Even from the moment you realized the Super Bowl was being played in Indianapolis, you had to know that the Patriots would be in the mix.

            Then, the lockout happened, giving an edge to all of last year’s top teams (New England had the NFL’s best mark at 14-2).

            But then came Week 1, and Patriot fans could have booked their trips to Indianapolis. When the Dolphins predictably, and fruitlessly, ran a fade pattern on 4^th-and-goal at the 1 and Wes Welker followed with a back-breaking, 99-yard touchdown reception, the game, and frankly season, was over.

            Virtually the same thing happened in Week 2, when yours truly yelled at Norv Turner through the TV set and begged him to kick the field goal on 4^th-and-goal at the 1 trailing New England by three in the second quarter. Instead, the NFL’s worst coach went for it, Mike Tolbert got stuffed, and the Patriots erased any doubt with another 99-yard touchdown drive.

            New England was a mere 5-3 through eight games, and there was hope that maybe they had returned to earth. But one glance at their second-half schedule reminded you that there wasn’t another loss in sight.

            They clobbered the hapless Jets, then when Matt Cassel broke his hand, they got to face one of the worst quarterbacks in NFL history in Kansas City’s Tyler Palko. A week later, rather than deal with the lethal Michael Vick, they got sad-sack Vince Young and, inevitably, another victory.

            Their final five games? Try Dan Orlovsky, Rex Grossman, Tim Tebow, Matt Moore, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. That’s 5-0 without breaking a sweat. Their final record was 13-3, a mark Brady had not yet achieved. Thrice he had gone 14-2 and went 12-4 in 2006, but now he had a 13-3 for his resume as well.

            However, nothing would top what happened in the playoffs. Perhaps we should have known even before the Patriots miraculously escaped the Ravens in the AFC title game that they were well on their way to the big game. It all started in Denver, with God’s other son, Tim Tebow.

            Pittsburgh was a heavy favorite and loomed as New England’s divisional round opponent. That would have made things tricky for the Pats, as the Steelers dominated them in a 25-17 win in Week 8 that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Surely, hope that New England would finally have to earn their way after not beating a team above .500 in the regular season.

            But folks, we’re talking about the Patriots here. Tim Tebow made sure the magic carpet ride continued.

            The league’s top pass defense was facing the league’s worst passer, perhaps in history. Ben Roethlisberger is a two-time Super Bowl champion, and the Broncos were an 8-8 team that had lost their last three games. So naturally, the absurd happened.

            Tebow threw for 316 yards (a fitting number for him), including an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime, and somehow, inexplicably, the defending AFC champs were gone. No rhyme or reason, other than it made life easier for New England.

            Denver went to Foxborough thinking they had a chance, but that was wiped away less than two minutes into the game, and Tom Brady threw six touchdowns passes in a 45-10 demolition of one of the worst playoff teams of all time.

            Once again, the Patriots hardly had to exert any effort against a mediocre team to reach the doorstep of the Super Bowl.

            And we save the best for last, the AFC Championship Game.

            A better team arrived in New England in the Ravens, but an intimidated one as well. Baltimore did everything but win the game, and again in fitting fashion, New England was aided by a one-time Buffalo Bill. Remember, the Bills franchise has been overly kind to the Patriots this past decade.

            Lee Evans failed to secure what would have been the game-winning touchdown pass, as it was knocked away by undrafted, rookie free agent safety (yes, you read that right) Sterling Moore. The youngster Moore then deflected a third-down pass to force Baltimore into a chip-shot field goal to tie the game.

            But remember, this is New England. An extra point isn’t even a chip-shot.

            The Ravens bumbled their way into the attempt, and journeyman kicker Billy Cundiff channeled his inner-Ray Finkle and shanked the kick wide left with the laces out. While most Ravens fans were left in shock, I simply shook my head and muttered, “I knew it.”

            Sure, it sounds pessimistic and bitter, but there is some vindication in knowing that you can see the signs in advance. The night prior to the game, I looked at the Patriots roster and wondered who would be Sunday’s unsung hero.

            Tom Brady? Come on, been there done that. Rob Gronkowski? That’s too obvious. Even Wes Welker, Deion Branch, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and Vince Wilfork were too unoriginal.

            No, I pinpointed two defensive newbies – Mark Anderson and Moore. Anderson was a cast-off defensive end from Chicago and Houston despite solid production, and he made me feel smart with a sack on the game’s second possession as the Ravens failed to get a first down in their first two drives.

            But Moore saved the best, and most painful, for last. The young man that couldn’t keep a job with the Raiders felt the divine spirit at just the right moment and made the play to send New England, and more importantly its obnoxious, spoiled, entitled fans to the city of their archrival to watch Tom Terrific join his idol Joe Montana in NFL lore.

            We haven’t even played the Super Bowl yet, but lest we forget this is Brady’s final frontier of destiny, to avenge the Super Bowl XLII loss that cost New England its perfect* (please note the asterisk) season.

            The Giants beating the Patriots in yet another Super Bowl? That doesn’t happen to the Golden Child. Bill Belichick remembers, adjusts, and defeats, especially his former employer. Bon Jovi will be there rooting on his buddy, too.

            You can expect a perfectly symmetrical flip of the script, as I figure New England will win in the same fashion the Giants did in 2008. That sent thousands of “Patriots 19-0 Perfect Season” shirts to less fortunate youth in Nicaragua rather than fans parading the streets of Boston.

            Gronkowski, high ankle sprain and all, will find a way to get it done. Danny Woodhead, Brandon Spikes, Zoltan Mesko, and Patrick Chung? I full expect at least one of those players to make a massive impact.

Don’t be surprised if longtime Patriot Kevin Faulk (for the record, the only New England player to pre-date Belichick) plays a key role on the field where he came up just short on Belichick’s infamous 4^th-and-2 gamble against the Colts in 2009.

Because remember, no matter the circumstances, the Patriots always get their retribution. Sorry, Giants fans. The writing has been on the wall since day one. Etched in stone, then written over with permanent marker.