Carolina's streangth is nothing new to the Pats.
Before St.Louis became the Colts they were a scrappy team that out punched the Titans in a nail biter of a Superbowl. Then it was the Patriots turn to punch St.Louis in the mouth in Superbowl XXXVI. The finesse of the Giants and the Raiders were wiped out by hard hitting teams in Superbowl XXXV and XXXVII. The good news for the Carolina Panthers is that they fit the mold of a hard hitting and scrappy team like these previous Superbowl champions. The bad news is that the New England patiots will enjoy trading blows.
The Eagles and the Colts were prime examples of how wide recievers can be hit enough to be rattled out of their top game. But neither Superbowl team are expecting the same results on Sunday. Much is expected out of Carolina's running game, but it will be the brutal blow for a blow passing game of both team's that will determine who will be champs. I feel both running games will face similar challenges. Carolina's Forrester and New England's Faulk will test the outside ability of the opponent's defense and neither Smith nor Davis are going to have a cake walk through the mammoth of a man named Ted Washington or a mammoth of Defensive line of the Panthers. I (and I'm certainly not alone) am excited to see a hard hitting, brilliantly called Superbowl XXXVIII.

It's not over until it's over
A common comment about the superbowl has been that a crucial ellement to winning will be getting a lead early in the game. Members of the media from ESPN & HBO have been saying "If the pats can open up a 10 point lead early on, it could be a blow out". Sure, statistically a team leading the superbowl by halftime has gone on to win (Bills not included), but that isn't a fair analysis of the teams playing in the Superbowl.
One of the Patriots biggest weaknesses against a good Defense is that there running game can be stopped if the opponent is expecting them to run. The Pats dominated many games this season, only to have a sudden late comeback by the opponent. When a team has a strong lead late in the game, that team is expected to run. This causes the Pats to do what they are weaker at, or to throw. Either way, it gives the opponents enough time to claw back into the game. It's been a long time since the Patriots lost a game, but that was a game in which there weakness was exposed. Washington halted a late Patriot's drive many critiqued for the playcalling. On fourth and three with a minue-and-a-half left, Brady passed instead of running it. Incomplete. Game over.
The Patriot's offensive schemes are brilliant and are the most effective in the begining of the game. The Pats keep scoring on the first drive and usually do it by being aggresive. It's when the Pats have to start playing conservative (the last drive in Washington proved to be to aggresive) that teams can creep back into the game. This does not mean I'm concerned that the pats will blow a big lead. If a game is tied with less than two minutes to go, despite who has the ball, there is no other team that I would want on teh field other than the '03-'04 Patriots. It's just crucial with the pats to remember that "it isn't over until it's over." I know the Patriots won't get cocky and this won't be the game for fans to be.

Underdog and unprepared status
I think it is unprofesional for an NFL analyst to say that a coach is "unprepared" or "assuming their team will win". I think very few people buy the concept that the coaching staff of teams like the Eagles are suprised by the talent of teams like the Panthers. "underdogs", "Cinderella teams" and "a dynasty" are terms used by reporters, not NFL coaches. Fox and Belichick are good coaches and are aware that any team can win on a given sunday. It is there job to prepare their team and the last thing they are going to do is take the other team lightly. How can Cris Colinsworth win three Emmys, yet say "no one expected Carolina to win in St.Louis, win in Philadelphia and Belichick won't be expecting them to win in Houston, which will be a big mistake". I strongly believe there were millions of people saying they could beat beat St.Louis, millions of folks saying they could beat the Eagles and there are millions of folks that truly believe that Carolina can win. Most importantly the Patriots and the Panthers are among these millions.
In Superbowl XXXVI, Coach Marts knew his team was highly favored, but he didn't assume they would win the superbowl. They just didn't have an answer for the Patriots gameplan. When Peyton "hit me one more time " Manning was dismantled by the patriots, he knew the patriots defense was capable of stopping him, even if the press didn't. The press puts their words in the coaches and players' mouths too often. Dispite the fact that Eagle's coach Ried said before and after the NFC Championship game that they took the Panthers seriously and was concerned about the Carolina Defense, Cris Collinsworth claimed Reid didn't expect such a performance from the Panthers. Give me a break, Cris. How about Cris Collinsworth didn't expect performance from the Panthers.

Four non-superstars to watch for
In the days leading up to the Superbowl, every match-up is analyzed and critiqued. But, football is mutch more than a runningback being better than the linebackers or a quaterback that can outrun a blitz. Intangibles are a big part of football, especially the big game. The follwing are four players that will add to their team's intangibles during Superbowl XXXVIII.

TYRONE POOL (NE)
The ex-Panther conerback(he was part of the original '95 Panthers) caught as many interceptions in the regular season as the highly praised Ty Law. During the regular season, Law and Poole rarely changed sides of the field, meaning they would switch covering the opponent's number one reciever. The Panthers know about their ex-teammate and probably won't test him, just to avoid Law. Nonetheless, watch for Poole to Keep Carolina's reciever's honest.

RICKY PROEHL (CAR)
Wide reciever Proehl still has the taste of Superbowl XXXVI in his mouth. He Played well in both his previous Superbowls and caught a touchdown pass against the Patriots that tied Superbowl XXXVI with 1:37 left in the game. Muhammad and Smith will be Delhomme's first choise, but Proehl will find himself a part of more mismatches than the other two. A well planned route will allow Proehl to catch the ball just outside the hashmarks, allowing him to burn up the sideline. There is a good chance that this is the last Superbowl for Panthers like QB Rodney Peete and Proehl and that is a strong addition to a team's intangibles.

BETHEL JOHNSON (NE)
After WR Johnson was drafted, there was much debate over what his role would be as a rookie. The overall concensus among the New England media was that RB Kevin Faulk would still be the kick returner and Johnson would see limited action as a reciever. With one game left in the Patriot's season, Johnson tallied the highest kickoff return avg (over 28 yards a return) in the AFC and could be a key palyer in Houston, his hometown. Johnson loves Houston, loves the stadium in Houston and will love the matchups he'll get in the stadium in Houston. Offensive coordinator Weiss loves to use Johnson in an empty backfield "Blitzkrieg". In this play, four out of five recievers start on the outside of the field and slope inwards. This creates a mismatch on WR Givens (usually a solo safety) and a wide open Branch or semi-wide open Bethel Johnson who is quickly seperating from his cover man. Brady won't have much time to pass, but Brady knows what mismathces to look for and the speed of their bench WRs match up nicely to Carolina's knicklback (T. Cousin) and free safty (D. Grant). But more importantly, Johnson is still trying to prove that he's the most dangerous kick returner in the NFL, dispite the fact that this is his first season.

JERMAINE WIGGINS (CAR)
TE Wiggins caught the second most TD passes for the Patriots in the 2001 Superbowl season. He's back in the Superbowl after a one year absence, but now he's playing aginst the Patriots. Any player that was part of the 2001 Superbowl team has gained vital experience about teamwork and how to win in big game situations. Wiggins is not commonly refered to as an impact player, but he could create a mismatch against some of the patriots slower defensive players. He's not going to rack up stats, but if he can start attracting a quicker defender, more mismatches might be created if Carolina then choses to run.

How the team was built
The following is how this Superbowl team was built and I incourage any comments about certain players or how the team was built.

Offense
=======

Pos Name Age NFL Exp How Acquired
--- ---- --- -------- ------------
QB Tom Brady 26 4th year 6th round pick, 2000
HB Antowain Smith 31 7th year Unrestricted free agent, 2001
FB Larry Centers 35 14th year Unrestricted free agent, 2003
RB Kevin Faulk 27 5th year 2nd round pick, 1999
WR Troy Brown 32 11th year 8th round pick, 1993
WR Deion Branch 24 2nd year 2nd round pick, 2002
WR David Givens 23 2nd year 7th round pick, 2002
TE Christian Fauria 32 9th year Unrestricted free agent, 2002
LT Matt Light 25 3rd year 2nd round pick, 2001
LG Russ Hochstein 26 3rd year Free agent, 2002
C Dan Koppen 24 Rookie 5th round pick, 2003
RG Joe Andruzzi 28 7th year Unrestricted free agent, 2000
RT Tom Ashworth 26 2nd year Rookie free agent, 2001


Defense
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Pos Name Age NFL Exp How Acquired
--- ---- --- -------- ------------
LE Bobby Hamilton 32 9th year Unrestricted free agent, 2000
NT Ted Washington 35 13th year Acquired in trade, 2003
RE Richard Seymour 24 3rd year 1st round pick, 2001
DL Jarvis Green 25 2nd year 4th round pick, 2002
OLB Willie McGinest 32 10th year 1st round pick, 1994
ILB Tedy Bruschi 30 8th year 3rd round pick, 1996
ILB Roman Phifer 35 13th year Unrestricted free agent, 2001
OLB Mike Vrabel 28 7th year Unrestricted free agent, 2001
LCB Ty Law 29 9th year 1st round pick, 1995
RCB Tyrone Poole 31 8th year Unrestricted free agent, 2003
SS Rodney Harrison 31 10th year Unrestricted free agent, 2003
FS Eugene Wilson 23 Rookie 2nd round pick, 2003
NB Asante Samuel 23 Rookie 4th round pick, 2003


Special teams
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Pos Name Age NFL Exp How Acquired
--- ---- --- -------- ------------
P Ken Walter 31 7th year Unrestricted free agent, 2001
K Adam Vinatieri 31 8th year Rookie free agent, 1996
KR Bethel Johnson 24 Rookie 2nd round pick, 2003
PR Troy Brown 32 11th year 8th round pick, 1993

Green & Eugene
The Patriots aren't just good. They are young and good. When the aging Terry Glenn left, we got Jarvis Green with the acquired pick (3 sacks in AFC Championship). With the aging Bledsoe trade the Pats have added talent like Eugene Wilson. It is common for a team to slowly get better, but the Patriots are getting younger at the same time. Players like Richard Seymour and David Givens are playing like veterans and we all know how the rookies have been playing.
The fact that the Patriots have so many young players starting distances them from most of the other great teams in NFL history. The New England Patriots are a smart team, we all know that. What is remarkable is that so many smart plays are being made by first and second year players.