Linebacker Tedy Bruschi made the point that "it's very early" when assessing what the team's 3-1 record, and its important 30-21 victory over the 49ers Sunday, truly means.
In many ways, those words echo what Brady often has said - that the real season doesn't begin until Thanksgiving. Brady's point was that this is the time of year when teams must hang in the race, and if they can do that, then they have a chance to turn it on when it truly counts, in the homestretch.
Case in point: The Super Bowl champion Giants were 3-2 through five weeks last year, 6-2 at the halfway mark, and 7-4 at the end of November. But they ended up having the strongest finishing kick, as well as some good fortune with health.
With this in mind, how does one assess the AFC at this point?
"Wide open," one AFC general manager said yesterday. "Everybody knows why, and it's when Brady was announced as being lost for the year. Based on who he is, who the Patriots are, and their recent record, that has created what we're seeing right now."
About the only certainties are that the Bengals (0-5), Texans (0-4), and Chiefs (1-4) look to be failing in the hanging-around part of the race, and the Raiders (1-3) and Browns (1-3) are teetering on the edge.
Otherwise, it's a crowded field of 11 teams, all of whom have shown flashes of excellence but also have noticeable flaws.
This is significantly different from last year, when the Patriots and Colts established their dominance early.
The lead horse in this year's race is Tennessee, which at 5-0 has been one of the NFL's surprise teams. The Titans have been doing it primarily with defense, ranking first in points allowed (11.2 per game), which has complemented an offense that has adjusted nicely in the transition from erratic Vince Young to steady veteran Kerry Collins at quarterback.
While the Titans have been impressive, they haven't won over all the skeptics, primarily because they haven't faced elite teams. Their wins are over the Jaguars, Bengals, Texans, Vikings, and Ravens.
The Steelers, Bills, and Broncos are 4-1, but they've all shown vulnerabilities, too.
