Did you know that the 1972 Miami Dolphins, 16-0 heading into Super Bowl VII, were actually underdogs to the Washington Redskins? 35 years later, they're still acting like underdogs.

Mind you, I was a huge Dolphins fan: Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, the No-Name defense--oh yes, and Garo Yepremian, the non-throwing placekicker. But while the whole getting together to toast the last unbeaten team has been cute over the years, I'm not exactly enamored with the way some of the Dolphins have been portraying themselves as the New England Patriots have been marching toward their own chapter of football immortality. It seems kind of sniveling and bitter for them to "not root against the Patriots," instead rooting for their next opponent, in this case the Giants. Even Reebok has given them a platform, under the name "Perfectville". Sure, why wouldn't good, old fashioned corporate profiteering rear its ugly head?

But enough about that. I think that the Dolphins are going to have company in Perfectville. Yes, the Patriots will beat the Giants. New York will make it interesting, just as they did in the final game of the regular season, but New England is just too strong, possesses too many weapons, and is firmly in possession of destiny. I think Laurence Maroney will be a major factor, especially in the final minutes, as the Patriots will etch 19-0 next to their names. Tom Brady will be the MVP, the defense will harass Eli Manning into his first interceptions of the postseason, and Bill Belichick will still provide boring postgame sound bites. I would expect the final score to be 28-24.

Now, having said that, here are my answers to a couple of questions that have been making the rounds the last few weeks. I think the Patriots would handle the '72 Dolphins---Miami's finesse defense wouldn't stand up to the Pats' big offensive line, for one thing. I think New England would have their hands full against Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers and I think the Steel Curtain Pittsburgh Steelers would be too tough for Belichick's Patriots. But the interesting factor in any of these matchups would be, under what rules would the game be played--the no-holds barred rules of the pre-1970's, or today's more offensive-friendly rules?

If New England goes on to win Super Bowl 42 (sorry, Roman numerals aren't my thing), I think you've got to vault Tom Brady near the top of the greatest quarterbacks of all time--and much like Tiger Woods, it would be only a matter of time before he would be anointed the greatest. Why? Because his four championships would equal the totals of Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, and at 30, Brady would still have several more years in which to get a fifth. And shouldn't titles be the measure of a quarterback? Stats are great, but you play for championships. And Brady would have quite a resume (not to mention a nice jewelry collection) with those four rings.

On a side note, it wouldn't surprise me if the story that Belichick's Patriots had spies watching the Rams practice before Super Bowl 36. I don't have any doubt that the Patriots head coach devised a great game plan to take away Marshall Faulk in that game, plus knock around the Rams receivers, but it's easy to formulate a game plan if you can look in on the Rams preparations beforehand. But then-Rams coach Mike Martz still has to bear the blame for his pass, pass, pass into the teeth of a defense geared to the pass game plan. There is the thought that stubborness does have its positive side: you always know what you are going to be thinking tomorrow.

One final thing: the passing of Hall of Fame center Jim Ringo. Ringo was with the Packers under Vince Lombardi, when after the 1963 season he decided he was entitled to a higher raise than Lombardi was willing to pay. So Ringo did something rare in those days: he brought in an agent with him to negotiate with Lombardi in a meeting at the Packers' offices. Lombardi excused himself and left his office for a few minutes. When he returned, he told Ringo and his agent, "Our meeting here is finished. You've been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles." Now the story is probably just that, a story, but it is a good one. Rest in peace, Jim. ¶ 7:21 PM