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Perfect Record An Afterthought As Players Focus On Other Things

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 31, 2008

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Like cactuses and sand, talk of the Patriots finishing off a perfect season with a win in Super Bowl XLII is everywhere here in Valley of the Sun.

Oddly enough, the only people who don't seem consumed by that notion are the Patriots. Ask them if 19-0 is a part of their thought process and you really get the feeling it is not.

"I honestly haven't thought about it," Pats QB Tom Brady said when asked about the magnitude of going 19-0. "If that's the focus, then you're not focused on the right thing."

The sports world is focused on the Patriots' run at 19-0 because it has never been done before. The 1972 Dolphins finished with a perfect mark, but their season culminated with a Super Bowl victory in Game 17.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is one reason the Pats aren't focused on the run for 19-0. He is doing such a good job of keeping his players focused on other tasks that they don't have time to think about their record.

"We have so much to do, what with practice, getting families here and dealing with the media," WR Randy Moss said. "Once the game starts, the pride might be a factor, but right now we don't have time to think about that."

BLACK IS BLACK: The Giants have taken to wearing mostly black. It's supposedly their way of mourning the death of the Patriots winning streak, which they say they'll end on Sunday.

But like Plaxico Burress' prediction of a 23-17 Giants victory, this latest attempt at playing head games with the Patriots is missing the mark. So say the New England players, anyway.

"Yeah, you're supposed to wear black to a funeral, I get it," Moss said. "This is the last game of the year, so you're entitled to say what you want, but we'll see who has black on after the game."

FAMILY FEUD: The families of Giants LB Justin Tuck and Patriots LB Adalius Thomas might have a hard time deciding who to root for come Sunday, because the two players are related.

According to Tuck, his grandmother and Thomas's grandmother were cousins. That makes Tuck and Thomas cousins. That, at least, is how Tuck and Thomas see it. Neither is really sure, though.

"I couldn't even tell you how we're related, and I really don't want to try because I'd just mess it up," Thomas said. "Our mothers would have to sit you down and tell you. It's a generation thing."

PATS BITS: Brady's consistency has slipped a bit since the start of the season. Since throwing at least three TD passes in each of his first 10 games, he has thrown three or more in a game three times in the last eight games, and never consecutively. ... With a win Sunday, the Patriots will become the first NFL team to record 15 playoff victories in one decade.

Roy Cummings

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