(Russell Colvin checks to see if Chris Simms’ heart is still beating)
New England clinching its 3rd consecutive AFC East title is not so mind-blowing considering the quality of the rest of the division. But while you’d have to be blind or deluded not to recognize the road to Super Bowl XL goes through Indy, it oughta be stressed that this isn’t the same Patriots team that was throttled by the Colts in week 9.
Winners in 5 of their last 6, the Pats have been helped in no small measure by the return of Corey Dillon and received a huge effort today from the veteran core of Bruschi, McGinest, Vrabel, the New England D sacking Chris “Laissez-Faire” Simms 7 times and forcing two fumbles.
i think the biggest sign of improvement in the pats is the fact that their dbacks aren’t giving up 2-3 40+ yard plays per game. the d-line has solidified with vince wilfork finally understanding how to play the nose in a 3-4 set and moving vrabel inside to team with bruschi has allowed colvin and mcginnest to be on the field at the same time while also removing chad brown from the equation.
this is not the same pats team that played the first 8 games of the season and i really do hope they face the colts in the afc championship game. it will be fun to watch.