I know it strikes some people in the gut, however, it is a defensible position to believe the Patriots will have trouble against top caliber opponents. Dilfer is probably taking it a bit too far -- nooo, a mediot taking his opinion too far? -- but concern due to our D and our O's slow starts is, again, a fair argument.
The very good news is in the results. The Patriots lost 3 games this year: 1 where they lost a big lead in the 4th quarter, 1 where they lost a small lead late in the 4th quarter, and n the worst loss of the season where the Patriots played their very worst offensive game that was on the road against arguably the best team in the AFC.......we were down 1 score in the middle of the third quarter and 1 score with almost 3 minutes to go in the game. IF the offense -- a highly proven highly potent offense -- had played with just a modest amount of improvement, we had a good shot at winning that game.
The 2011 New England Patriots have proven they can and most likely should win any game they play. The entire season's results clearly show that. This is why those who are almost certain the Patriots will go nowhere are just as likely wrong.