What a shallow, shitty article. This carries about as much relative weight as that article about the woman who used to be Jennifer Aniston's roommate that drew such a storm of protest. I'm sorry, but as one of the early posters pointed out, this is just derivative pop psychology trying to market itself as a storyline. We local sports fans have had enough of shills like Shaughnessy, we don't need second- and third-rate rip-offs too.

As a dedicated Pats fan who doesn't get that involved with any of the other franchises, here's a couple of specific points on which I disagree with you:

Interest in the Pats picked up when they drafted Drew Bledsoe, buddy.

The villainization of the Patriots has made me even more engaged and devoted than ever before. Now I take it personally when national sportswriters like Gregg Easterbrook whine about them running up the score. It's us against the world, baby, and the only regrets I feel are that they didn't finish smothering Peyton Manning in last year's AFC title game.

Hey Dolfin1, when Miami went undefeated it was because they scraped out a bunch of close wins against terrible teams. They didn't beat anyone with better than an 8-6 record that year. They had the second-easiest schedule of any Super Bowl champion ever. What's Miami's other sporting legacy? Winning an NBA title because the refs handed Dwyane Wade two free foul shots every time a defender breathed on him as he traveled past? Please, Dolfin1. I know you're bitter that a former Belichick disciple left your pathetic team hanging high and dry, and that the rest of the league is laughing as your Dolphins go 0-16... But that's only because your team has consistently made disastrous decisions since that also-ran Dan Marino retired. That's no reason to be so bitter about witnessing historical greatness.

Do we actually have someone stupid or blinkered by fan bias enough to argue that going 16-0 in a regular season during an age of parity, free agency, and tougher rules for defenses is easier than going 14-0 against a creampuff schedule... because of bye weeks? Bye weeks? That's what you base your thesis on?

Droogoy, I know that one of the best things that would fall out from a perfect 19-0 championship run by these Patriots will be your aneurysm the moment the clock ticks down to 0:00 on a Super Bowl victory. Maybe until the Pats are defeated, you should just keep your ugly old head down under Mercury Morris's desk, okay? He looks like he needs the stimulation, and you obviously need whatever withered validation he can offer you.

The point I was making about byes is that they are NOT 'useless' as KK claims. They are of inestimable value especially when a top contender is nursing injuries and needs to get key players back. Those key players then can make a difference.

Pray tell me which players the Pats got back after their bye week in week 10? I mean, you're saying that the bye week was important for the Pats to go 16-0, so surely you can tell me what important player the Pats got back after their bye week? The Pats lost running back Sammy Morris in week 6, and he's been on IR since then. Safety Eugene Wilson was out from weeks 8-13, so the bye didn't seem to help him that much. Rosevelt Colvin was injured and went to IR in week 11. So I'm not seeing much evidence on how the bye week helped the Pats this year.

The Pats played their toughest opponent, the Colts, in week 9 -- before they got their bye. And they still won, on the road, by taking over the game in the final seconds. I suppose they really woulda blown the Colts off the field if they'd had their bye week just before!

In fact, the Patriots were much more dominating in games before the bye week than after. Perhaps I should be cursing at the bye week system for giving opposing teams the opportunity to rest up for the Patriots and for giving their coaches extra time to game-plan for the Pats.

Re: your points about physicality. The league is less dirty these days, in that it's not legal to do a headslap or mug receivers downfield. At the same time, the players are all bigger and faster and collisions all involve that much more energy. Your legendary Nick Buoniconti, whom you would consider capable of destroying Tom Brady with a hit, weighed 220 lbs at his playing weight. In today's league he'd just be a slow white safety. He wouldn't even be on Adam Archuleta's level. So please spare me the old hogwash about how men were more manly back in the day. Football players of the modern day are a breed apart from your nostalgia-puffed he-men of yesteryear. The No-Name Defense of the early 70s would vanish right up Warren Sapp's ass crack, where they belong, along with all the rest of you pathetic rose-colored incontinence-encrusted old farts with your precious memories of single-bar helmets.