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The Great Escape 1, 2 and 3?

December 4th, 2K7

Weeks 12 & 13 for the New England Patriots seems to have once again been written by those infamous script writers I've been talking about over the years. I mean how else do the Pats have this decade that they have been having? If there isn't a TV series or movie based on their run and the things that have happened during their successful time in the near future I would be real surprised. Right now the Pats are top in sports reality television filled with drama, romance, action, death and a villain that is loved by those within the Patriots nation and most New England circles.

This Sunday  they head into their match up with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and let look at the what has happened over the past two weeks before we analyze it.

In Week 12,  the Philadelphia Eagles were coming to town, their QB Donovan McNabb was injured (Chunky Soup Curse once again),  and despite the amount of veterans on their team the odds makers decided to slap a 20 plus point spread on the game making the Eagles the underdogs in the highest spread ever for a regular season game. What did this do for the Patriots? It made things bad for them, it inspired a team that was already looking to knock off an undefeated team. A team that had been the Mike Tyson of the NFL, and coming off a Mitch Green like destruction of the Buffalo Bills.

In week 12, the Eagles played with heart, but not enough to get themselves the win.

QB AJ Feely had the game of his life, tearing up the middle of the field with on point passes, some were saying the Eagles had now written the blueprint to beat the Pats. After the game head coach Bill Belichick said that when watching game film during the week they realized Feely liked to work the middle of the field, but throwing to the outside along the lines were his weakness. The Pats waited patiently, and pulled down two HUGE interceptions along the lines, one returned for a TD by CB Asante Samuel, and the other to end the game. The following weekend the blueprint theory was reversed as the Seahawks defense studied AJ's performance against the Pats, and stalked the middle of the field coming up with four interceptions, and forcing the return of QB Donovan McNabb for this weekend.

This past Monday the Pats went into Baltimore to take on the Ravens who had lost 4 in a row, and had more in house fighting going on than a day at Bobby and Whitney's, but on this night the Ravens had some serious motivation. They had the chance to knock off the undefeated team on their home field with three of their major players having an emotional and personal connection with Sean Taylor of the Redskins who died after being shot during a home robbery gone terribly wrong. ILB Ray Lewis, FS Ed Reed, and RB Willis McGahee huddled before the game with tears in their eyes and vowed to leave nothing on the field as they dedicated their performance to their fallen classmate of the Miami Hurricanes.

McGahee played like a man possessed, and almost single handedly destroyed the Pats on his own, while on defense Ray Lewis and Ed Reed's intensity carried over to the other players as they harassed the offensive line, and QB Tom Brady all night getting three sacks, and shutting down his WR corps by getting physical at the line, but despite the inspirations the internal issues reared it's ugly head as the Ravens mounted penalty after penalty, allowing the Pats to stay in the game, and if you "the reader" are well "knowledged" in the game of football you know that any team that hits that 5 penalty threshold will soon have their faults catch up with them, the Ravens had 13  for 100,  and had it explode at the worst time possible. A fourth quarter drive with time ticking down the Ravens brain ****, and called a useless time out as their defense was ready to shutdown the Pats hopes after  a 4th and 1 false start situation forcing the Pats to go for it on 4th and 6th. QB Tom Brady says he heard the whistle, and that was why he stopped his progression, but I think differently. After giving the Pats a second wind they commit three crucial penalties putting them in range to put themselves on top, and then after giving up the TD Ravens player Bart Scott took a the refs challenge flag and hurled it into the stands. The final two of the three infractions added 30 yards onto the ensuing kick return, and one would have to think what would have become of the hail mary pass if they didn't have that 30 yards tacked on as the pass was completed 2 yards shy of the end zone with time elapsed, and the Pats are victorious once again.

So now the Pats have the Pittsburgh Steelers on tap, in a game that mostly everyone had said would be the toughest of this final stretch, and after McGahee and Addai's rushing performances this year against the Pats one would think that RB Willie Parker is going to be unleashed like the chained Persian warrior from the movie 300. With LB Rosie Colvin done for the season the Pats are going to have to expect a lot from their interior defense to stop the run, and if Chad Brown suits up he is going to have to know his job. The Steelers are dangerous despite their coming into the Razor, but then someone from the Steelers has to go and do something stupid just days before the big match up by guaranteeing an upset.

Did the Steelers not learn from the AFC championship in 2001 when they had booked hotel rooms, and rented cars for Super Bowl week in New Orleans? I guess not. Why would HC Mike Tomlin allow DB Anthony Smith to talk to the press, and make a comment like that? Especially about a team that has had back to back sub par games in the past two weeks,  and  can explode at any time to put points on the board. Why? Why, inspire the 68,000 who will be at the game this Sunday? Did he think the game was going to be played at the Anticipation hole? And why make those comments on a Tuesday so the players can mull over it for days until it's ripe in their brains because we all know Belichick is drilling it into their heads how comments like that are showing how much disrespect the Steelers have for them once again. Will it be another great escape sequel, or will the Pats of old return to the fold? No one knows, but it will be another weekend of those at home hanging on the edge of their seats, because no matter what happens the remainder of this season isn't going to be any easer. The Jets will be flying in with a chip on their shoulder knowing the Pats will be gunning for them after week 1 Spygate fiasco, and then there's the Dolphins, a team that may still be winless come the time of their match up, but one thing is for certain if the Dolphins can muster up one win this season, a win over the Pats would be the most satisfying if it was the only win. Lastly there's the Giants, the final game on their turf, a game that could be for the perfect season, and possible playoff implications for the Giants. This will not be a rest game for anyone, and if the Pats want to get out of here they are going to have to open up the can of whoop **** early, and send the Giants fans home early.