It's true. The LA Times had a great Pats article. (I have now posted the contents due to popular demand)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...ck=2&cset=true
Jets don't have a snowball's chance
Patriots outlast scrappy New York to improve to 14-0 on a day that's uneventful right down to postgame handshake between bitter rivals Belichick, Mangini.
By Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 17, 2007
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New York Jets came here looking for a miracle. In a way, they got one -- but not the type that answered their prayers.
The snow fell up.
With every big play by the undefeated New England Patriots on Sunday, their bundled fans scooped up handfuls of the ankle-deep white stuff and tossed them to the heavens. From high above, with the rain blowing sideways, Gillette Stadium must have looked like a fizzing caldron of carbonated drink.
The game, despite predictions to the contrary, was neither a blowout nor a whiteout. The Patriots, facing a tremendous effort by the scrappy Jets, held on for a 20-10 victory and became only the second team in NFL history to win its first 14 games.
The Spygate scandal? There was no talk of it after the game.
The most scrutinized postgame handshake in the history of coaching, between New England's Bill Belichick and New York's Eric Mangini? Thoroughly uneventful.
The only hint of a jab from New England came when Belichick was asked whether he was happy to have the week behind him, soap opera that it was.
"Like the other games, good to win in the division," he said, before adding a subtle zinger: "Good to sweep the Jets."
The Patriots are moving on, two victories away from the league's first 16-0 regular season. The only team to go undefeated in the modern era was the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who were 14-0 in the regular season before winning two playoff games and the Super Bowl. If the Patriots match that perfect season, they will finish 19-0.
"As long as that zero stays in that column, I'm cool with it," New England receiver Randy Moss said.
In fact, the Patriots are the only remaining team with a zero in either column, thanks to the Miami Dolphins' finally collecting their first win of the season, beating Baltimore in overtime.
Those Dolphins are next in line to face the Patriots, who play them here Sunday before closing out the regular season Dec. 29 at the New York Giants.
The once-burning question isn't even smoldering anymore. Will Belichick keep his starters in games down the stretch, rather than easing his foot off the accelerator to better ensure that everyone's healthy for the playoffs?
To hear his players tell it, that decision has been made.
"Coach Belichick is not letting up, man," Moss said. "So if y'all think there's any chance he's going to let up and give us a break, he's not. From Week 1, all the way through training camp . . . Coach Belichick will never let a team like this get ahead of themselves."
There was some speculation that Belichick might at least rest quarterback Tom Brady, the NFL's leading most-valuable-player candidate, instead of putting him in the line of fire against the Giants, who came into the weekend with a league-leading 47 sacks.
"I hope I'll play every snap," said Brady, who did not throw a touchdown pass, leaving him with 45 for the season, four behind Peyton Manning's NFL record. "The most exciting part of my job is playing -- not practicing, I know that."
That said, Brady had a hoot of a time practicing in the week leading up to the Jets game. Instead of retreating to their climate-controlled bubble, the Patriots practiced in the snow Thursday and Friday to prepare for the game-day elements. The footing was poor, and the defense just tried to keep up.
"I like when everyone's on skates," Brady said.
But it wasn't that way Sunday. The temperature climbed just enough for rain to fall, leaving the football soaked and heavy. The wind made throwing especially challenging, which explains why a Patriots team that had averaged a league-best 311.3 yards passing managed only 134 against the Jets.
Picking up the slack was Laurence Maroney, who rushed for a season-high 104 yards in 26 carries and scored New England's only offensive touchdown, on a one-yard plunge.
Their offense didn't move the ball with its typical ease, but the Patriots got on the scoreboard quickly. After a beautiful punt pinned them at their three-yard line for their opening drive, the Jets tried a pass on their second play. Kellen Clemens was buried by defensive end Richard Seymour just as he was releasing the ball. The wobbling pass was intercepted at the five by safety Eugene Wilson, who practically long-jumped into the end zone.
The hit knocked Clemens out of the game because of a rib injury. He was replaced by Chad Pennington, who was a respectable 25 for 38 for 186 yards but was sacked five times.
When the Patriots scored that opening touchdown, a thousand victory volcanoes of snow erupted in the stands -- an encore performance of something their fans famously did during a wintry victory over Miami four years earlier.
"I found it hilarious," Moss said of Sunday's celebration. ". . . They started throwing snowballs, and the whole stadium was doing it. Actually, I looked up there where my people sit at. I don't think they were doing it, but they were standing up jumping with them. . . . We have fun here, not just amongst ourselves, but with the fans."
Amazingly, winter is still five days away.
And for anyone coming to this place -- where the snow goes up and opponents go down -- it could be a long, cruel one.
Great article from.... the LA Times???
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