File this under: some people will never learn

Through the past seven years while the Patriots have won three Super Bowls and been the model franchise in the NFL, they have taken every tiny criticism against them and used it as rallying points. The no respect act gets tiresome but you certainly can't argue with the results. Make no mistake, this isn't high school football. Bulletin-board material doesn't win or lose the games since they're all highly-paid professionals but nobody takes more pleasure in opponent's absent-minded trash talk then the Pats.

Enter Anthony Smith, a second-year safety out of Syracuse, who is currently starting for the Steelers only because Troy Polamalu is out with an injury. For some reason (probably to get famous), Smith guaranteed a victory against New England last Tuesday. Therefore this game was won back on Tuesday. It was the perfect motivational tool the Patriots needed after coming out flat and barely surviving against the Eagles and Ravens the past two weeks. There would be no letdown yesterday at Gillette as the Pats picked up a well-deserved 34-13 thrashing of Pittsburgh.

Now the Patriots (13-0) only have three regular season games left in their quest for perfection and with this win they gave head coach Bill Belichick his 100th career victory. Pittsburgh (9-4) came out sharp as they held New England to a three-and-out on their first possession. Next, the Steelers went 59-yards in 15 plays (taking 8:14 off the clock) before stalling in the red zone and settling for a 23-yard field goal by Jeff Reed.

New England quickly responded as kick returner Chad Jackson (remember him?) returned the kickoff 39-yards to the Patriots 48. Tom Brady (32 of 46, 399 yards, 4 touchdowns) drove the team 52-yards in nine plays which ended with a four-yard pass to Randy Moss (7 catches, 135 yards, 2 touchdowns) in the back of the end zone. Need proof that the Pats relished Smith's wake up call? After the first TD, Brady sought out Smith and was jawing with him, something that Moss also did on multiple occasions.

After a Pittsburgh three-and-out, the Patriots caught the Steelers secondary off-guard as Brady hit Moss in stride on a perfect, play-action pass, 63-yards for another score at the start of the second quarter.

The Steelers are a solid team (probably the third-best in the AFC) and they didn't fold as they came back with a touchdown of their own. Running back Willie Parker was sprung for a 30-yard gain and later on the drive, Ben Roethlisberger (19 of 32, 187 yards, 1 touchdown) found backup running back Najah Davenport in the end zone for a 32-yard TD pass. Somehow, Davenport did a wheel route down to the goal-line and Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs couldn't get over quickly enough to fully cover him.

The Pats caught a huge break as they recovered their own punt after the next drive. They had first-and-10 at the Pittsburgh 34-yard line but could only gain four yards in three plays. Stephen Gostowski missed a 48-yard field goal as the Steelers dodged a big bullet.

Pittsburgh later added a 44-yard field goal by Reed on a drive where they converted twice on fourth down. Gostowski had a 42-yard kick with less than a minute before the half to give the Patriots a 17-13 lead.

The Steelers took the kickoff to start the second half but couldn't do anything after Parker gained 19-yards on the first play. It was an omen of things to come as they were shutout in the second half.

The Pats took over as Brady hit Moss (22 yards), Donte' Stallworth (9 yards) and Kyle Brady (7 yards) with passes before the play of the game. With 1st-and-10 at their own 44, Brady threw a lateral to Moss on the right. Moss fumbled the bad pass then tossed it back across the field to Brady. By that time, Jabar Gaffney (7 catches, 122 yards) was wide open down the field. Brady hit him just in time as he caught the 56-yard bomb in the end zone, right in front of our boy Smith.

The Pats stepped on the gas and went up 31-13 as Brady finished another drive with a two-yard pass to Welker. Wes had been held in check until then but he was on fire early in the fourth quarter as he caught five passes in a row at one point before Gostkowski notched a 28-yard field goal, the final score. At any level of football, have you ever seen five catches in a row on the same drive by one player? The Pats had broken the Steelers will.

The last signature moment of the game was provided by the Patriots defense as they stuffed the Steelers on a goal-line opportunity. For some reason, Pittsburgh chose to give a handoff to Hines Ward on fourth-and-goal from the 2. Pats safety Rodney Harrison (9 tackles, 2 assists) corralled Ward and also had a key deflection in the end zone on the preceding play: a fade to Santonio Holmes in the corner. It was a great game for Harrison, who had a tough season up until then. Since returning from the four game suspension, Rodney had looked a step slow. He's still the emotional leader on a gritty, veteran Patriots defense. Vince Wilfork (7 tackles, 1 sack) was another guy, who seemed to have his best game. He's usually battling multiple blockers in the trenches but he got some glory yesterday, even recording a sack of Big Ben in the third quarter. Vince fittingly celebrated with the Superman (thanks Soulja Boy) which finally made me realize that's what Moss has been doing all season after TD's.

Parker had 124 yards rushing but it didn't really matter as the Steelers passing game was never much of a factor. The Pats only ran nine times the whole game but that seemed to be a function of the game-plan. The Steelers came in with the top-ranked defense and the long ball was their obvious weakness in the secondary so the Pats went repeatedly for the kill with much success.
The numbers for the Pats are staggering. Brady has 45 TD's, four shy of Peyton Manning's record. Moss has 19 TD's, his personal best and a Pats record. He's three shy of the NFL record set by Jerry Rice. New England has 503 points (the 11th team in history to top 500), the record of 556 from the '98 Vikings is well within reach. Ditto for the touchdown record: the Pats have 65 and the '84 Dolphins had 70. Finally, Welker has 93 catches (4th best in Pats history) and is only eight behind Troy Brown's record.

The Jets (3-10) come to Gillette next Sunday and honestly, the Pats are going to bury them after all the Spygate drama from the season-opener. The Jets are a garbage team and New England could put up 50 or 60 next Sunday, look out.