With coach talk over, time for players to settle score

"Honestly, he's the same," one player said. "The way he's coaching is the same as it is any other week. You might find it hard to believe, but it's true. He hasn't been any more emotional."

Belichick will be in the minority on that one. Emotions figure to run high tonight at Gillette Stadium when the 7-2 Patriots play host to Bill Parcells's 7-2 Cowboys before a national television audience. Both teams have won seven of their last eight games and lead their divisions. The coaches have opposed each other four times, each prevailing twice.

Parcells, as you may know, coached here for a while and didn't leave on the best of terms. Belichick used to work for Parcells -- with the Giants, Patriots, and Jets. The two haven't been as tight since Belichick broke away from Parcells to coach for the owner with whom Parcells had been at odds.

Charlie Weis, another longtime employee of Parcells's, is New England's offensive coordinator. Dallas's offensive coordinator, Maurice Carthon, played for Parcells's Giants and was on his staff, along with Belichick, Weis, New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, and defensive backs coach Eric Mangini, on the Jets. Oh, yes, Patriots inside linebackers coach Pepper Johnson played for Parcells and Belichick with the Giants and Jets.

Now that's six degrees of separation for you. It's games such as this that probably make both coaches' assistants thankful that they aren't readily available to the media. Then again, there hasn't been a game quite like this since, oh, way back in the late 1990s when we had the Tuna Bowls between the Patriots and Jets.

Another key figure who wasn't available to the local media last week is Terry Glenn. He spent a little time here himself. He told a Fort Worth newspaper that he "hated everything about New England" and that he "couldn't wait" to get here. He's not the only player with a personal connection. Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson, Ty Law, and Willie McGinest all were drafted by and played for Parcells.

If all that's not enough, there will be an actual game between two pretty good teams.

New England and Dallas are good teams because -- what else? -- they're well-coached and tough. Dallas is tough to score against, yielding a league-low 15 points per contest. New England gives up only about 17 a game.

Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter will be tested by Belichick and Crennel's confusing coverage schemes. Tom Brady's poise will be tested by Dallas's aggressive pass rush. Both teams protect the ball and capitalize on turnovers.

The Patriots have stressed out Belichick a bit lately with penalties, and you can bet he doesn't want them embarrassing him in front of Parcells or, worse, costing themselves the game with mistakes.

New England has a pair of difficult road games coming up -- at Houston and Indianapolis -- and plays three of its last four against division opponents. This is not a game the Patriots can afford to give away. Even to an old friend.