Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Final Score
Patriots 31
Vikings 7

Teddy’s Take: Improvement!

Week after week, Bill Belichick and the Patriots talk about improvement. “We need to improve. We did some things well, other things we can do better.� You hear it over and over again till it becomes almost cliché and an excuse not to answer a question directly.

You know what, though? It’s true. Every championship team is better in October than in September…better in  November than October…better in December than in November…and so it goes till the best team is left standing in January/February. Right now, this Patriots team appears to be following that path.

When they beat the Bengals in Week-4, we said it was their best performance of the year. After struggling against Miami going into the bye, New England returned with its best performance yet at Buffalo. And now this. Taking the opponent and venue into account, the victory over the Vikings was by far the best performance of the year. (Notice that all these games came on the road? Another good sign for the future!)

All of which sets up a mammoth matchup against the Colts next Sunday night. The winner of that game controls its destiny for home field in the AFC playoffs. I know there’ll still be plenty of time left, but an Indy win all but assures dome playoff games for them. Should the Pats win, they’ll move atop the conference standings and have an opportunity to force teams to Foxboro in January. We know how that’s worked out in the past.

I can’t wait!

Shining Stars: A giant star on the forehead goes, first and foremost, to the head coach. Faced with a great run defense, Bill Belichick and his staff devised a game plan to spread the field and throw the ball almost every down, neutralizing Minnesota’s stellar line. Unlike coaches who stick to their strength even when it isn’t working, Belichick is willing to attack the opponent’s weakness, taking what is given and refusing to “bang our heads against the wall,� as he likes to say. It may not sound like a big deal, but remember Mike Martz’ stubbornness and know that the former Rams coach isn’t alone in his stubbornness.

At this rate, Tom Brady is going to need a bigger forehead for all the stars he’s accumulating. 372-yards, 4-TD’s and receptions by 10-different receivers helped Tom Terrific keep his dome record perfect (11-0). He even screamed at a fan who threw a drink at Ben Watson after his touchdown…The receivers get one as a unit. Doug Gabriel was strong early, Reche Caldwell took over in the second quarter, and Watson was solid throughout. Throw in scores by Troy Brown and Chad Jackson (great individual effort), and you have the best game yet for this maligned group.

Laurence Maroney gets one for the huge kickoff return that silenced the crowd after the Vikings only score…Lastly, lets hand out stars to the entire defense for shutting out a good team at home. Too bad a special teams score kept them from getting official recognition for the shutout and extra points for fantasy owners throughout the country.

Quality Quote: “His favorite receiver’s the one who’s open.�—Bill Belichick talking about Tom Brady’s ability to spread the ball.

So what did you think of the game? Best performance of the year? What about the upcoming contest? Do the Pats continue their mastery or did Peyton Manning get the Belichick monkey off his back last year?