It's the Law

The Pats website -- home page on all of my computers -- has been having a hard time coming up with enough content to keep people clicking merrily along during this lockout.

Recents posts have included updates on the Pats cheerleaders (OK, there's nothing wrong with that), a look at the greatest jersey numbers in team history, and a feature on the cranberry bog at Gillette. Every day is a slow news day.

Today there was a story on Ty Law being honored at the annual gala The Tradition. Not all that exciting. But Patriots.com also had a story debating if Law was worthy of Hall of Fame status. Not Pats Hall. That's a sure thing. But NFL Hall. Not so sure about that.

Law was a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback. One of the best over the last 15 years. He finished with 53 career interceptions. The 22nd most in league history. More importantly, he is a three-time Super Bowl champ and one of the best clutch playoff performers the position has ever seen. Law is a great Patriot. But -- in my mind -- not an NFL Hall of Famer.

That raised the question among my tailgating friends as to which Pats are worthy of the yellow blazer. There was a flurry of texts all day.

Brady is in for sure. Of course.

Rodney Harrison and Corey Dillon should make it, mostly for what they accomplished with San Diego and Cincy, respectively. But the fact that they came to New England and were key parts in Super Bowl titles clinches their case for the Hall.

Vinatieri gets in. There has to be a spot for the best clutch kicker of all time.

Other Hall candidates? Willie McGinest. Tedy Bruschi. Troy Brown. Mike Vrabel. I think they are all worthy but not quite the superstar that usually makes the Hall. Their numbers aren't flashy. Of the four my vote goes to Willie. He holds the record for most career playoff sacks with 16. Now THAT'S a flasy number. Willie was truly the leader of one of the greatest dynasties in league history.

There's another Patriot from the last 10 years who is a sure Hall of Famer.

That #81 guy.

Dynasty. Starring ...

It seems just yesterday I was working at my old newspaper on New Year's Eve 1999. Y2K! The millennium! The world is going to end! Hoard water and Yodels! Well the decade began and we all survived. As it comes to an end it won't go down as a favorite decade of many -- unless of course you are a Patriots fan. For us, it was a most amazing decade indeed. Looking back at the Super Bowls, great playoff wins (and tough losses), and seasons of 14-2, 14-2, and 16-0, it's easy to select the most important player in this dynastic decade (Mr. Bundchen). But who would make up the rest of the list if you were naming the top 15 (10 wasn't quite enough) of the '00s? I'm glad you asked. (Note: Nine of the 15 were Patriots' picks. That's great drafting).

15. Ted Johnson: I'm not sure any Patriot sacrificed his body more than inside linebacker Ted Johnson did for the team this decade. The guy's a football player. Ohio State. No neck. He's the Jason Bourne of LBs. You can knock him unconscious and he will still get up, find you, and make the tackle. A draft pick of Bill Parcells, Johnson was one of the guys who helped build the dynasty in the mid-90s and then got the satisfaction of still being there when all the work paid off.

14. Deion Branch: The MVP of Super Bowl XXXVIII. Branch became the deep weapon that Brady had been missing and was the piece that turned the Pats offense from solid to dangerous. His long TD catch early in the '04 AFC title game in Pittsburgh set the tone for the romp. His catch to set up the winning kick in the Carolina Super Bowl was one of the toughest -- and most underrated -- catches I've ever seen.

13. Antowain Smith: The man was a bull with a hell of a kick. I loved Smith when he played with the Bills but injuries made him a big question mark when the Pats picked him up for the 2001 season. He answered all the questions. He ran for almost 1,200 yards and scored 12 TDs in his first season, leading the Pats on their improbable run to the playoffs. He was even bigger in those playoffs, returning to his hometown of New Orleans and playing a key role in the Pats erasing the nightmares of their previous two bayou Super Bowl trips.

12. Ted Washington: As important as Smith was in the Pats building a running game, the acquisition of the house that is Ted Washington was even more important when it came to stopping the run. The Pats had a huge hole in the middle of the D just a week before the season started in '01 and the late August trade for Washington filled that hole and then some. The Pats ranked 4th in the league against the run. Big Ted was the foundation -- literally -- of that defense.

11. Wes Welker: The only guy on this list without a Super Bowl ring. Hopefully he gets one soon but he doesn't need one. He's already one of the toughest, grittiest, smartest Patriots I've ever seen. He's averaging 100 catches a season. Simply put: How can you not love watching him play? How many clutch third-down catches has he made? Too many to count.

10. Adam Vinatieri: Is there another dynasty that has its kicker in the top 10? The greatest clutch kicker in the history of the game. Which kick do you want? The first Super Bowl winner ("It's gooooood! It's gooooooood!). The Snow Bowl kick. The Snow Bowl winner. The winner against the Titans in 6 degree temps. And those are just in the playoffs. I've seen so many great seasons by teams end on a "wide right." Not with Vinatieri. We didn't call him "Money" for nothing.

9. Kevin Faulk: Yes, Kevin Faulk. Most underrated player in the entire league these last ten years. Need a big catch? Go to Faulk. Need a big block? Line him up just in front of Brady. Need a big kick return? Put #33 back there. He's one of those guys that every dynasty has. The role player who plays every role to near perfection.

8. Corey Dillon: I can still remember the summer day over my parent's house when my brother Richie called from North Carolina. "ESPN's reporting that we traded a second-round pick for Corey Dillon.. Corey Dillon! We're going back to the Super Bowl!" And he was right. The Bengals sent away their disgruntled star and he had one more Hall of Fame season left in him to lead the '04 Pats to the title. He capped it with a monster game in the Pats most solid playoff victory of the decade -- the 20-3 punishing of Indy.

7. Ty Law: Kurt Warner drops back to pass. He throws it right just as he gets hit. The ball ... is intercepted! Ty Law! He takes it all the way for a touchdown! Patriots lead! That pick-six in the first Super Bowl made the team believe they really could pull off the upset. Law, who early in his career spent most of his time drawing yellow flags, evolved into an All-Pro shutdown corner. His three-pick game against Manning in the '03 AFC title game is one of the greatest performances by a cornerback ever.

6. Mike Vrabel: The cast-off from Pittsburgh who fit the Bill Belichick/Romeo Crennel defense perfectly. Vrabel, another OSU linebacker, is the man who hit Warner in the face (was that a penalty?) that forced the errant pass that was picked off by Law. He also forced the fumble in the Carolina Super Bowl that set off the scoring binge. Vrabel was always there to make a play. On both sides of the ball. He caught five passes while a Patriot. All for touchdowns.

5. Rodney Harrison: I can still hear the sound of Rodney coming on a blitz and smashing the quarterback to the ground with one of the hardest hits I've seen. And that was in a preseason game before the '07 season. You hear a lot these days about how all players take plays off. Not Rodney. He played every play as if the Super Bowl was on the line. Voted the dirtiest player by his peers year after year, that's what happens when you take pleasure in hitting as hard as you can. A Hall of Fame safety for sure.

4. Tedy Bruschi: Was there ever a better match of player and coach than Bruschi and Belichick? Watching them on the sideline it was like having two defensive coaches. During the years Romeo was there ... well, the three of them were pretty tough to outsmart. Belichick called him "the perfect player" at Bruschi's retirement press conference. That says it all.

3. Troy Brown: Who has the most catches in Patriots history? Troy Brown. Bingo! Who returned a punt and set up a blocked field goal return to beat the Steelers in their first AFC title clash? Troy Brown. Bingo! Who made the biggest catch in the drive to set up the winning kick in New Orleans? Troy Brown. Bingo! So many clutch catches. So many game-changing special teams plays. He even played nickel back when the Pats were decimated on defense. Whatever Belichick asked him to do he did. Troy Brown is the Patriots. Bingo!

2. Willie McGinnest: OK. I'm biased. Willie was my favorite player before he even played a down for the Patriots. I loved to watch the Pac 10 back in the '80s and early '90s and McGinnest was one of the best linebackers USC ever had. And that's saying something. When the Pats took him with the fourth pick in the '94 draft I was thrilled. Unfortunately Willie was plagued by a groin injury that slowed him for several years. But that all changed when this decade started. Willie's big plays stack up with anyone's on this list but it was the way he made his big plays that made him the leader of the dynasty. He didn't just sack you. He took you down with a fist in your face or a knee in your back. He was an intimidating playmaker. He was the man.

1. Tom Brady: One of the greatest stories in sports of the past 100 years. That's right. 100. A skinny sixth-round pick walked onto the field with his hands in his pockets on that September afternoon in 2001 and proceeded to lead the team to three Super Bowls in four years. I know he's got Gisele now, and Bridget's baby, and his commercials aren't funny like Manning's. And he wears those stupid TB hats. But he still has a burning desire to win after all he has accomplished. If he should be able to win another title before he hangs it up sometime in the next decade he goes down as arguably the best to ever play in the league. He's already the best to ever play in a Patriots uniform.

Almost made the cut: 16. Randy Moss. 17. Lawyer Milloy. 18. Vince Wilfork. 19. Richard Seymour. 20. Matt Light. 21. Daniel Graham. 22. Dan Koppen. 23. Ty Warren. 24. Asante Samuel. 25. David Patten. Did I miss anyone?

The rivalry

The unstoppable force vs. the immovable object.

There have been some great rivalries in the Super Bowl era of the NFL. The Packers and the Niners in the '90s. The Broncos and the Browns in the '80s. The Steelers and the Raiders in the '70s. This decade it's been the Colts and the Patriots. A rivalry that may have surpassed them all.

The two teams have staged some epic battles since Tom Brady joined Peyton Manning on the field in the fall of 2001. Brady's first win as a starter came against the Colts as Manning threw three picks and the Pats won 44-13. That was just the first in eleven games the two teams have played against each other since, with meeting No. 12 coming this weekend. Once again it's the game of the year. There are big regular season games (the Steelers-Denver game last Monday for example), but the Pats-Colts has grown into sports theater.

Act I: The Pats, led by Brady and Belichick, take the next five meetings following the 44-13 romp. The victories are some of the most memorable games in team -- and league -- history. Instant classics. They include the 38-35 win in the Dome in '03 with Willie McGinnest cutting in from the right edge and taking down Edgerrin James to finish off one of the game's greatest goal-line stands. That gave the Pats home-field advantage in the playoffs and brought the Colts to cold, snowy Foxborough for the AFC title game. Pats 24-14. Ty Law catching everything Manning threw. Manning doing the "Manning face" time and time again. The Colts complain about the Pats secondary hitting their receivers too early and too often. The next season the league changes the rules to give the receivers (read: Marvin Harrison) more room to roam. The teams squared off in the opener with the Pats carrying a grudge and Willie playing a key role again, sacking Manning and pushing Vanderjerk back far enough to miss a sure game-winner as time expired. Another Pats win that came with home-field advantage. Another playoff battle in the cold and snow. This one a clock-killin' Corey Dillon tour de force in a game where the Gillette crowd stood from start to finish, willing their team to a 20-3 victory. So much for rule changes.

Act II: The Colts came into Gillette in November of '05 and stopped the Pats' dominance dead in its tracks with a 40-21 beating. A game I was at. You could see the momentum in the rivalry visibly shift. I also witnessed the Colts 27-20 win the next season that gave Indy home-field advantage in their second AFC Championship clash in three years. Arguably the greatest AFC title game ever played. A game I had wanted for years. The Colts and the experts gave the New England weather a big part of the credit for the Pats victories against the Colts during their Super Bowl run. I was certain the Pats, always a good turf team, would beat Indy even worse on a fast track. And for one half of football I was right. As the Pats rolled up a 21-3 lead it looked like a romp. But the Colts staged a comeback that I thought was impossible, winning 38-34 in a wild back-and-forth second half. The Colts went on the win their first Super Bowl since sneaking off to Indy and they earned it.

Act III: The script is still being written in what is likely the final act between these two teams with Manning and Brady at the helm. The Pats won in Indy in '07 on their way to an unbeaten regular season, and the Colts responded by squeaking one out against the Brady-less Pats last year. The winner of this week's game will have a big advantage in the battle for playoff seeding. It usually does. The Colts have won 17 consecutive regular season games. Just a few games shy of the league record held by, of course, the Patriots. A record the Pats can protect. The Pats are 7-4 against the Colts since '01 but have been on the short end of the score often in the past few years. If they are going to have a legitimate shot to win their fourth Lombardi, this is the game where they show it.

Pats vs. Colts. It's the game of the year. Again.