To truly appreciate the Patriots, you have to look at the Steelers.

And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, too.

Those are the last two teams, other than the Patriots, to win a Super Bowl, and look where they are now.

Pittsburgh, the defending NFL champion, is in third place in the AFC North at 5-7, all but eliminated from playoff contention. Tampa Bay is in worse shape. The Bucs, division champions last season, are buried in the basement of the NFC South at 3-9.

Look at what's happened to those two teams, then consider what the Patriots have done.

Since winning their first Super Bowl in the 2001 season, the Pats have yet to have a losing season. Yes, they missed the playoffs in 2002, but still finished 9-7. They rebounded to win back-to-back Super Bowls in 2003 and 2004. They've won three straight AFC East titles, and are well on the way to winning their fourth in a row.

They're 9-3 this year, 67-25 going back to 2001. If postseason games are included, they're 77-26. And, if you throw out the first 10 games of 2001, when the Pats were 5-5, then the record is 72-21 -- a phenomenal winning percentage of .774.

That sort of consistent success must be viewed, not only with admiration, but also with amazement.

Because, to truly appreciate the Patriots, you also should look at the Eagles and Carolina, the Rams and the Raiders.

After losing to New England, 24-21, in Super Bowl XXXIX, Philadelphia plummeted into the NFC East basement last year, falling to 6-10 following an injury to quarterback Donovan McNabb. With McNabb out again, the Eagles are 6-6 this year and unlikely to qualify for a wild-card berth.

Carolina, which reached the NFC championship game last season after losing to New England in Super Bowl XXXVIII, 32-29, also is muddling along at .500, two games behind the Saints in the NFC South. More significantly, the Panthers fell to 7-9 the year after winning the conference championship -- the kind of dropoff the Patriots have not experienced since their run of success started.

The Rams, after their stunning, 20-17, loss at the hands of New England in Super Bowl XXXVI, fell to 7-9 the following year. St. Louis won the divisional title in '03, losing in the conference semifinals, in double overtime, to Carolina. Although they were a wild-card team in '04, the Rams were just 8-8. They slipped to 6-10 last season, and have a losing record this season, as well, at 5-7.

The Raiders, like the Bucs -- who trounced them, 48-21, in Super Bowl XXXVII -- also have bottomed out. They're last in the AFC West at 2-10, tied with Detroit for the NFL's worst record.

Oakland had won three straight division titles when it won the AFC championship in 2002. Since then, the Raiders have gone 4-12, 5-11 and 4-12. This season looks as if it'll be even worse for the Raiders.

Only Seattle, which won the NFC championship last season and this year leads comfortably in the NFC West, despite injuries to star running back Shaun Alexander and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, has had a record that comes close to rivaling New England's.

A wild-card team in '03 at 10-6, the Seahawks won back-to-back division titles the next two years, and have all but locked up their third straight. But they did have a losing record in 2002, when they were 7-9.

How, then, has New England managed to remain a perennial championship contender, while other top teams have tailed off?

Through a combination of things with which Patriots fans should be familiar -- and appreciative.

The Pats have had, of course, brilliant coaching by Bill Belichick and a stellar staff that included former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, now head coach at Notre Dame; former defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, who left New England to become coach of the Cleveland Browns, and Eric Mangini, who has been surprisingly successful this year in his first season as coach of the New York Jets.

Despite drafting late, the Patriots consistently have drafted well. Getting quarterback Tom Brady in the sixth round in 2000 is one of the all-time great "steals." Since 2001, when they selected Richard Seymour, the Pats have yet to miss with a first-round pick, adding Daniel Graham, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Ben Watson, Logan Mankins, and Lawrence Maroney. The likes of Matt Light, Eugene Wilson, and Deion Branch were second-rounders, and later picks included Dan Koppen, Jarvis Green, David Givens, Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs and James Sanders.

New England has done an exceptional job of managing the salary cap, not only acquiring free agents such as Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrabel and Rosevelt Colvin, but also refusing to overpay to retain some of their own veterans.

They have traded well, too, acquiring Corey Dillon and Ted Washington, along with an array of draft choices.

The Patriots also have had some luck, which rhymes with "tuck." Every Pats fan remembers Brady's fumble in the AFC semifinal against Oakland in 2002, that was ruled an incompletion and enabled New England to defeat the Raiders in overtime in the snow in Foxboro and go on to win their first NFL championship.

But the real luck, the true good fortune, has been that of New England fans, who need to realize how truly blessed they have been these last six seasons.

While the Pats aren't likely to win another Super Bowl this season, in part because they'll probably have to play both the conference semifinal and final games on the road, they're unquestionably a championship contender -- a team that, with Brady, Belichick, and its record in big games, no one wants to play.

It's been a great run for the Patriots, and it's still going strong, with no sign of ending any time soon.

To truly appreciate it, look at the Steelers. And the Bucs. And the Rams, Raiders, Eagles, and Panthers, too.

jdonalds@projo.com / (401) 277-7340