The New England Patriots ‘Running’ their way to a 2nd Consecutive Super Bowl

MASSACHUSETS-After seven years without even a winning season on the Cincinnati Bengals, running back Cory Dillon came to the New England Patriots in the off season and gave the defending champions a powerful run game. Making his playoff debut today Dillon led his team to a 20-3 win over the Indianapolis Colts, generating 144 rushing yards.
Dillon described the Patriots successful offensive strategy: “We wanted to keep Peyton and them guys off the field and control the clock.” The Patriots held the ball for just under 38 minutes including three drives of 15 or more plays. Patriot Quarterback Tom Brady even ran the ball four times reaching the endzone once in this ball control offense. He also threw for 144 yards and another touchdown advancing his post-season record to a perfect 7-0.
Not to be forgotten in the entire offensive buzz was the domination of the Patriots defense. As Tom Brady was quick to point out in a game many experts believed would be an offensive assault from both teams, “Three points to one of the best offensives in the history of football is incredible!” It shouldn’t be a surprise that a team which was 6-1 against Peyton Manning coming into this afternoon would once again baffle the NFL MVP.
Throughout the second half in passing situations Bill Belichick sent out a defensive scheme that used only two linemen leaving nine men to drop back and smother Colts’ receivers. Even Manning, who has a reputation for finding defensive weaknesses and switching the play accordingly, could not come up with an answer to the multitude of unusual formations the Patriots presented to him. What makes their performance even more remarkable is that they did it all without pro-bowl corner backs Ty Law, and Tyrone Poole, and defensive linemen Richard Seymor.
Starting the 2nd half trailing by only 3 points their coach Tony Dungy felt pretty good about his team’s chances but his defense tired spending such long stints on the field and as Tony himself said, “We just ran into a better team today.” The stunned Colts will now join 28 other NFL teams in preparing their team for the 2005 season.
As for the Patriots, they look forward to another AFC Championship game next Sunday the 23rd. They will be playing at Heinz field, the site of their 2001 AFC championship win, against the 15-1 Pittsburgh Steelers who beat the Pat’s in week six. It should be noted though that the Patriots were without Cory Dillon in that game and he will be ready to take on the NFL’s top ranked run defense. Dillon emphasized after the game, “I’m not even recognizing my last seven seasons right now, it’s all about this year.” This attitude is shared by every one of his teammates who would rather focus on these playoffs rather than their past accomplishments