Boston-sized speed bumps

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Tom Brady walked off the field orbited by a crush of bodies, doing his best to accommodate many an outstretched hand or embrace from teammates. He didn't scream or pump his fist, choosing merely to smile and offer a stately wave. Before ducking into the locker room after the New England Patriots' 38-35 win over the New York Giants Saturday night, he delivered a final nod and a hushed admission.

"That," he said, "was fun."

For all the fawning the victory and the 16-0 season will summon for the Patriots – and throats will surely be raw from the gushed adoration – Brady's body language was the picture of this team's cautious wonderment. In some ways, it has become the defining characteristic of this team refusing the temptation to bathe in triumph. Rarely in the pursuit of excellence is there time for legitimate reflection. Do you think Michelangelo paused to bask in the accomplishment of the Sistine Chapel before putting the final touches on God's reach to Adam?

As Brady framed it at one point, "It's kind of a tricky game, because it really doesn't mean that much, but it means a lot."

Without the Lombardi Trophy and Super Bowl ring to accompany it, 16-0 is little more than the glittery Fabergé Egg of NFL accomplishments. It's beautiful on the outside – seemingly priceless – but still hollow. The Patriots know this, which is why when Saturday's dramatic come-from-behind win was over, the hugs came and went quickly. You didn't catch Patriots coach Bill Belichick jumping into the arms of his assistant coaches, or Brady holding his head in disbelief. Safety Rodney Harrison wasn't crying. Those are the images reserved for Super Bowls, which is why Brady followed a sentence like "This happens once every 35 years" with "We'll celebrate for a couple days and get back to work."

So next comes the logical question: What do we know about the Patriots at 16-0 that we didn't know before Saturday? Undoubtedly, there isn't another team in the league that can match New England's knack for seizing a game at a moment's notice. As impressive as the Patriots' blowouts were during the first half of the season, nothing has said more about the mettle of this team than the last eight games. Not only did New England withstand the vice-grip of possibly going 16-0, it survived despite all types of adversity. In places like Indianapolis and Baltimore and Saturday in the Meadowlands, and at home against Philadelphia, the Patriots proved they could play winning football from behind.

Trailing 28-16 in the third quarter, New England took a 38-28 lead in just under 20 minutes of game action. Yes, there were more memorable story lines Saturday. There was Brady's NFL record 50th touchdown pass to Randy Moss' league-record 23rd touchdown catch – both appropriately being set on the same play – and Belichick capturing the 16-0 mark at his old Giants Stadium stomping grounds. But the backbone of this team is founded on an unflappable resiliency under pressure.

"We've been behind before," Belichick said. "These guys as a football team have made plays when they need to make them. Whether it's recovering an onside kick; whether it's a punt return in the Indianapolis game; whether it's a stop on defense, a score on offense; Steve (Gostkowski's) field goals today – everybody has come through at one time or another this season."

But as perfect as the regular season has been, it hasn't come without some revelations – cracks in New England's foundation. The Giants, like other teams this season, put enough pressure on Brady to force a handful of bad throws. And until Moss got loose on his record-breaking touchdown, the Giants played the deep ball as well as any team this season, forcing New England to throw underneath coverage consistently.

Defensively, New England also wasn't getting consistent pressure on the Giants' Eli Manning, and doesn't appear to be anywhere near as effective with blitz packages as it has been in other Super Bowl-winning seasons. Indeed, this is a defense that can be remarkably soft in the middle of the field. New England continues to feel the loss of outside linebacker Rosevelt Colvin, who suffered a season-ending foot injury against Philadelphia on Nov. 25. That injury forced the Patriots to slide Adalius Thomas to outside linebacker and to move Junior Seau into a starting role in the middle with Tedy Bruschi, scuttling the rotation that kept the inside linebackers fresh.

The result has been Bruschi and Seau wearing down in games – getting swept up in the garbage in the middle of the field on running plays, or exposed in pass coverage against quicker players. Those flaws were evident on several rushing plays against the Giants, particularly for Seau, who found himself dominated at the point of attack by linemen.

"We're still not where we want to be at in a lot of areas," Bruschi said. "We know there are things we did in this game that we're not going to be able to do in the playoffs. And that's what is important – fixing those problems and moving on. We'll enjoy all that we've accomplished as a team, but there's a lot of work left."

Now the Patriots have two weeks to think about it. Those with Super Bowl rings – "dynasty" guys like Bruschi and Brady – will briefly enjoy something even they hadn't accomplished, while others (like Moss) can bask in the redemptive powers that come from playing with the NFL's ultimate franchise.

"I don't really think that me breaking Jerry Rice's record is special," Moss said Saturday. "I think shutting (the media) up is really what made it special – all the negativity and all the critics. … I love what I do. It might not seem off the field, talking on the microphones, that I &hellip carry myself as a professional. But when it comes to in between those white lines, I love what I do. I love playing professional football."

Moss was speaking with as true a passion and happiness as ever. And his refrain lent truth to what Aristotle once said about perfection: "Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."

The playoffs are here for the Patriots, and they are still headed toward perfection. The ultimate pleasure? Even with the cautious approach, it's not hard to see that it's closer than ever for this franchise.