Please forgive our sports editor … he’s banged his head one too many times against the Liberty Bell. Either that or his Philadelphia fanaticism has driven him to a new level of dementia. Now, I am not a gambling man, but I would encourage any and everybody to count on New England winning their third Super Bowl in four years. And the reasons stick out like a Freddie Mitchell Afro-hawk:

The Patriots already beat the two best teams remaining: The national media had a field day with the AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Gillette Stadium, proclaiming the Colts would be the team to end New England’s championship reign. This was, after all, the team with record-setting quarterback Peyton Manning under center (49 touchdowns), a 1,500-yard rusher in Edgerrin James and a vaunted receiving trio led by the incomparable Marvin Harrison. They were going against a supposedly-suspect Patriots secondary that had its enforcer (Ty Law) replaced by a rookie free agent who was just happy to be there (Randall Gay). Factor in linebacker-turned-safety Don Davis and wideout-turned-nickel cornerback Troy Brown, and this matchup had all the makings of a lopsided victory …

That is, for the Patriots, of course.

The Patriots held Manning to 238 yards passing, and held James to 39 yards rushing. James, in fact, had a better day catching the ball than Harrison did; the future Hall-of-Famer had five catches for a paltry 44 yards. An offense that scored over 522 points in the regular season was limited to a field goal.

Yeah, but it didn’t matter, the media said. Once they traveled to Heinz, their dream season was going to come to an end. Pittsburgh’s blitzing defense, hard-nosed running game and rookie sensation Ben Roethlisberger were bound to put the Pats in their place, especially without All-Pro Richard Seymour. After the Pats jumped out to a 24-3 first half lead en route to a 41-27 victory, the media was left eating crow.

In successive weeks, the Patriots thumped a team that featured arguably the greatest offense in league annals, and a team that entered the postseason with a 15-game winning streak. The Eagles have more holes in their lineup than an afghan, particularly at wide receiver, which brings me to the next point, which is …

The T.O. Factor is horribly overrated: I’ll be the first to tell you I never believed a wide receiver could win the league’s Most Valuable Player award. Terrell Owens single-handedly carried the Eagles offense on occasion, making other playmakers like Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook more effective. With him out of the picture, the offense is performing well, scoring 27 points in each of their playoff contests. Still, one would be a fool to think the unit was better off without him, and the team is convinced they can win the game sans their All-Pro.

The only thing sillier than that thought, in fact, is Owens’ promise that he will be ready to return from a right ankle injury in time for the Big Game. By the time the game begins, he will have been on the injured list for almost seven weeks. An injury of that nature takes 10 weeks to heal completely. The doctor that evaluated him, Mark Myerson, hasn’t cleared him for the game. T.O. at 80 percent is better than most of the receivers in the NFL, but at 65-70, he is a liability to his team, especially against the Patriots. New England’s secondary is physical, and if he plays, you can bet they’ll make him cut on that thing as much as possible.

As is the Jeremiah Trotter factor: Much was made about Trotter, who was cut by the Redskins in a cap-related move, rejoined the Eagles as a special-teams stalwart, then spearheaded an improved rushing defense when he was inserted as the starting middle linebacker in the 10th week of the season. The numbers prove as much; before him, the run defense allowed 130.6 yards per contest. After he took over, that figure dropped to 107.2. But anyone who knows football knows that stopping the run is an 11-man effort; having three Pro Bowlers in the secondary sure helps. In addition to that, since his insertion into the starting lineup, rarely have the Eagles been threatened by a balanced offensive attack. It was either a throwing (Green Bay, St. Louis) or rushing (Atlanta, Dallas) team. The Eagles haven’t played an offensive attack as balanced as New England all season. Corey Dillon will get his yards on the ground, and the Pats will get their points on offense, but the defense will be more than up to the task, because …

Freddie Mitchell opened a can of worms: Yes, there have been first-round disappointments. There have also been first-round disappointments whose talk has not been commensurate with his play. Still, there have even been first-round disappointments whose talk has not been commensurate with his play that go after the opposition in the media. However, NO ONE has done this to the New England Patriots, and survived to tell about it. Ask Mike “Vanderjerk” (thank you, Rodney Harrison), how ripe for the picking the Pats were following the Colts’ 20-3 loss. However, that was the kicker; he can talk all he wants, because no one is allowed to touch him. Enter Freddie Mitchell, a former first-round draft pick out of UCLA, and benchwarmer before Terrell Owens got hurt. Yes, he has had a couple of good games, but who made him the judge off all things New England? To call out Harrison, the ornery safety in the Pats’ secondary, is a death wish. Let’s see how committed Mitchell is to going over the middle come game time.

These are the Patriots: This team spits in the face of adversity, and plays as a unit at all times. With them, the sum is always greater than the individual parts. Still, it’d be foolish not to acknowledge the extraordinary nature of such components. In Adam Vinatieri, the team has one of the greatest clutch kickers of all time. He has two game-winning kicks in the Super Bowl, and is the most accurate kicker in team history. Tom Brady may not have the biggest arm or the greatest foot speed, but he has two Super Bowl MVP awards and a reputation as one of the league’s top clutch performers. And then there is Belichick, who can tie Vince Lombardi (9-1, .900) for highest postseason winning percentage with a Super Bowl win. No one strategizes like New England’s taskmaster, an approach shared by his entire staff, particularly coordinators Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis.

Prediction: Patriots 30, Eagles 13. This one won’t be that close.

– Evans Erilus can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard every Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on WRBB 104.9’s Dog Pound Sport’s Sound.