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Viva Murillo!

If you’ve won three games after three weeks, that’s good. Better than good, actually; it’s perfect. A 3-0 team isn’t guaranteed anything, but you have a little extra room for error and a good shot to make the playoffs. Your strategy is working, or you’ve been lucky (or both) and a championship is a realistic possibility. At the very least, you have the right to be considered a contender.

Since nobody else has defeated you yet, you need to make sure you don’t defeat yourself. Sure, 3-0 is good, but there are marginal 3-0 teams in the NFL, too. Sometimes a win-loss record doesn’t tell you much about the kind of team you have, and it’s easy to adopt a false sense of security. It’s not enough to be 3-0; you have to know what kind of 3-0 you are.

Look, I’m not knocking any NFL team that’s still undefeated. They all deserve their wins and I’m happy for their fans. There are some exciting stories developing. But the truth is that there’s a difference between the Patriots’ 3-0, the Packers’ 3-0 and the Steelers’ 3-0. And there’s probably a difference between your 3-0 and another team’s success.

Are you the Patriots, steamrolling the competition and making it look easy? Do you have deep layers of talent and the kind of guys that can dominate a contest, like Tom Brady and Randy Moss? Do you have a Sammy Morris to step in and be effective if a Laurence Maroney goes down?

Or are you the Packers, winning close games thanks to the resurgence of an aging player that many folks had written off? Are you getting the job done, but with hobbled players and no running game whatsoever? The games are exciting, but do you have the talent to reach your goals over the course of a full season?

Or are you the Steelers, winning your games but facing lesser competition each week? Do you even know how you’d fare if you were really tested, when you have to play the best in your league? You have the kind of talent to beat a lot of teams, but do you have enough to win a title?

Again, I understand that 3-0 is 3-0. It’s better than any of the alternatives. But unless you have a New England-style lineup, you have good reason to be concerned. All it takes is an injury (and there’s no shortage of those this year) and your team becomes an also-ran. If anything, this is the time to work that waiver wire harder than ever, identify areas of weakness and see if you can improve those sore spots via free agency or even a trade. Other owners might be in panic mode, but your record protects you from that malady. Use it to your advantage and be objective as you survey your team. Remember that the same guys that helped you win three straight can also rack up three (or more) straight losses. Or worse, you’re an ankle, knee or ACL away from starting some new guys.

And let’s not forget about the bye weeks, either. A team can be de-railed quickly just by running into the wrong teams at the wrong time. When your best weapons are playing golf, a great record can look pretty mediocre in just a couple of weeks.

So if you’re 3-0, I salute you. If your favorite team is 3-0, here’s to making it 4-0. But don’t let your concentration slip now, right when you’re ahead of the pack. If anything, work harder, take everyone seriously and always be looking to improve.

That’s what the Patriots do, right?

If you’d like to brag a little about your (or your favorite team’s) 3-0 start, feel free to do so below. You can also reach Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@gmail.com.

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