Team of the Decade

Congratulations Pittsburgh Steelers for your Super Bowl XLIII win, you earned it, you clearly are the best team in '08, yadda, yadda, yadda.

*breathe*

Now that I got that out of my system, let me get to the point: The Patriots have two years to win one more championship within the 2001-2010 seasons to earn the designation Team of the Decade. If the time period was up, then no one could question the title. But because there are two years left and the Steelers as presently composed is built to challenge for another championship over the next few years, the Pats need one more ring to make it four and give them a lead the Steelers can't tie.

This is a real concern for me. Putting the two rosters side-by-side, Pittsburgh has a larger window to win. New England still must turn over parts of the roster and replace the glory days veterans with brighter days youth to remain competitive in the league. The Steelers mostly have players entering their prime years all over the field. Their biggest problem is assembling a formidable offensive line. They have the skill players on offense to get the job done and the top defense in '08 will remain intact.

There's also the question of Tom Brady's return to health. I remain optimistic that Brady will be back for the start of the season, and maybe even play in the preseason. But I expect Tom will have to work the rust off. It will be a full year since he threw a regular season pass. Brady must develop the confidence to put his full weight on his leg after having his left knee reconstructed following knee surgery.

And what about his mobility? We know he can't run like Matt Cassel, but Brady was one of the best at sliding around the pocket to buy enough time to make the throw. I expect Brady to be a little off for the first part of the season, much like Indianapolis' Peyton Manning was before he got over the mental hurdles and played like an MVP candidate.

When Brady is playing like is old self, he will have an explosive offense at his disposal that can run and pass with equal productivity. But the defense is another matter. They need a rush linebacker capable of 10 sacks a year, cornerback help if last year's draft picks Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite don't improve dramatically and stay healthy, and the defensive line must play a full season like they did down the stretch in '08.

If the team handles their business on the field, then a fourth championship isn't out of the question. With more Lombardi trophies than any other franchise in the decade, it would be no question who the Team of the Decade is.

But if Pittsburgh ties the Pats with three championships, New England would lose the subjective vote. Normally when the bottom line is even, there would be co-TotD. But with the number of people convinced Spygate gave the Pats an unfair advantage, the controversy will sway public perception towards the Steelers.

Heck, Pittsburgh already has some votes even if they remain one piece of hardware behind the Pats. A lot of people discredit New England's three championships because they happened within the Spygate timeline. If New England won the 2007 title with a 19-0 record, it would had silenced many critics. But that didn't happen, giving contrarians a "You see?" piece of evidence that confirms their hunch.

There are no tiebreakers when it comes to being the Team of the Decade. It doesn't matter that New England has more regular season wins than Pittsburgh (97 NE, 85 Pitt) or that two of the three championships were earned by winning two AFC Championships over the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

One more championship free of any controversy won't clear the names of the coaches, nor will it erase Spygate from the record. But no one can argue when one team has one more championship than the other within a 10-year period.