Allen: Steady improvement key

My hopes for this NFL season hinge on a trend for Bill Belichick coached teams.

They generally get better as the season goes on. Especially the championship ones.

Ironically, last season's team, even though they technically couldn't get any better won/loss-wise as they came down the stretch, didn't do this. You could clearly see that as the season wound down, they weren't playing as well as they were earlier in the year, even as they were completing their undefeated regular season. They weren't as sharp, and they were increasingly dependent on Tom Brady's arm to bail them out of trouble, such as in the Baltimore and Philadelphia games.

This season, with Brady out, the team has been forced to rely more on the other pieces of the team, such as defense, special teams and the running game, while at the same time getting Matt Cassel the on-the-job training that he's going to need if the team has any hopes of advancing to and through the postseason.

I'd sure like to see Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan get healthy, but I don't want them rushed back either. The season is still fairly young, and for the Patriots to be playing in January, they're going to need these backs to be fresh, and to be able to run with their full powerful downhill style in the cold weather. This is critical to the success of the team, because as we saw in the Denver game, when the backs can run wild, the passing game opens up for Randy Moss and Wes Welker, which only adds to Cassel's confidence.

While they're getting Cassel this experience and confidence, the Patriots are also in the process of breaking in nine players with three years of experience or less into their defense. Linebackers Pierre Woods, Jerod Mayo, and Gary Guyton, Safeties Brandon Meriweather and Antwain Spann, Cornernacks Mike Richardson, Terrence Wheatley, and Jonathan Wilhite, plus Le Kevin Smith on the D-Line are all seeing time in the regular defense. Some of this of course is due to injuries, but it is also invaluable experience for players that are going to need to play a role if the team is to keep getting better as the season goes along.

There have been some encouraging signs the last few weeks. If Richard Seymour and Adalius Thomas can keep getting pressure on the opposing quarterback, and the front seven can keep stuffing the running game, it's going to take some of the pressure off the guys in the secondary even as they get their NFL legs under them. Brandon Meriweather's offseason work in catching the ball seems to be paying dividends and he seems close to actually becoming something of a playmaker back there at the safety position after the loss of Rodney Harrison. Veterans Deltha O'Neal and Ellis Hobbs have their faults, but they're also capable of coming up with the big play, as O'Neal showed by coming off the bench with a concussion to grab the game-clinching interception against the Rams. Those are the types of plays that contending teams make.

This Sunday's game against Peyton Manning and the Colts doesn't have quite the marquee appeal of seasons past, but it is still a stiff test for the Patriots defense. The Colts have scuffled, but you know it is only a matter of time before they turn it on. Some of these kids are going to be getting their first look at Manning and how they perform might indicate if there is a chance we could see another game with the Colts sometime in January.

Just keep getting better...that's all I'm looking for.

Bruce Allen is the creator of Boston Sports Media Watch, which has recently been recognized by SI.com as one of the best non-corporate sports web site's on the Internet.