The Fun Part's Over: Tom Brady and Patriots Now Face Real Test

Generally, after eight games, you know what each team is about.

Injuries may heal or multiply, suspensions can be lifted or handed down, and players can still emerge or fade down the stretch.

But beyond all the vagaries the second half of the NFL season brings with it, pundits and fans alike generally understand what their team is going to be.

This year, in New England, that isn't the case.

Depending on which game tape you review, the Patriots are a team that can't run, can't pass, can't defend, and can't play special teams...or they're a team that can pass on anyone, run through the toughest defenses, and will swarm you and make game-winning plays on special teams and defense.

But over the next three weeks, the Patriots will face the toughest stretch of games they've had in years.

They begin by facing the undefeated if underwhelming (the last two weeks) Colts, then the plucky New York Jets, followed by the still-undefeated New Orleans Saints.

It's an incredibly tough stretch.

The Jets have a top five defense and know they can beat the Patriots. They have the players in guys like Bart Scott and Darrelle Revis who can neutralize the big-play threat the Patriots bring.

The Colts will be without Bob Sanders, which hampers their ability on defense, but New England will have to somehow manage to stop Indianapolis when Peyton Manning is completing more than 70 percent of his passes.

New Orleans may be the toughest game. They have the defenders who can make the big plays, even if consistently they don't necessarily jump out at you as a great defense. But the Saints are, by far, the most impressive offensive team in the NFL this year. Every week they seem to put together offensive games that are without comparison.

Today, they took on the Panthers who, in yardage terms, are the best passing defense in the NFL. They hung 30 points on them, with Brees throwing for 330 yards.

The Saints can beat you with the big play, they can beat you through the air, they can beat you on the ground. They're a tough nut to crack.

But it's the combination of these three games that will be the first real litmus test of the season for New England.

It may seem almost unthinkable after the Patriots systematically worked through their last three opponents, but every one of these games could be a loss.

Lose all three and New England will be sitting at 6-5 with a tough road to the playoffs and few believers left.

Win all three and they'll have taken down two of the best teams in the league, their closest division rival, and can coast through to the playoffs with the league singing their praises.

Taking things "week by week" is the mantra of the Patriots under Bill Belichick, and that's how they're likely to approach it, but there's no denying the entire regular season seems to boil down to these three games.

It starts next week against Indianapolis.

The Colts have done a phenomenal job of working in both the short and long ball. They've done that largely out of necessity, since their two real receiving threats are Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark with Marvin Harrison no longer in town.

Despite not having a second wide threat, the Colts have managed to keep defenses guessing the wrong way and adapt to any situation.

San Francisco and Houston have managed to keep them out of the endzone for the most part, but between the 20s, the Colts have dominated.

I'll go more in-depth with the personnel matchups on Tuesday, but how the Patriots shut down Clark and Wayne will go a long way to determine how successful they'll be against the undefeated Colts.

In the meantime, the Patriots and New England fans can sit pretty atop the AFC East knowing they have a virtual stranglehold on the division lead after beating the Dolphins.

While the Patriots closed the game out without too much trouble, it was far closer than the final 27-17 scoreline would lead you to believe.

The Dolphins again found success utilizing the Wildcat/option against the Patriots, with both their touchdowns in the game coming from those formations.

The Patriots have been able to stop conventional offenses quite well, with the best example being their game against Atlanta. Against athletic teams that bring more unusual looks on Sunday, the Patriots have had trouble.

It doesn't mean much going against the Colts, Saints, and Jets, who tend to run more conventional, if differing, offenses, but down the line it has to be said that more teams than just Miami noticed they can make the Patriots nervous by changing things up a bit.

Still, that New England managed to contain what has been a solid Dolphins offense to just the two touchdowns is certainly a good sign. That they slowed on offense coming out of the bye week maybe is not.

It's just another thing to question about this Patriots team.

That's been the story of the season so far, though. Questions, questions, questions, with few answers coming.

The previous two weeks the Patriots looked as good as ever, but did so against teams who, while talented, were winless.

There aren't a lot of those kinds of teams in the Patriots' future, with their toughest part of the schedule right in front of them.

But with a mammoth stretch for the rest of the month, it won't take us long to get some answers and figure out exactly where this team is and where it might go.