump at the chance. Find any Patriots fan -- better yet, find any offensive coordinator -- who doesn't think Bruschi's a Pro Bowl talent.

He had another interception Saturday night, setting up the Pats' first touchdown. It was disappointing, however, that he didn't return it for a touchdown, as he has the last four passes he's picked off over the past two seasons. (That's levity, not criticism, in case anyone's wondering.)

Mike Vrabel can play on my team any time, including if the game's in Hawaii with only the league's best participating. The same goes for the hard-hitting Rodney Harrison at free safety.

Willie McGinest was inconsistent Saturday -- he had a foolish roughing-the-passer penalty that led to a Jets touchdown, and was fortunate that his man dropped a pass in the end zone when he blew coverage in the second half -- but he also scored a touchdown on a terrific interception and consistently pressured quarterback Chad Pennington.

Speaking of Pennington, he was totally outplayed by Tom Brady, who, despite having the second-highest winning percentage in NFL history, won't be going to the Pro Bowl for the second year in a row.

Pennington threw five interceptions Saturday night. Brady didn't throw any, completing 15 of 25 passes for two touchdowns. How anyone could watch Brady week after week and not think he's a Pro Bowl talent is one of life's great mysteries. He combines an uncanny ability to speed-read defenses with nifty footwork in the pocket and pinpoint passing. It is no mystery why the Patriots have established themselves as the best team in the NFL.

Defense is what wins championships -- see Tampa Bay, 2002; New England, 2001; Baltimore, 2000 -- and nobody in the league is playing better defense than the Patriots. Certainly not Kansas City, which was riddled defensively at Denver and Minnesota.

It is on that side of the ball that the Pats have their only two Pro Bowlers -- defensive lineman Richard Seymour, who is a force up front, and cornerback Ty Law, who Saturday night gave a clinic on how the position should be played. Law had a couple of plays on speedy Santana Moss in the end zone (one of which was an interception) that were absolute classics of coverage, leaving Pennington with no way to get the football to his receiver.

Even what few weaknesses the Patriots have may be coming around in time for the playoffs. Antowain Smith racked up 121 yards on 18 carries Saturday night, becoming the first New England back to surpass the 100-yard mark this season.

Yet, judging by the ballots cast for the Pro Bowl, the Pats are having all this success with a collection of castoffs.

The Chiefs had eight players selected for the Pro Bowl, as did Baltimore, which leads the AFC South with a record of just 9-6. The Dolphins, Colts and Titans all had twice as many players chosen -- four. Even the Steelers, for crying out loud, have more players (three) going to the Pro Bowl than the Patriots.

Just imagine how good the Pats would be if they had guys who could really play.