After almost five months of NFL football, we have arrived at Super Bowl week. The two participants, the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, both dominated their playoff games to get here.

Plenty of early attention this week has been focused on the Falcons, and it’s been earned. They have the seventh-best scoring offense in NFL history, powered by likely MVP Matt Ryan playing the best season of his career. We LOVE offense and a good story. But now I want to focus on the forgotten team in this matchup: the Patriots.

This is a remarkable seventh Super Bowl appearance by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the greatest QB/coach combination in NFL history; 14 percent of all Super Bowls have seen Brady start and have been coached by Belichick. And they are doing all of this in a free-agent world where players change teams every season. How?

The mantra of the Belichick’s Patriots is well-known: “Do Your Job.” So let’s dive into that.

We all have a simple understanding of that manta. In a football sense, you have an assignment and you execute that assignment. Seems easy enough. To make this idea work, the coaching staff must have the credibility for the players to buy in. But more importantly, the coaches must hold the players accountable for not living up to the standards. This is what sets apart Belichick from other coaches.

Belichick views players as commodities, moving parts in a system, and doesn’t seem to get attached to them. He will trade players in a heartbeat, even in their prime. Jaime Collins and Chandler Jones, the most recent examples. Logan Mankins and Richard Seymour years back. This puts fear into the minds of players: “If Belichick is willing to ship out standout players, well, he’d easily get rid of me.”

Players must work beyond their limitations and master all aspects of their game. I love this. Pressure, when applied properly, makes us perform at a higher level.

Sometimes instead of outright getting rid of players, he will bench them week to week. Late in the season, the Patriots picked up wide receiver Michael Floyd and seamlessly plugged him into the lineup. He scored a touchdown in a Week 17 matchup against the Dolphins. Two weeks later against the Texans in the Divisional round, Floyd struggled. He dropped passes and had a big offensive pass interference called against him. Belichick didn’t dress him the following week against Pittsburgh.

He wants his players doing all the little things it takes to win. And here’s an example of his players doing the extra. Look at the all the receivers blocking downfield on this short pass and catch. This is extra. Trust me, receivers rarely like blocking, and they rarely go out of their way to block. This is beautiful:

New England’s receivers just didn’t decide to start blocking this game. The idea of Do Your Job is a constant reminder in the facility, so everything is done with that in mind. The offseason program, the weight room, how you watch film, etc.

There are stories about Belichick holding Brady accountable in the meeting rooms, admonishing him, showing the worst throws of his season, or a game, to let everyone know this is how we get down. This almost never happens in a team meeting or even an offensive meeting. Most coaches go out of their way to not publicly criticize their quarterback. Usually the quarterback would say “this is my fault” rather than the coach calling out the player.

This idea of Do Your Job, as explained above, is why no-name receivers and backs have been able to succeed in New England. Clearly having Tom Brady helps everyone, but you can have a great quarterback and still struggle with less-talented receivers.

What makes New England different is Do Your Job. We all know our assignments, but how the assignments are executed will always set players and teams apart. When you watch New England play, especially at the skill positions, the players know exactly where to be. They know how to execute the game plan. This is the key for the New England no-name skill players.

Last Sunday, the Patriots came out with a clear plan of how to attack the Steelers zone defense. They were going to spread them out with formations, use tempo, find the holes in their zones and favor attacking the side where linebacker James Harrison was dropping into coverage.

Instead of rushing Harrison most of the game, the Steelers decided to have him drop into zone coverage more than usual, which isn’t his strong suit. New England stayed in base, then went to empty formations which forced the Steelers to adjust to rushing three guys. It allowed the Patriots to attack the zones, especially Harrison’s, without pressure in Brady’s face.

I couldn’t be allowed to write an article and not discuss the Patriots offensive line, which has improved so much this season. Some of the young guys are starting to round into form. Also, they’ve stayed mostly healthy.

Here’s everyone “doing their job” on Brady’s first touchdown pass. This play gives a good look into the success of their offense and team.

The Steelers are running a cross dog pressure, their favorite. This, by the way, isn’t a good pressure for the Steelers: dropping their two best rushers, the outside linebackers, and bringing both inside linebackers. But let’s credit the Pats. Their offensive line picks it up, and the running back is physical and meets his backer in the hole (something that almost never happens). This allows Brady to slide left to find Hogan in the back of the end zone:

Teams that have a clear No. 1 receiver often struggle when a defense takes that option away. The other guys either aren’t ready for the ball, drop it, or don’t know what they’re doing. Because Brady spreads it around so much, teams defending the Patriots must play almost straight up. It’s more important to get pressure on Brady and get him uncomfortable in the pocket than it is to double a wide receiver and free up someone else.

Receivers succeed in the Patriots system for all the reasons laid out above, but Brady also deserves credit. He spreads the ball around so you know if you run your route like you should — Do Your Job — you can expect the ball.

It’s impressive the way the Patriots do things their way, the Patriot Way, and I can’t wait to watch the game.