The Carolina Panthers look eerily similar to the 2001 Patriots, right down to the second-string quarterback guiding the team into the Super Bowl. This collection of unheralded no-names quietly amassed an 11-5 record in the regular season before clawing their way into the championship game by knocking off three top NFC teams -- the Cowboys, Rams and Eagles. Across the frenzy that is pre-Super Bowl media week, they see a confident, hyped team that has been there before, much as the 2001 Rams once looked to the Patriots.
What happened in that game is a well-documented Cinderella story that will not happen again. The media would like you to believe that this is a redux of Super Bowl XXXVI. However, this is not the case.
The relative talents of these teams are far closer than the Rams-Patriots 2001 analogy would lead you to believe, and yet the result will be just the opposite. The Patriots will win this Sunday in Houston for the simplest possible reason: They are the better team.
Looked at separately, the things that make up the Patriots are unimpressive. Their passing game is simply efficient, their running game is anemic, their defensive four (or three) are solid, their linebackers are blue-collar and two untouted rookies started in the secondary all year long. Yet, the thick umbra of team shadows and hides any chinks in the armor.
Do you know who Asante Samuel and Eugene Wilson are? Go ahead, rush to your computers, and go to ESPN.com to get a glimpse of these mystery men.
What do you get? You'll learn that Samuel had 32 tackles and two interceptions while Wilson had 61 tackles and four interceptions.
But what do they look like? Would you recognize one of them walking down the street? The only picture you are offered is a black and gray silhouette, members of the faceless multitude that make the Patriots who they are.
The most casual observer of society can recognize Tom Brady's cleft chin from 20 yards, yet it is the men behind him that have turned the New England franchise into one of the most formidable in football. Men like the two rookies above, men like Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Roman Phifer, men like Joe Andruzzi, Matt Light. There are no prima donnas mentioned in this article, these men fight it out every day, be it in the driving snow or the oppressive humidity of Miami.
Excluding the 31-0 thrashing of Buffalo in Week 17, the Patriots' average margin of victory during their 14 game winning streak is seven points.
One touchdown? That is all that the AFC champs could muster? Nine points against a Cleveland Browns team that got shredded for 35 by defense-dominated Baltimore? Why all the hype about this team?
The answer is simple, regardless of the score, game summary or stats of its stars, the letter entered in the ledger each week since Oct. 5 has been the same: "W." This team has come from behind in glorious fashion, held off driving opponents, and sacrificed their bodies in goal line stands to uphold the promise they made to each other, one of team.
Whatever the situation this Sunday, and whoever comes out of the opposite tunnel, rest assured the Patriots will be ready and be sure they will come to play. This team has seen it all, and this weekend will be a dogfight, just as almost every Pats game is. I'll take the Patriots in any fight, especially one in which the Lombardi Trophy awaits the winner, battered and bruised as they may be.
