Dave D'Onofrio's Patriots Notebook Patriots leave no doubt they're elite

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Two months and 29 days ago, the Patriots were only about a week into training camp, and still a couple days from their preseason opener, which is noted here to remind just how much football remains to be played between today and two months, 29 days from now which is when the NFL will kick off Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz.

A lot can happen between now and then. In fact, a lot will happen between now and then, and much of it is likely to reset our view of the NFL landscape and change our opinions. Multiple times.

But go ahead, Patriots fans. Believe.

Believe that your team is the best in the AFC. Believe that they can get to that title game. Believe that they belong in that game. Heck, believe that they can win it.

Believe that theres no ceiling for your Patriots, because after what happened late Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, theres no reason to place any limits on what this club is capable of accomplishing. They didnt just beat the Broncos, they dominated the so-dubbed best team in football in every phase, ultimately scoring a 43-21 victory that undoubtedly shattered many views of the league-wide hierarchy as the regular season heads into its second half.

I thought it was a great job by our players this week, said coach Bill Belichick, who praised the work his team did in preparing for Denver making particular note of how generally difficult it is to get ready for a record-setting offense like the Broncos having, and how the difficulty was even that much greater because Peyton Mannings team had extra time to get ready because it had played on Thursday night in Week 8.

In that sense, it was similar to the way the Patriots responded against the Bengals back at the start of October, when Cincinnati had the benefit of coming off a bye. Yet New England waxed the well-rested Tigers, 43-17.

That win kicked off a terrific month of October, in which the Pats rattled off four straight wins and offered hope that the inconsistency and the struggles that showed up over the first four weeks was merely the by-product of a team still finding itself. Pummeling the Bears last week by a score of 51-23 furthered that thinking.

But only after Sunday, when the Pats climbed to the top of the conference, and improved to 7-2, was it confirmed.

This week was a great week for all of us, defensive lineman Vince Wilfork said. Everybody came ready to work focused. Thats one thing we dont lack. We dont have guys that are here just to be here. My hat goes off to this team. We did a lot of things tonight. It was something different tonight. A lot of things we havent done in the past and we did it, and did it well.

Go here to read the rest:
Dave D'Onofrio's Patriots Notebook Patriots leave no doubt they're elite