Only the New England Patriots could take an event like the Super Bowl - the most ostentatious, media-saturated, hyped-up sporting event in the world - and turn it into business as usual.
But that's exactly what New England did against the Philadelphia Eagles, and it's why the Pats have now won back-to-back championships and three in the last four years.
After all, business as usual for Bill Belichick's Pats is the business of winning. It's simple enough, but it's what sets New England apart. On a team where "boring" and "humble" are the guidelines when any player or coach speaks with the press, the focus ends up on the team's incredible talent for winning football games.
That talent isn't for putting lots of points up, although they can certainly do so (see: AFC championship game) or for defensively shutting down a prolific offense, although that's within the Pats' capabilities as well (see: AFC Divisional game). Rather, the Pats are good at whatever they need to be good at on any given day.
Without sounding too much like a broken record, much of the credit for this Pats' team needs to go to the owner's box and coaching staff, and especially Belichick.
There are only a handful of Patriots who could play for another team at the same level that they do in New England. Corey Dillon and Rodney Harrison had successful careers respectively with the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers before coming to New England, and Damien Woody stands out as one of the best centers in the NFL. Rounding out the list are Ty Law, who was injured all season, and Richard Seymour, who didn't play for much of the playoffs and was used in a less prominent role in the Super Bowl. So make it three for this post-season.
Many loyal Pats fans read that paragraph slack-jawed. What about Teddy Bruschi? Deion Branch was the Super Bowl XXXIX MVP, right? Tom Brady's won three Super Bowls, hasn't he?
All are great players, but put them on other teams, and Bruschi's an undersized linebacker, Branch is maybe a slot receiver, and Brady, well Brady's a riddle. Had he been drafted by another team, he probably would be starting somewhere right now, but there's no way of knowing. After all, he didn't get drafted until the sixth round and didn't even start much of his senior year at Michigan!
No, Brady, Bruschi and the likes are all good players, but it's Belichick that makes them championship-caliber players. He finds every ounce of potential in every player and exploits it in his system so that everyone executes, every time.
Indeed, it doesn't even matter if the starters start. The Pats secondary, at various times this post-season, has featured players like Randall Gay, Hank Poteat, Eugene Wilson, and wide receiver Troy Brown.
It's a mystery how this is done. Maybe it's Belichick's stone-faced demeanor or radiating determination.
And that edge that Belichick and Co. brings to the table couldn't have been more obvious during the Super Bowl. Philly came out strong, doing what they would have to do to win: The Eagles got to Brady early, forcing uncharacteristically bad throws and even a red-zone fumble. The special teams played well, winning the field position battle, and the offense even found some limited rhythm against the Pats' unforgiving linebackers. Even T.O. was getting into the mix, making some doctor somewhere feel pretty stupid.
Stranger yet, the Pats were making mistakes. The team that everyone has hailed as infallible all year was committing penalties and missing tackles in the first quarter.
And then, just as people started to scratch their heads, the pendulum swung, and it swung hard, as the Pats began to do all the little things that make them the Pats. Harrison holds up L.J. Smith just long enough for Gay to force a fumble, Dillon gives up his body to protect Brady on a blitz, and every lineman takes down his assigned target on a screen pass. Business as usual.
Despite a valiant effort, when crunch time rolled around, the Eagles couldn't get it done. It's tough to question a brilliant coach like Andy Reid, but Philadelphia's atrocious clock management at the end of both halves will not evade scrutiny, especially as reporters and Philly fans search for new angles to explain the loss. (The fact that New England is just the better team won't console the guy who paints his body green and has a shrine to Donovan McNabb in his bedroom.)
Ultimately, though, the Pats' incredible ability to win no matter the situation will be the hallmark of this team, and...dare it be uttered, this dynasty. For many, the jury's still out on the big D-word, but training camp is only a few boring months away and the Pats still have plenty of cap room.
Here's a premature prediction from "Inside the NFL": The Pats won't be able to do it again. Losing coordinators Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis means that Belichick won't be able to focus as much on whatever it is he focuses on that makes this team so good.
Then again, at this point, picking against the Pats to win seems to defy logic and sound investment wisdom - after all, winning is their business.
