FOXBORO -- And now it gets dangerous. Now there is something to lose. Now the New England Patriots are working without a net.
Now, one bounce, one call, one bad afternoon for them, or one brilliant night for somebody else, can turn a historic season into an NFL footnote.
That's the sad part and it's the reality, and if you don't think so, please, spend a few minutes telling the group everything you remember about the 1999 Jaguars.
Remember them? Not really? Well, they went 14-2 and won 11 straight games and 13 of their first 15. They smelled pretty dominant, especially after ushering Dan Marino into retirement with a 62-7 walloping in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. Then they went belly-up in the AFC Championship against Tennessee, and who talks about the '99 Jags?
If these New England Patriots meet the same fate, they will be remembered the same way. Barely at all, and then only with some prodding.
This team needs to win two more games to secure a place in the football-caring nation's institutional memory. It needs to win three to be beloved. Anything less is a disappointment.
And that's the way the Patriots want it. They spent the last two months telling us that they have bigger fish to fry, that they wouldn't take curtain calls for winning the division, shutting out consecutive opponents at Gillette or anything else.
Asked Saturday if he'd considered the magnitude of shutting out three opponents and allowing just one touchdown in the last 24 quarters at home, cornerback Ty Law said without malice, "No one cares about that. No one will remember this season if we don't continue to play well or reach the ultimate goal. What good is being 14-2 if you lose in the first round of the playoffs? Or if you don't make it all the way to the Super Bowl? No one really (cares). It's about winning."
The Patriots enter these NFL playoffs as the best team in football. You can build arguments for other clubs, but none would be as convincing as the one you could make for New England.
There is no sleeping tiger lying in the weeds waiting for these Patriots. No team of veterans with a satchel full of playoff experience that makes it one to be feared. There's no team the Patriots have to fear. No team they have to hope to avoid (as they did in 1996 when Denver was laid low by Jacksonville, paving the way for the Pats to get to the Super Bowl. They've already beaten most every high-class team in the league -- Philly, Tennessee, Denver, Indianapolis -- and the ones they haven't taken care of (Kansas City) they match up very well with.
They've shown they have the belly for the pressure. Other teams have not. Philadelphia had a bad loss to San Francisco last week. Detroit beat St. Louis yesterday. The Colts got embarrassed at home by Denver last weel. Kansas City went 3-3 after a 10-0 start.
The even-keeled approach that's served the Pats so well needs -- more than ever -- to be maintained now. They've been revving up for the playoffs for more than a month. Now they are here. Will they maintain their level heads?
"We don't get caught up in the numbers or that hype," said safety Rodney Harrison. "We don't get too high or too low. The coaches do a great job of never patting us on the back and the core veterans help us from getting too high or too low.
"The next level starts now. We break up a year into stages. Training camp, the first four games, the second four games. We are now at the last level. Nothing else matters. This is single elimination. Regardless of our record, 14-2, if we go out there and lay an egg the first game we play, what does 14-2 really mean? Nothing's guaranteed. Our perspective over the past 16 weeks shows that we can do that. Regardless of the situation, we keep an even keel. On the 1-yard line with Indy about to score, nobody panicked. It's just playing football. From here on out, whoever plays the best that day moves on. The rest go home."
Squib kicks
Bill Belichick said in his conference call yesterday that there were no injuries suffered Saturday that will linger. As for this week's plans: "We will look at (the team) like we do with the bye week during the regular season. We will take an analysis of what we have been doing, particularly recently, and how those trends are developing, and make sure that we understand what our opponents are seeing from us. And also, take a look at the things that we are doing well and things that we are not doing as well, and try to decide whether to fix things that aren't going as good or get rid of them, and whether we want to put more emphasis on things maybe where we have been more productive." . . . Both Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis will likely have interviews this week with prospective new employers. Both the Falcons and Giants are likely to come calling and the Patriots are on record as saying they will make both coordinators available. "I have stated many times before that I am ready and willing to help our assistants in whatever way that I can. We will certainly do that, and we will comply with everything that we can with the league," said Belichick. If interviews are to be conducted, Belichick said, "We will work around our schedule. We are going to get done what we need to do and we will work around that and accommodate whatever request there happens to be."
