New Week, Same Streak

They have both cruised and careened, breezed and bumped along, squashed and squeaked past.

But somehow, week after week, the New England Patriots have won. In an era of inconsistency, when NFL teams look great one week and lousy the next, the Patriots have emerged as the league’s Plymouth Rock of predictability. Their winning streak has reached a record 20 games, spanning 392 days, and has survived a mind-boggling slew of close shaves at Gillette Stadium and on the road.

In 16 of the 20 victories -- including seven of the last eight -- the Patriots either trailed, were tied, or had a mere one-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter. Half of the victories in the streak were by eight points or fewer, two were decided in the last minute of regulation, and two more went into overtime.

“Everyone wants to beat the people who are on top, and now with us winning the championship last year and being 5-0 this year, everyone is ready to take us down,” said quarterback Tom Brady, whose team plays host today to the 5-0 New York Jets. “We know that. We feel that. We’re doing everything we can to not allow that to happen.”

These Patriots aren’t the 1985 Chicago Bears or the 1972 Miami Dolphins; they aren’t loaded with elite players on both sides of the ball. And that, many people around the league say, is why New England’s streak is the most impressive in NFL history.

“They deserve whatever immortality they get out of this,” said Ernie Accorsi, general manager of the New York Giants. “They’ve got all-stars on that team, but it’s not like they’ve got a Pittsburgh Steelers’ Hall of Fame lineup. They’ve just got great competitors with great heart.”

Coach Bill Belichick and his staff of assistants deserve a lot of credit for that, but a lot also should go to Scott Pioli, the team’s director of player personnel. He is the team’s top chemist, adding and subtracting talent in search of that ideal blend.

Pioli, 39, a former all-conference defensive lineman at Central Connecticut State, has twice been named the league’s executive of the year by several publications. He chooses players that might best fit Belichick’s system, then figures out how to squeeze their salaries under the cap.

And it’s not about luring the obvious talent; the Patriots have won with their depth. Last season, on their march to the Super Bowl, they used 42 starters during the regular season, the most ever by a division winner. New England had a different combination of 22 starters for each game, starting 15 lineups on offense and 10 lineups on defense.

“They get everything they can out of their players, and every player they have is prepared to the maximum,” said Gil Brandt, a pioneer in NFL scouting and former personnel director for the Dallas Cowboys. “They do a great job of putting a player in a position where he can perform.”

Unlike teams that rely on star players, the Patriots -- with the exception of most-valuable-player candidate Brady -- are a collection of interchangeable parts, more sturdy than spectacular.

“You have to build a team that fits the personality of the head coach,” Pioli said during an interview at training camp. “It’s all business with us. No flash, no garbage.”

Belichick and Pioli have been friends for two decades, since Pioli was a college kid driving four hours round-trip from college to New York Giant training camp to watch as a spectator. They were introduced, and Belichick offered to let Pioli sleep on a cot in the common area of a suite he shared with fellow Giant assistant Al Groh.

Pioli, who wound up marrying Bill Parcells’ daughter, started his NFL career when Belichick, then coach of the Cleveland Browns, hired him as a pro-personnel assistant in 1992. Five years later, Belichick hired him as pro-personnel director of the New York Jets. Pioli came to the Patriots in February 2000, two years before the franchise won its first Super Bowl.

“From our owner to our head coach on down,” Pioli said, “everything we do centers on winning.”

Over the course of the Patriots’ streak, the team with the second-best record is Philadelphia (17-3). Every other team in the league has lost at least five games.

“They are a great organization top to bottom: ownership, management, coaching, players,” longtime NFL coach Mike Ditka said of the Patriots. “They may be the prototype of what you’re looking for in pro football today. Why? They’re doing the right things. They’re making the right moves.”

That said, Ditka doesn’t see New England matching the perfection of the ’72 Dolphins, the only team to make it through an NFL season without a loss.

“It’s going to get hard for them,” he said. “There are going to be some tough games for them. They can’t be up every week. Somebody will probably beat them this year.”

Of course, the Patriots aren’t anywhere close to talking about perfection. They’re thinking week to week.

Besides, they have something most streakers don’t.

Modesty.

*(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Unbeatable

A look at New England’s 20-game winning streak:

2003

*--* Date Opp. Score High Pass High Rush High Receiving Oct. 5 Tennessee 38-30 Brady 219 Smith 80 Branch 68 Oct. 12 N.Y. Giants 17-6 Brady 112 Faulk 87 Patten 55 Oct. 19 at Miami 19-13 (OT) Brady 283 Faulk 38 Brown 131 Oct. 26 Cleveland 9-3 Brady 259 Faulk 96 Graham 110 Nov. 3 at Denver 30-26 Brady 350 Smith 55 Branch 107 Nov. 16 Dallas 12-0 Brady 214 Smith 49 Branch 69 Nov. 23 at Houston 23-20 (OT) Brady 368 Faulk 80 Faulk 108 Nov. 30 at Ind. 38-34 Brady 236 Faulk 42 Branch 64 Dec. 7 Miami 12-0 Brady 163 Smith 60 Branch 93 Dec. 14 Jacksonville 27-13 Brady 228 Smith 39 Graham 69 Dec. 20 at N.Y. Jets 21-16 Brady 138 Smith 121 Givens 61 Dec. 27 Buffalo 31-0 Brady 204 Smith 74 Givens 80 Jan. 10-Div. Tennessee 17-14 Brady 201 Smith 69 Johnson 55 Jan.18-Conf. Indianapolis 24-14 Brady 237 Smith 100 Brown 88 Feb. 1-SB Carolina 32-29 Brady 354 Smith 83 Branch 143

*--*

*

2004

*--* Date Opp. Score High Pass High Rush High Receiving Sept. 9 Indianapolis 27-24 Brady 335 Dillon 86 Patten, Branch 86 Sept. 19 at Arizona 23-12 Brady 219 Dillon 158 Givens 120 Oct 3 at Buffalo 31-17 Brady 298 Dillon 79 Patten 113 Oct 10 Miami 24-10 Brady 76 Dillon 94 Givens 33 Oct 17 Seattle 30-20 Brady 231 Dillon 105 Patten 58

*--*