IN THEIR pursuit of perfection the New England Patriots have polarised America. “If [head coach] Bill Belichick is the smartest coach on the planet, with the greatest team of all time, then why did he have to cheat?” asked Mark Kiszla in the Denver Post, a reference to the infamous “Spygate” scandal, which is one reason why the Patriots divide the nation.

Sports Illustrated, somewhat more facetiously, took a swipe at quarterback Tom Brady, citing “the emotional trauma he suffered from the entire country finding out that his girlfriend [supermodel Gisele Bundchen] has him completely whipped. Travelling to New York with a bad ankle the week before the Super Bowl just so you can bring her flowers and say, ‘Hi’? Come on. Be a man.”

The Patriots have been there to be shot at since the beginning of the season. National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell levied the biggest penalty in the history of the game – a $500,000 fine for Belichick and a $250,000 fine for the team, who also forfeited a first-round draft pick – for illegal filming of coaching signals on the New York Jets’ bench in the opening game at Giants Stadium. Intriguingly, the unprecedented censure was for “totality of conduct” not solely related to the Jets game.

Three Super Bowl wins in the space of six years of this decade attests to the Patriots’ resourcefulness and resilience and, led by Brady and emboldened by Belichick, their response has been a magnificent, record-breaking season. They have set a new NFL mark by scoring 589 points and Brady’s 50 touchdown passes surpassed the previous record total of 49 by Peyton Manning. With 23 touchdown catches, wide receiver Randy Moss broke the record previously held by Jerry Rice and New England have scored no fewer than 20 points in 18 straight wins. Victory against the Giants will complete an almost unimaginable 19-0 record for the season, propelling Brady into a select category of quarterbacks who have won four Super Bowl rings: Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Terry Bradshaw.

“If Tom wins this game and is part of a team which went undefeated in 19 games, then it strengthens the argument that he’s the best [quarterback] ever,” said former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who won three titles.

But “Spygate” will not go away. “It has diminished what they’ve accomplished,” declared Don Shula, who coached the Miami Dolphins to the only other unbeaten season in the NFL’s modern era when they went 17-0 in 1972. “You would hate to have that attached to your accomplishments and they’ve got it. [The penalty] tells you the seriousness or significance of what they found. The sad thing is that Tom Brady looks so good it doesn’t look like he needs any help.”

However, if Brady has to hand off to running back Laurence Maroney, as he was forced to do repeatedly against the San Diego Chargers in the American Football Conference Championship game, he will, for personal stats do not matter to him.

“He has the ability and he has a lot of time left, so he will probably pass every [other quarterback],” Montana predicted. “I never like to say the greatest of all time but when he is done he will be the best one who ever played. It’s hard to compare Tom or me or Johnny Unitas or Dan Marino or Brett Favre or whoever you want to put in there. But if Tom keeps going and if they keep the team together, he will blow everybody away.”

If the Giants can avoid being blown away at the University of Phoenix stadium, their achievement will rank among the three greatest upsets in Super Bowl history. When Joe Namath guaranteed that his Jets would beat the Baltimore Colts at Super Bowl III he was considered to be ill-advised at best but, despite being 18-point underdogs, Broadway Joe led the Jets to a 16-7 victory. Ironically, the second biggest upset was recorded by the Patriots against the St Louis Rams at Super Bowl XXXVI when they were 14-point underdogs and Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal to win the game, gaining Brady his first Super Bowl ring. “And a quarterback is judged by his jewellery,” legendary coach Bill Parcells has always maintained.

“We have to get pressure on Brady and, for us, that’s the key,” declared London-born Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. “He’s very cool in the pocket and, no matter what you do, you can’t really rattle him that much. But we’re never going to say that pressure isn’t the answer because it is the answer – always.”

In the regular season game between the two teams, which the Patriots won 38-35, Brady was sacked only once and the Giants failed to force a single turnover. Brady’s 356 yards passing, two touchdowns and 32 completions out of 42 throws proved to be telling statistics. If duplicated, New England will write their names into Super Bowl and NFL lore.