BOSTON GLEE PARTY PATRIOTS NFL'S NEWEST DYNASTY.

Byline: BILLY WITZ

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The New England Patriots, following the lead of their drab-as-his-hooded-sweat-shirt coach, Bill Belichick, have been repeating the same tired mantra since September.

One at a time.

It may be colorless, it may be redundant, but it turns out they collect glistening silver Super Bowl trophies much the same way, one at a time.

The Patriots, with their 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, became the first team since the Denver Broncos in 1998 to win back-to-back championships and joined the Dallas Cowboys of the mid-90s as the only teams to win three Super Bowls in four years.

If others want to call the Patriots a dynasty, you won't hear it from them. One after another Sunday evening, players and coaches said it was for others to assess their place in history.

They'll take it one at a time.

``You know, we didn't look at it that way two days ago and we don't look at it that way now,'' Belichick said of the opportunity to stake their place in history. ``We started at the bottom of the mountain like everybody else. We were thrilled to get to the top.

``It was one fight against 31 other teams trying to win this Super Bowl and win that trophy. We're happy we did that. I'll leave the comparisons and historical perspectives to everybody else.''

With Belichick, that's an easy one.

The victory ran his playoff record to 10-1, surpassing the record of legendary Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi, after whom the Super Bowl trophy is named.

Once again, Belichick's acumen came to the fore in a Super Bowl. Most of the year the Patriots played zone defense to protect their untested cornerbacks, undrafted rookie Randall Gay, second-year pro Asante Samuel and converted receiver Troy Brown. When safety Eugene Wilson was hurt in the first half, rookie Dexter Reid replaced him.

Against the Eagles, they blitzed more than they had all season, Belichick said, and played almost exclusively man-to-man defense against the Philadelphia receivers with little help behind them from the safeties.

While Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb passed for 357 yards, the cornerbacks held up well enough to allow the blitzers to sack McNabb four times and force him into throwing three interceptions - including two in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory.

Patriots players say they are so well prepared by the coaching staff that young players can step in and play confidently.

In addition to Brown, others helped out in unfamiliar ways. Guard Russ Hochstein lined up in the backfield as a fullback, paving the way for halfback Corey Dillon on his 2-yard touchdown run that put New England ahead early in the fourth quarter. And linebacker Mike Vrabel, for the second year in a row, lined up at tight end and caught a touchdown pass.

``We put the team first and it is such a solid foundation that you can fall back on it when things don't go well,'' Vrabel said. ``Maybe we'll have a situation where guys are yelling at each other or something is going on within the team, but you can always fall back on the teamwork foundation.''

While the foundation remains the same, the Patriots take on a different look each season.

In the era of the salary cap and free agency, which began in the mid-90s, it's more difficult to keep winning teams together. While players who win championships warrant higher salaries, the salary cap prevents teams from retaining many of those players.

So while the Patriots have familiar faces like quarterback Tom Brady, linebackers Tedy Bruschi and Willie McGinest, and even Sunday's MVP, receiver Deion Branch, many of the other parts turn over.

The starting lineup that beat the Eagles had just 12 of 22 spots occupied by players who started last year's win over Carolina. One of the newcomers was Dillon, who rushed for 75 yards on 18 carries and also caught three passes for 31 yards. Another was punter Josh Miller, who pinned the Eagles inside their 20-yard line three times.

``You don't win Super Bowls by staying the same,'' Vrabel said. ``You don't win Super Bowls by being the same team you were last year.''

Next year the Patriots will have to replace both coordinators. Charlie Weis, who runs the offense, has been hired as the head coach at Notre Dame and Romeo Crenel, who is in charge of the defense, after the game accepted the offer by the Cleveland Browns to be their coach, The Associated Press reported.

The discouraging thing for the rest of the NFL is that the Patriots aren't simply changing, they're getting better.

Since they began the 2003 season 2-2, the Patriots have won 32 of 34 games. The only games they've lost were at Miami and at Pittsburgh this season, but they also beat those teams - trouncing the Steelers, 41-27,on their home field two weeks ago to win the AFC Championship.

After the confetti settled on them Sunday night, they hugged, exchanged handshakes and patted each other on the back - only in the literal sense.

``When you start tooting your own horn, that's when you get in trouble. You've got to prove it every year,'' said offensive tackle Matt Light. ``It's great to have three rings on my finger, I can tell you that much.''

No doubt he'll admire them the Patriot way, one at a time.

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