Moss, Brady, Patriots: Perfection or Just Good?

1.000, 50, 22.  The 2007 Patriots are a team of numbers, a group of overachievers that set multiple records that look great on paper, but in reality, those figures have been overvalued and aren’t worth the lead they were wrote with.  Records are nice, to throw for the most touchdown passes, or be on the receiving end of those beautifully orchestrated routes more times than any other man is impressive, but they tend to resonate more when that route ends in Disney Land.   In the record books the Patriots will be remembered as possibly the first flawless team, exceeding the ’72 Dolphins due to the various benchmarks they have set, but if they don’t get to Arizona, no one will remember. 

It would be easy to get swept up into the moment and to say that Randy Moss is perhaps the greatest receiver of all time.  But what does that record mean?  Is it a validation, or just a mere aberration?  I just can’t help but think that the NFL should take a page from Major League Baseball’s playbook and denote Moss’s record with an asterisk.  The fact that Jerry Rice caught 22 touchdown passes in spite of losing 4 games to the 1987 strike should not be begotten on future generations.

I think it’s fair for one to assume that Rice would have, at the very least, put one more notch in his belt through the last quarter of the season, which would have allowed him to hold onto a share of the all-time record.  Instead if will always read ‘1.  Randy Moss -23. 2.  Jerry Rice.’  Is that really a representation of the truth?  In my humble opinion, Rice’s 87 masterpiece still remains the quintessential example of excellence.  That’s not to take anything away fro Moss.  For two decades no one was able to break into that pantheon with Rice, but to say Moss pieced together the single greatest season would be a faulty assessment.

In fact, his success is more of reflection of Tom Brady’s talents than his own.  Without him, he never would have been afforded the opportunities to achieve such a level of success, but then again, one could make the claim that Brady never would have validated his excellence with the All-Time touchdown record for quarterbacks without Moss. 

Since Brady has passed Manning on the leader board, it now leaves us with another debate:  Brady or Manning?  There was once a time when Brady had the rings and Manning had the records.  Then Manning won the ring, and the critics began to lean in his direction, but the tide has shifted again.  Manning has little over Brady besides his endorsement portfolio.  Is this true though?  The critics may contend that Brady’s success has been contingent on his coach’s shady practices.  In my mind, this has very little bearing on anything besides Bill Belichick’s conscious.  How much could those films have affected the outcome on the field?

If anything, Belichick is just an overeager genius, he has worked for years constructing the perfect team, one that is selfless, and complimentary.  One man’s success equates into success for the next man, which is something that should not be lost in these individual achievements no matter how glorious they may appear.  This is what has allowed them to put together the best regular season team of all time.

The way New England went about perfection was far more impressive than the 1972 Dolphins perfect season.  First and foremost, their predecessor’s opponents pieced together a 70-108-4 combined record, and they faced only two teams with a winning record.  On the other hand, the Patriots opponents went 94-89, and they faced six teams that finished with a winning record.  That alone gives them the edge in degree of difficulty.  They also posted a 315 point differential to the Dolphins’ 214, gained 1,385 more yards than Miami, and scored 24 more touchdowns.  Although, in ’72 the Dolphins ranked first in both offense in defense, while the Patriots ranked first in offense, but fourth in defense.

In the end, if the don’t win the Superbowl they will be considered a colossal disappointment, and forever second fiddle.  So for now, the Patriots are a team that raises more questions, than there are answers.  It will be the season that lives forever in barroom arguments.  Peyton vs. Brady, Moss vs. Rice, Pats vs ‘Phins.  As a fan, there isn’t much more that we could ask for.  2007 was the year of Boston Sports, but none of that matters in ’08, when the real season begins.