"All I know is this better not be an asterisk by any of the Super Bowls I was with [the New England Patriots]."

This was the quote that Christian Fauria, fullback for the Carolina Panthers, made after the "Spygate" scandal with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.

Well Christian, I seriously doubt it will affect anything that the Patriots have accomplished under Belichick's leadership. It has only made the Patriots more fierce than before. In the game against the New York Jets, the Spygate scandal was revealed. In that game, the Pats beat the Jets 38-14. The following week they played the San Diego Chargers where they handed them the same merciless beating that they gave the Jets, another 38-14 victory. These thrashings continued even through the complete pounding of the Washington Redskins as the Pats beat them in a 52-7 victory.

To my surprise and dismay this still has not silenced the nay-sayers. Some still find the audacity to question the talent of a team that includes Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Asante Samuel, Rodney Harrison, oh yea and what's his name? TOM BRADY. Seriously, the Patriots and Belichick believe in hard work, accountability, and focus. I am not here to debate whether or not they have ever cheated; I am simply saying that their past and present accomplishments should speak for themselves. This team works hard and delivers week in and week out. In every interview they choose to only discuss each weekly game and rarely ever comment about anything that occurs off of the field. Bill Belichick will simply have it no other way. Maybe Belichick has had some on and off the field issues in the past year, but he still demands that his team remain focused and as far as anyone can tell those guys love him and seem to be having their best season every after Spygate.

Now with all of the questions that surrounded this team going into Sunday's game in Indianapolis, I hope that they have been answered. They played the reigning Super Bowl Champions and had the worst game of their season and still managed to win the game. Like most of us who still believe in and cheer for the Pats, I began to worry early in the fourth quarter, but as usual Tom and his guys keep their heads in the game. No need to worry because this was the first time all season that they did not score on the opening drive. So what if the Colts held the Patriots to only 59 yards passing in the first half. No big deal if the Pats had an astounding 10 penalties for 146 yards. No need to panic at the fact that the Pats defense allowed Colt's RB, Joseph Addai, to rack up over 100 rushing and receiving yards. Oh, and really, does it matter that Brady had only 2 interceptions the entire season, but threw 2 in the game against the Colts and was sacked twice by Robert Mathis while trailing all the way into the fourth quarter? Apparently it does not matter at all to the Pats. Why should it? They are coached by one of the best and understand what it means to stay focused one game, one quarter, and one drive at a time.

In all honesty, the Pats did not hand the Colts the revenge beating that I thought they would. The Colts had every opportunity to win that game and retain the title as the only unbeaten team in the NFL. The Colts seemed poised to win the battle that has been deemed by some sports writers as "Super Bowl XLI ½," "the battle of the unbeatens," and the battle of "Good vs. Evil." They could not finish the job. And well, if the Colts could not beat the Patriots (and I am reluctant to make this statement) who can? These guys are full of future Hall of Famers who do not need to wear a jacket to prove that point.

Of the remaining 7 regular season games for the Pats, only two teams should even come up as a possibility to maybe cause us viewers to worry. As of right now, the Steelers and the Giants seem to be their biggest "competition" (and I do choose to use that word very loosely).

Some people may continue to feel that the Patriots have a tainted record because of Belichick's mistake, but what more does that organization have to do to prove that they are simply that good? Hopefully after they lift the trophy in Arizona on February 3, 2008, all doubts, questions, concerns, and worries will have been addressed. Spygate is in the history books. We get it; but what looks to be the second ever undefeated NFL season may soon be there as well, so I hope that everyone can just leave it all on the field.

You can view other NFL articles at dwanls.blogspot.com and if you wish to send any comments or questions feel free to email me at dwanls@gmail.com.