New England Patriots This Year's Super Bowl Champs? Don't Crown Em Yet

After outscoring the New York Jets and the San Diego Chargers a combined 76-28 in the first two weeks of the regular season, sports pundits everywhere are ready to hand over the Lombardi Trophy to the New England Patriots--and it's not even the end of September. Indeed, the Patriots' success has probably not been a surprise to anyone. The off-season acquisition of Adalius Thomas, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, Randy Moss, and Kelley Washington made the Patriots the Super Bowl favorite before the regular season began. Any question about the ability of the team to gel was answered in the nationally televised contest against the Chargers, where Tom Brady looked comfortable spreading the ball out amongst his newfound receivers, and Adalius Thomas showed how much of an impact player he is by intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown en route to a 38-14 smearing of San Diego. Admittedly, the Patriots have looked every bit as dominant as many predicted.

That said, fans of every other NFL team (well, at least the Chargers, Steelers, Colts, Bears, and a few others--you know, the contenders) need to take a deep breath and relax. The season is only two weeks old and we're already crowning the Patriots and looking to the college football ranks to see who we might draft? Take heart, dear football fanatics--there are many reasons (well, at least two) to believe that Tom Brady and company will not be celebrating a fourth Super Bowl victory, and your team does indeed have a fighting chance.

First, the regular season is long. Very long. And in a game where very large men are colliding with other very large men, there are bound to be injuries. Sometimes, serious ones. Now, this does not give you permission to repeatedly poke a Tom Brady voodoo doll in the knee with a pin, but do realize that he is human, even if he has figured out a way to date Bridget Moynihan AND Giselle Bundchen AND win 3 Super Bowls. Same thing with Lawrence Maroney. If either of these guys goes down, especially late in the season, a Super Bowl victory is going to be much harder to come by with so many other competitive teams in the AFC.

Second, even if Tom Brady and company manage to get through 16+ games relatively unscathed, history has shown us that teams dominating in the regular season sometimes go into a playoff game and lay a big egg. Doesn't anyone remember the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, who went 15-1 and lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game? Or how about the 2004 Steelers, who also had a 15-1 record and lost in the AFC Championship game to the very same Patriots? The Indianapolis Colts have started a couple of regular seasons undefeated, and those same seasons ended in bitter playoff losses, but they finally won the Super Bowl the year they looked least dominant.

Finally, if none of this is enough to convince you to buck up, remember the very first Super Bowl win for this current Patriots dynasty. They faced a heavily favored Steelers in the AFC championship game, and managed the victory. They were a big underdog to the "Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams, but prevailed against all odds in the big game.

On any given Sunday, your team has a fighting chance. And it's a long way to February.