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Amongst the talking heads, there was a lot of hype circulating around the Viking�s defense, and how it was allegedly the best in the league at stopping the run. Oh and lest I forget, the loudest, most advantageous home dome in all of football; and, of course, their tenacious offense. Yes-sir, all week long the pre-game stature of the Minnesota Vikings grew and grew and grew, until eventually the hype overshadowed the statistics. But as we here know, it�s all about the statistics. <BR><IMG SRC="tab.gif"> Tom Brady, lifetime 10(w)-0(L) in domes, 19-1 on artificial turf. And who would Tom be to defy the stats? In Monday night�s game, Brady�s 372 yards, 67.4% completion, and 4 touchdowns were just enough to give the Vikings defense a good and proper mule whipping. Yup, the Vik�s got worked-over on all fronts, in what I deem to be the Patriot�s best performance of the 2006 season as of yet. Let�s take a look at how it all went down. <BR><IMG SRC="billsleeves.jpg" ALIGN="RIGHT" BORDER=0 VSPACE=5> The Pats effectively neutralized the crowd on the very first drive, going 86 yards on seven plays and ending in a Brady-to-Caldwell (WR) touchdown pass. Really, that opening drive set the tone for the remainder of the game. In response to the Viking�s league-leading defense against the run, Belichick thought up a very simple solution. Throw the ball. Throw the ball. Throw the ball. Admittedly, when phrased like that, it comes as the biggest no-brainer in the history of earth. But in effect, that�s what it was. Brady�s methodical down-field drives used multiple receivers, and multiple angles to cut the Viking�s defense apart. And what�s more, his composure in the pocket was all that was needed to send Minnesota�s all important pass rush off its axis. <BR><IMG SRC="tom.jpg" ALIGN="RIGHT" BORDER=0 VSPACE=5> Which brings me to my next point; I�d like to say the 31-7 routing of one of the league�s stingiest defenses lay squarely on the shoulders of one man�s individual effort, but that�s not the case. No, no. Although Brady�s performance ranks up there among the most brilliant of his career, it has to be said that the Patriot�s played a complete game. Or said in another way, a well balanced, team game. The defense, spotlighted by a Rodney Harrison interception on the Pat�s own goal line, shut down the Viking�s offense in every way imaginable, and would have held them scoreless had it not been for a special teams mistake that resulted in a 71 yard, Mewelde Moore punt return for touchdown. But even at that, the Pats answered almost immediately with a 74 yd. Laurence Maroney kickoff return. Even some of the defensive utility players like Tully Banta-Cain (LB) stepped up big time in their roles. <BR><IMG SRC="tab.gif"> All in all, there wasn�t a whole lot to cheer about for Minnesota fans, and the home field advantage became at best a non-issue. If anything, the resounding boos worked in the Pat�s favor. Nothing is more gratifying for a dominant franchise, or for that matter the fans of that franchise, than to turn the home-town faithful against their own. Let�s just hope that�s not the case next week, when the 7-0 Indianapolis Colts come into Gillette. <BR> <BR> <B>All in favor of seeing Tony Kornheiser sent back to answering phones? Tell me, Tell me. <A HREF="mailto:josh@southcoast247.com">josh@southcoast247.com</A>. </B> <BR><BR><BR> <SPAN CLASS="LARGETEXT"><A HREF="pats.shtml">Read more from STATS ON PATS WEEKLY...</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> </SPAN> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <DIV ALIGN="CENTER">  <SCRIPT LANGUAGE=JavaScript>  </SCRIPT>  <BR></DIV> </TD> <TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH=225 BGCOLOR="#CC9900"> <SPAN CLASS="TEXT"> <IMG SRC="http://www.southcoast247.com/column_images/ev_calx.gif"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.trumba.com/scripts/spuds.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $Trumba.addSpud({ webName: "southcoast-calendar-arts-entertainment-nightlife-clubs", spudType : "upcomingfader" , teaserBase : "http://www.southcoasttoday.com/static/247calendar.html" }); document.write('<br /><a href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/static/247calendar.html"><font color="#ffffff">View All Events</font></a>'); </script> <noscript>Your browser must support JavaScript to view this content. 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