The Champs Are A-Comin'....

Well well well... reports of the death of the New England Patriots' dynasty were greatly exaggerated. It looks like the champs will have a bit more than a cursory title defense this year, come January, and hopefully, February.

After all the naysayers refused to jump on the Patriots bandwagon because their previous two victories were over “lesser opponents” (Buffalo and NYJ), many said, "come back to us after the Tampa Bay game." Well, Bostonist is knocking... and the champs might just blow that door off the hinges.

Saturday afternoon, Brady and the Pats completed a 28-0 dismantling of the Tampa Bay Bucs, meaning that the 2005 AFC East Champions have won 5 of 6, and 3 in a row. Now, let's put this into perspective: All the experts (ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, CBSportsline) have been saying that the AFC East is the worst division in football, and that SOMEONE has to make the playoffs. But last weekend, the Pats put up 28 points against the #2 defense in the NFL. And it could have been a lot more, if it wasn't for the fact that the defense shut out one of the NFC’s best, the 9-5 Buccaneers. Oh, and did Bostonist mention that the champs have only given up 10 points in their last 3 games COMBINED?

Brady, who is coming off of SI's Sportsman of the Year, put together another stellar performance to add credence to his MVP candidacy for the 2005 campaign. In Saturday's victory, he was The Man again, completing 20 of 31 passes for 258 yards and 3 touchdowns. This one was over at half-time, when the Pats extended their lead to 21-0 on the second Brady TD pass, this time to David Givens (6 receptions for 137 yards and 1 TD) with 50 seconds remaining.

New England's defense was its own story, posting its first shutout of the year and holding the Bucs to 30 yards on the ground and 138 overall. Chris Simms, Tampa's quarterback, was sacked seven times and was under constant pressure from the Patriots' linebackers, led by Tedy Bruschi (11 tackles, two sacks, forced fumble) and Willie McGinest (two sacks, six tackles, fumble recovery), and Rosie Colvin, who was up close and personal with Simms all day long.

'Tis the season, fellow Bostonians, when the Patriots play their best football. On a weekend where the champagne finally popped in Miami (due to Indy's loss to San Diego 26-17), the Patriots look to be peaking at the perfect time. Like clockwork, Belichick's boys are playing their best football with the most important games just around the corner and the champs have that familiar swagger back. Doesn’t it feel a little different after last week’s game? Are we regaining the confidence back that the two-time defending champs already seem to have? Don't be surprised Bostonians, when the Patriots beat the Colts in round two of the playoffs in the RCA Dome.