Pats' principles: Hard work, focus and unity

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They are 16-0, already have achieved their place in NFL immortality, a team we have watched for four months now. So what can we learn from the New England Patriots? What lessons have they shared with us, even if they didn't know they were giving them? Here are three of them.-- TOM BRADY'S WORK ETHIC We see the results. We see the arm, we see the poise, and we see the ability to make great decisions, all in the split second before some lineman is in his face. We see him quarterback an NFL team as well as anyone ever has, always in control, poise in the pocket, his imprimatur everywhere. We see the spoils of success, the magazine covers and the model girlfriend, the celebrity and the charmed life that is Tom Brady's. We don't see the work ethic. There was a TV spot during the Giants game the other night that showed him at the NFL Combine in 2000, back when he was little more than a lanky kid looking like someone getting ready for a flag football game in the park, not the NFL. There was a clip of him running the 40, and he looked more like some kid running across the quad to get to the Saturday night party than someone showcasing himself for NFL scouts. This was an MVP quarterback? But we don't see the countless times he gets to Gillette Stadium in the early morning, lifting weights as the sun comes up. We don't see the innumerable hours he's spent to transform his body, make it stronger and much more athletic than it was. We don't see all the time he sits and watches tape, a quarterback's homework, the studying he does in order to make all those decisions that seem so easy on Sunday afternoons. We don't see the incredible work ethic. The one that makes the charmed life possible.-- BILL BELICHICK'S FOCUS His tunnel vision can become almost laughable. He's asked about the future, he talks about today. He's asked about history, he talks about the next opponent. He's asked about the big picture, he gives you the little one. He seems to spend press conferences wrapped in cliches, clinging to them as if they are a life raft in a turbulent sea. In a world where everyone else is always trying to promote themselves more, draw more attention to themselves, he keeps doing what he does, everyone else be damned. He's been called everything from arrogant to self-absorbed, from heartless to the ultimate pragmatist, a private man in a very public job. But never question coach Bill Belichick's focus. It is one of his great strengths, this ability to keep himself and his team always pointing to the next practice, the next game, nothing else. And it's never been more evident than in this season, when distractions have been swirling around since the beginning of the season, everything from Spygate to the run to history. It is this ability to focus, to treat distractions as if they're opponents, that not only is one of the cornerstones of his great success, but also one of the reasons why he's the coach of his generation.-- TEAMThe players have been in the middle of the spotlight since training camp began in July. They've arguably been the most scrutinized NFL team in recent memory. They are a team composed of professional athletes, a group, almost by definition, that usually turns self-absorption into an art form. But has there ever been even a word that hints at disharmony, even a word that hints at internal discord? Not a one. No one complains about a lack of playing time. No one complains about having to share playing time. The receivers don't complain about a lack of touches. No one rolls his eyes over a coach's decision. No one complains about anything, period. In this era when someone always seems to be complaining about something, whether it's on teams or at the office, or anywhere else you can think of, the little cancers that tear everything apart, the Patriots have been exempt from all of that. They almost seem to speak in one voice. For everyone pays homage to the concept of team, from Little League to the pros. But teams are like ecosystems -- delicate, ever-changing, at the mercy of outside forces. The Patriots are a great team, in ways that transcend their record. And no doubt this would be different if they weren't so successful. Losing is always the sniper in the locker room. But if you were going to set out to create the perfect football team, you would come up with the Patriots, from the perfect quarterback to the perfect coach. From the wondrous wide receiver to the experienced defense to a commitment to excellence they all carry around them like an afternoon shadow. You also would set out to replicate how they all seem to understand the big picture, understand that success makes everyone look better, understand that they are all in it together, truly understand what a team is. As great as their record is, this might be the Patriots' greatest accomplishment.(Contact Bill Reynolds at breynold@projo.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)