Patriots Aim For Perfection, History

New England Comes Full Circle At Giants Stadium And Tries To Go 16-0; Ticket Prices Soar

(CBS/AP)  The Patriots will get help from plenty of fans instead of a video camera when they return to the scene of "Spygate."

Those who aren't at the Meadowlands can still watch the final step in New England's bid for an undefeated regular season on the channel of their choice.

Interest in the potential history-making event convinced the league to allow NBC and CBS to simulcast Saturday night's game against the New York Giants nationally. It had been restricted to the NFL Network and local stations in the Boston and New York areas.

Win, and the Patriots become the first team to finish a regular season at 16-0. Lose, and Patriot-haters throughout the country can celebrate in front of their TV sets.

"It will be like the State of the Union address," an unusually cheery Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "You can flip to every channel and see it."

New England fans who just have to be there can pay exorbitant prices online for tickets. Some are being offered by Giants fans who don't care to attend an event that has no bearing on their team's playoff status.

New York plays a first-round game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following weekend.

"We definitely appreciate the support of the fans. We definitely hear them when we're on the road," Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said. "We always have a lot of support on the road, but at the end of the day the game is won or lost between the lines."

The Giants (10-5) clinched a wild-card berth last Sunday with a win at Buffalo. That improved their road record to 7-1. They're 3-4 at home, where fans - like those selling their tickets for Saturday's game - may not be very supportive.

"That's probably one of the reasons why we are better on the road than we are at home," running back Brandon Jacobs said. "If it is that way and (the Patriots) got more fans, then so be it."

At least one person won't be there the way he was three months ago - the Patriots' video assistant who got caught taping the New York Jets' defensive coaches with a sideline camera in the season opener, costing Belichick and the team $750,000 in fines and a first-round draft pick.

That, too, was at the Meadowlands where the Patriots beat the Jets 38-14.

Now, New England, still without a loss, will end its regular season on the same field in front of cameras the NFL wants to be there.

Then the Patriots get to rest during their bye week. They have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

"We're not looking at the playoffs right now and we're not really thinking about being undefeated," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "There's a simple way how we got here, and that's focusing on the opponent that we happen to have in front of us. This week we've got a formidable one in the New York Giants."

The Giants lead the NFL in sacks and have the fourth-most productive running game in the league, led by Jacobs.

"He's 270 pounds," said Harrison, who will have to tackle him. "So that's like a Ferrari meeting a Mack truck."

[keithle1]

Someone stop the Patriots! Anyone!

If they''re in the Super Bowl, I won''t watch it.

Go Steelers! (5 Super Bowl rings)

[rafterman1]

Don''t worry, 16-0 is nice and all, but going 19-0 and winning those last three playoff games will be a lot harder than winning the first 16 regular season games. The ''72 Dolphins shouldn''t throw out that bottle of champaign just yet.

[usayesterday]

I hope the Giants not only win but put Brady out for the rest of the year.

Posted by rfcnj68 at 07:53 PM : Dec 28, 2007
...............

If "rfcnj68" was given a Tom Brady poster, he would use it for:

A. Dart throwing practice
B. Handgun target practice
C. Archery practice
D. Graffiti purposes

or E. All Of The Above

So which would he chose? Hmmmm.

[excoachken]

The Patriots are a good team with a great QB (even greater in his own mind), an old defense and no injuries. The Giants have the most inconsistent QB in the league and a good defense, but tactically, the worst coach in the NFL. Add to that, the fact that New England has no qualms about cheating and no class (running up the score), the final score should be New England 38 New York 10. Now, you can go do something more productive with your Saturday night.

[noirceur]

PATRIOTS ALL THE WAY!

[rfcnj68]

I hope the Giants not only win but put Brady out for the rest of the year.

[keithle1]

Come on, Giants. You can do it. Other teams almost beat ''em. What a way to end the season. You beating the Patriots!