The next one

Tom Brady has been asked "What's your favorite ring?" many times over the years. He often answers by telling a story from when he was a quarterback at Michigan in the late '90s. He said he once asked his offensive coordinator which of his many Big Ten championship rings was his favorite. "He looked at me and said 'The next one. The next one'," Brady recalled. "I said, "Ya. The next one."

Brady gets a shot at the next one today. It should be a great game. It got me thinking of all the great playoff games that Brady has played in. Before Brady and Belichick the Patriots had appeared in 17 playoff games in 40 years of football and their record was an underwhelming 7-10. There were some great games in there but also some heartbreakers (Steelers 7, Pats 6 in '97 is a good example). Since Brady walked on the field in September of 2001 the team has played in 21 playoffs games, going 16-5. What a run it has been.

As the Pats get ready for another Super Bowl, it's a good time to look back at the last decade and rank the top playoff games (not including this year just yet). It's not really a ranking as much as a list of great memories...

10. '06 Divisional Round (vs. Chargers): The only non-Super Bowl year game to make the list. This was one I watched mostly with my hands partially blocking my eyes, fearing the Chargers next score that would have blown the game open. San Diego led 14-3 early but the Pats scratched their way back to 21-13 with eight minutes to go. The Pats were teetering on the brink of disaster the whole game and when Brady was picked by Marlon McCree with about five minutes left it looked like they were done. But McCree kept running with the ball and the ever-alert Troy Brown stripped it and the Pats recovered. New life! Brady quickly cashed in on the second chance with a TD and two-point conversion (direct snap to Faulk of course) to tie the game at 21. The Pats D held and Gostkowski nailed a 31-yarder for one of the all-time great playoff thefts.

9. '04 Divisional Round (vs. Colts): When a team's most impressive, dominating defensive playoff performance of the decade only comes in at #9, well, you know you've been treated to some great games. This was the "Clock Killin' '' Corey Dillon game. This was the game where the unstoppable force (Colts' offense) met the immovable object (Pats' D). The league had changed the rules after the Pats beat the Colts (and beat them up) the year before, allowing more freedom for the receivers. The new rules didn't help. Bruschi ripped the ball from Dominick Rhodes's hands. The Pats (with the help of the cold and snow) ripped the heart right out of the Indy offense. They beat the Eagles for the title two weeks later but this was the '04 Super Bowl.

8. '03 Divisional Round (vs. Titans): The coldest playoff game in Patriot history. Every now and then a shiver will run through my body leftover from that day. How the players were able to play such a great game is beyond me. It took all my strength just to drink my beers. Brady hit Bethel Johnson on a 41-yard bomb as if it was a sunny September afternoon. Rodney Harrison hit everything in sight (and had a pick) and Adam Vinatieri hit yet another huge kick, nailing a 46-yarder with five minutes to go. I can still hear his foot smack the frozen ball as if he was kicking a cinder block. It hurt just to listen to it.

7. '01 AFC Championship (vs. Steelers): I watched this one at a bar with Paul. I was supposed to be at work. It seemed like a good day to take a three-hour lunch break. Other than the Sox Game 7 win over the Yankees this was the best bar game I've watched. The place was raucous. The Pats were big underdogs. The Steelers were way too cocky. Then Brady went down and Drew Bledsoe came in to play the role of hero. It was Bledsoe's shining moment as a Patriot -- and his last. He sure deserved it. Troy Brown made two huge special teams plays and the Pats found themselves headed to New Orleans for the Super Bowl.

6. Super Bowl XXXIX (vs. Eagles): A Super Bowl not in the top 5? A Super Bowl that gave the Pats back-to-back titles not in the top 5? That's right. It wasn't all that great a game. The Pats only won by a field goal (24-21) but the game never felt that close. Not every Super Bowl is a classic. The key is just to win it. The beauty always lies in the final score. The Eagles and T.O. put up a good battle but the Patriots were too experienced, deep, and confident to let the chance at history get away. Linebacker Mike Vrabel made an acrobatic TD catch and Rodney sealed the victory with a pick, ending the game by flapping his arms like Eagles wings. The Pats had soared to the level of a dynasty.

5. '03 AFC Championship (vs. Colts): When someone says Gillette Stadium isn't a great home-field advantage its pretty clear that they weren't there for this game. The rivalry was just starting to build at this point. If you asked most people (outside of NE) which of these teams was about to win back-to-back titles I bet 90 percent of them would have chosen the Colts. They would have been wrong. The Pats D forced Manning to throw four picks (three by Ty Law) by harassing him and knocking his receivers all over the field. Rule changes would follow. And so would more Pats victories.

4. '04 AFC Championship (vs. Steelers): Oh, this game was fun to watch. The rematch with the Steelers in Heinz Field. Three years later the Pittsburgh players were still whining about their '01 loss and, having put a beating on the Pats in the regular season, were predicting a blowout. They were right. It was a blowout. Pats 41-27. And it wasn't that close. Deion Branch caught a TD bomb to open the scoring and then ran one in on the reverse to close out the scoring. Brady was an efficient 14-21 for only 207 yards and two TDs. But the D forced three picks -- Rodney taking one 87 yards for a touchdown. Blowout.

3. Super Bowl XXXVIII (vs. Panthers): One of the strangest Super Bowls ever. And the most exciting. The first quarter was a defensive war. Neither team scored. Then Vrabel forced a fumble, Brady hit Branch for a touchdown, and the two teams busted out to score 24 points in the last three minutes of the half. 24 points in three minutes after a bruising defensive first half. I've never seen anything like it. The two teams went back into their defensive stance, both coming up empty in the third quarter. That all changed again in the fourth quarter when the teams combined to score 37 points. Most of them on big plays. The game kept swinging from a standoff to a shootout. The Pats had Brady and Vinatieri. They got off the last shot for one of the greatest Super Bowl victories in NFL history.

2. Snow Bowl (vs. Raiders): "After review, the quarterback's arm was going forward ..." Tuck that! I'll be watching the tape of this game when I'm a happy old man. Hopefully I will be able to remember what it was like to be there as well as I can now. I think I will. The weather. The old stadium. A franchise's luck changing forever. A kick for the ages. A game for the ages. Most of the talk now centers on the fumble-that-wasn't and Vinatieri's clutch kicks, but the Pats receivers (Patten, Brown, Wiggins, Faulk) made some incredible catches in the blizzard. It was a memorable way to close out the old place. There's only one game that could top this instant classic.

1. Super Bowl XXXVI (vs. Rams): I was sitting on the floor next to the television in my parent's den. I wanted to be as close to the TV as I could. Brady spike the ball with just seven seconds left, the ball bouncing straight up and landing gently in the palm of his hand. Everyone was silent as Vinatieri walked out for the kick. "If he makes this we are Super Bowl champs," ran through my mind about 100 times in 30 seconds. I'm sure it was going through the mind of everyone in the room. But no one dared say it. The ball was snapped. Vinatieri kicked it smoothly. The camera angle switched to behind the goal post, the ball heading right towards me. It was right down the middle. Right down the middle! We yelled and danced and hugged and laughed -- and even cried a little -- for hours. The kick was good. I still can't believe it.

Here's hoping there's a new No. 1 for the list by the end of the day today.