Despite troubles, Pats sit pat at 5-2

In this league of extraordinary gentlemen (known to laymen as the NFL), a chance for redemption or a chance to exorcise any demons can always be just one play away.

In the New England Patriots' stunning 19-13 overtime victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, it took three pivotal sequences for the depleted Pats to outduel what many consider the best Miami squad in recent years.

In the spirit of the Red Sox letting history get the better of them yet again, the Patriots' "Curse of South Florida" is also well documented. The Pats had never won in Miami in September or October, whether the match ups were at the Orange Bowl or at Joe Robbie/Pro Player Stadium.

And it has seemed that in recent years the schedule makers have, sure enough, given the Patriots a chance to rewrite history by plopping them in Miami somewhere in the first eight weeks. And year in and year out, Drew Bledsoe, Tom Brady and co. were sure to have their jocks handed to them as they let sweltering heat get under their skin. Until Sunday.

In a back and forth game between the current AFC East front runners, it was special teams which held the key. And the ironic twist for Boston fans is that the Florida Marlins still being in the World Series helped the Pats tremendously.

The Dolphins were forced to kick their two deciding field goals on the infield dirt, which does not give ideal footing to either the kicker (normally automatic Olindo Mare) or his linemen. The results were a blocked field goal by Patriot Richard Seymour, who said he was able to get a better push with the linemen unable to get good traction, and a missed 35 yard field goal in overtime that was pushed wide right by the second most accurate kicker of all time.

The Pats capitalized with five minutes left in overtime when Brady and Troy Brown connected on an out-of-character 82 yard touchdown pass. Head coach Bill Belichick proceeded to make a Mary Tyler Moore-esque toss of his head phones in the air, as this early Coach of the Year candidate was able to finally exhale. Between the Lawyer Milloy debacle, the embarrassing first game against Buffalo, and the countless injuries to key defensive contributors, the magnitude of this win will resound for some time for this 5-2 team.

From teams on the up and up to teams falling fast, a trend that needs to be addressed is the ineptitude of last year's playoff participants. Of the 12, only two (the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts) hold a winning record as we head into Week Eight. While the 1-6 Atlanta Falcons and the 2-4 New York Jets can be excused at least a bit due to injuries to their quarterbacks, the blame is harder to place for others.

Brett Favre and his annual cast of characters we call the Green Bay Packers predictably continued their dome woes as they fell to the resurgent St. Louis Rams 34-24. Since winning the Super Bowl in 1996, one good but not great season has rolled into the next for this warrior. Currently at 3-4, neither "good" nor "great" are being considered as appropriate adjectives for Green Bay's 2003 season.

The most notable absences from the ranks of the winning, though, are the two teams who played in last year's Chuckie/Super Bowl. At a combined 5-8, last year's treasure has given way to this year's trash. For the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, no loss has been worse in their 3-3 season than Sunday's 24-7 defeat at the hands of the struggling San Francisco 49ers. Terrell Owens dropped three passes and was still able to have a big game (six catches, 152 yards, one TD) against a once infallible defense.

And the Oakland Raiders, sitting at 2-5 after a hard fought Monday Night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, with third year man Marques Tuiasosopo at quarterback, are reeling. They are basically the same unit as last year, but an injury to Jerry Porter, as well as Rich Gannon not being his 2002 MVP self, have rendered the Black Hole useless.

One More Thing: Similar to Mr. Irrelevant, the last player selected in each April's draft, the last team to win a game in the League deserves a special notoriety, a hero's pat on the back if you will. Rather than being wined and dined in Newport Beach, CA as the draftee is, this team gets to get back on their 1-5 horse and deal with Marty Schottenheimer for many more weeks to come. Ouch! But a hearty congratulations goes out to the San Diego "Becoming More Super" Chargers, who dismantled the Cleveland Browns 26-20. LaDainian Tomlinson deserves better, and here's hoping he gets it in the coming weeks.