Quest for Perfection...

This morning, the Saturday of December 29th, 2007 I crawled out from under my rock and discovered it was week 17 of the NFL season and a few things had happened during my 4 months away from civilization:

The Surprising:

1. The Detroit Lions somehow managed to win 7 games
2. Rex Grossman really IS the best quarterback on the Bears
3. David Carr really IS a terrible quarterback (he got benched for Vinny Testeverde for cryin' out loud)

The Not-So-Surprising:

1. Marty Schottenheimer is a better coach than Norv Turner
2. Nearly 10 years after being hired by Baltimore, Brian Billick still is not the offensive genius he's made out to be
3. The Miami Dolphins are an abomination to professional football

And The Downright Unbelievable:

1. The New England Patriots are 15-0 pending tonight's game against the New York Giants (this thanks to NFL Countdown spending an hour previewing tonight's game)

The last part is the first time a team has ever been 15-0 in a 16 game season. This Patriots team, love them or hate them, is easily the best team I have ever seen in my lifetime. Through 15 games, they already have broken the NFL record for touchdowns scored in a season. Tom Brady is two touchdown passes shy of breaking Peyton Manning's single season NFL record of 49. Randy Moss is two TD catches shy of breaking Jerry Rice's mark of 22. They have also allowed the fewest points in the league this season. To nobody's shock, they're winning by about 3 touchdowns per game (average scoring margin of +20.8). Watch them throw deep and go for it on fourth down in games they're leading by over 30 points and their goal becomes clear. They aren't out to just win every game, they want to beat the brains out of everyone who dares line up on the field against them. It almost feels like they're playing with both middle fingers raised defiantly in the air from the moment they step on the field.

In my nearly two decades watching sports (only the last 12 of which I can vividly remember, I'm 23 after all), I have never seen a team this perfect. You can't find a single flaw on their roster. Should the 16-0 season actually happen accompanied with a Super Bowl championship (their fourth in seven years), we would have to call the Patriots the best team in NFL history. Beyond that, you would have to put them in the running for the greatest sports team ever, at least for a single season. This begs the question, where would a 19-0 Patriots season put them as far as greatest single season accomplishments in sports history? If and when that happens, I'll take on the task of placing them in the greatest teams of my lifetime (I don't feel qualified to speculate accross eras I wasn't alive to see).

Enjoy the game tonight and best wishes for the new year. Preview ahead: 2007 year in review, fearless NFL Playoff predictions, Podcast debut of Twaro's Take (crossing fingers).