Power Rankings: Denied Patriots have to get back in line

Updated Feb. 5

Perfectville, that mythical neighborhood created by the 1972 Miami Dolphins, is a really tough place to gain entry into, an ultra-exclusive area that features few in it.

The exclusivity of it makes any gated community, even those of the high-rolling stars, seem as if they're open to all of us. You can't buy your way in, either. You have to earn it.

Tom Brady heads off into the sunset for now -- better luck next season. (Getty Images)

The New England applied for entry but got turned down when a group of blue-collar New York Giants proved the Patriots weren't good enough.

Sunday night's Super Bowl XLII gave us another valuable reminder of why we love sports so much. The seemingly unbeatable is always beatable.

The Patriots 17-14 loss ruined their chance at a 19-0 season, allowing them to stake a claim as one of the greatest, if not greatest, team of all-time. We were ready to anoint coach Bill Belichick as the greatest coach and Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback.

Now they have to spend the next six months hearing how they choked it all away. They are the biggest Super losers of all-time.

Yes, the Baltimore Colts were bigger favorites when they lost to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III, but the Colts weren't unbeaten. They weren't trying to get into Perfectville.

Now the Patriots appear to be facing a tumultuous offseason. In addition to the sting of hearing how they gagged their season away, they have the Specter (as in Arlen) hanging over their heads.

They thought the spying scandal was long gone when they were caught early in the season, but now we get word there might be another tape, one in which they filmed the St. Louis Rams' walk-through before Super Bowl XXVI. If that is found to be true, Belichick could be facing a year-long suspension, which ultimately could lead to him walking away for good. There is talk among some in the league that the Patriots ownership wouldn't need much to send him packing.

Winning Super Bowls, they tolerate his boorish behavior and off-field dalliances. But if he's caught in another scandal, watch out.

Belichick, in his usual standoffish way, shrugged off a question about the latest allegations after Sunday's game. "I don't know about that," he said. Then again, he shrugged off a lot of questions, his bitter-beer face showing all the pain he was feeling inside.

His classless walk off at the end of the game, leaving the field with one second left in the game and a snap still to take, was vintage Belichick. How about losing with some class? Then again, some say he doesn't win with class so why should we expect him to lose with it?

The Patriots will also have to decide what to do with Randy Moss, who can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. He did little in the postseason, although he did have a touchdown catch Sunday after catching 23 of them in the regular season. He says he wants to come back to New England, but you can bet he won't take the home-team discount if that's what the Pats are thinking.

Then there's the aging defense, especially at linebacker. And wasn't that graying safety Rodney Harrison who gave up the two biggest completions Sunday night?

It will be a long offseason for the Patriots, one they thought they'd spend talking about their greatness.

Who didn't think they would start the 2008 season atop all the power rankings? But instead they are in the two hole, behind the Giants. If the two teams played 10 times, the Pats would probably win seven of them, which means they are probably the better team and should be in the top spot. Bodog.com sent out a list of odds for next year's Super Bowl and the Patriots are the favorites at 4-1. The Giants are 10-1, behind the Chargers and Colts and tied with the Cowboys.

But Super Bowl winners always take the top spot in the first set of our rankings that close out this season and peek ahead to 2008.

There will be another three or four sets of these rankings before we kick off the regular season, one after free agency, another after the draft and one or two more before the regular season opens.

New England thought they had the top spot locked until we kicked it off for real. The Giants took that from them and they took something far more important.

They took away their slide card for entry into that elite community known as Perfectville.

Now they have to wonder if they'll ever get in.

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Titans · Trends	1
	Now that they've shown they can pass it to win games, where are the weak spots? There aren't any. They can essentially clinch home-field advantage by beating the Jets this week.
	2	Giants · Trends	2
	Here's the plan: They tell you they're going to run it, and then they do it. Get ready, Cardinals. The Mack truck offense is coming.
	3	Panthers · Trends	3
	It hasn't been pretty the past two weeks, but is it ever with this team? At 8-2, do we really know if they're any good? We might after they go to Atlanta this week.
	4	Buccaneers · Trends	4
	Don't you get the impression that they're getting better each week? They could be the sleeper team in the NFC. Jeff Garcia is playing well.
	5	Jets · Trends	7
	They proved by beating the Patriots last week that they are a legitimate contender. They do have to work on that pass defense. They get their crack at Tennessee this week.
	6	Cardinals · Trends	8
	They can prove all of the doubters wrong by beating the Giants this week. If they do, they just might end up as the NFC's second seed.
	7	Cowboys · Trends	9
	Getting Tony Romo back is huge, but so is having Terence Newman healthy at corner. They are healthy now, which readies them for a six-game run to the playoffs.
	8	Colts · Trends	11
	For the first time this season the offense looks to be getting into a groove. The defense remains a worry, especially when Bob Sanders isn't playing.
	9	Steelers · Trends	12
	The best thing to come out of the San Diego game was seeing Ben Roethlisberger throwing it better. That will be the key to the playoff run.
	10	Patriots · Trends	6
	They have a huge one this week with the Dolphins. The winner might be tied for first place if the Jets lose. The loser could be in playoff trouble.
	11	Dolphins · Trends	18
	Yes, they are playing a big game in November. Can you believe it? It has been a nice start for first-year coach Tony Sparano.
	12	Broncos · Trends	20
	They've fought through a bunch of injuries and now look to be the team to beat in the AFC West. As they get healthy, they should be even better, especially when they get Champ Bailey back.
	13	Falcons · Trends	10
	They have a chance to bounce back in a big way from that loss to the Broncos by beating the Panthers this week. If they don't, they will be traveling the wild-card route at best.
	14	Redskins · Trends	5
	They've lost consecutive games at home and the passing game has struggled in both. Jason Campbell needs to get it going again the way he did early this season -- or they'll be watching come playoff time.
	15	Packers · Trends	19
	After two tough road games they got right against the Bears last week. They are tied for the division lead now and the good thing for the rest of the season is that Ryan Grant got it going Sunday.
	16	Ravens · Trends	13
	There's no shame in losing to the Giants on the road. The big shocker is that the defense got pushed around. That doesn't happen often.
	17	Eagles · Trends	14
	After that terrible tie at Cincinnati, they must now go on the road again to play the Ravens. Wonder if Donovan McNabb knows that this game will be 60 minutes long?
	18	Bears · Trends	17
	The defense is a sieve. Hard to believe this is a team known for tough, physical defense. It just isn't happening and the passing game can't keep up when the Bears fall behind.
	19	Saints · Trends	22
	The next four weeks are brutal. It starts with a Monday home game against Green Bay, followed by Tampa Bay on the road, home against Atlanta and at Chicago. We'll know if they're in it after that.
	20	Vikings · Trends	15
	I'm tired of saying it: Their passing game isn't good enough. Gus Frerotte can't overcome his shortcomings.
	21	Browns · Trends	24
	They still have playoff hopes, thanks to Phil Dawson's 56-yard field goal. Brady Quinn is going to be a heck of a player. The defense still has issues.
	22	Bills · Trends	16
	What has gone wrong with Trent Edwards? Did that hit in Arizona change his game? It sure looks like it.
	23	Chargers · Trends	23
	L.T. doesn't do much anymore and the defense can't stop anybody. Is this really the same Chargers team that went to the AFC title game last season?
	24	Jaguars · Trends	21
	Their playoff chances are basically over. It will be interesting to see if they play hard down the stretch now that they're 4-6.
	25	Texans · Trends	25
	It's going to be another playoff-less season. That has to change next season or Gary Kubiak could be out in 2010.
	26	49ers · Trends	30
	It's too bad they can't play the Rams every week. They might be playoff bound if they could. They're playing harder under Mike Singletary, that's for sure.
	27	Bengals · Trends	28
	They have a victory and a tie in the past two games. That's progress. The good thing for next season is that the young defensive players are playing better.
	28	Rams · Trends	26
	If they didn't have to play the first half, they'd be OK. They've been blown out the past three weeks in the first halves of games.
	29	Seahawks · Trends	27
	Hard to believe this team is way down here. But even the return of Matt Hasselbeck can't turn things around. Why? The defense has been terrible.
	30	Raiders · Trends	29
	They battled in Miami, but they just don't do enough on offense. The change to having Tom Cable call the plays hasn't exactly worked. Maybe it's the players.
	31	Chiefs · Trends	31
	Tyler Thigpen is showing that maybe, just maybe, he might be this team's quarterback of the future. The next six games will tell us that.
	32	Lions · Trends	32
	I know Daunte Culpepper almost beat the Panthers, but is it really wise to be playing him? Don't they need to find out about Drew Stanton?