Now I know why the NFL prefers two weeks between the conference championships and the Super Bowl.

Give people 14 days to think about it, and they’ll talk themselves into anything.

How else to explain why so many otherwise intelligent fans, including my colleague, Mr. Oakes, are picking the Philadelphia Eagles to win, not cover, win, Super Bowl XXXIX?

Two weeks ago, you might have been able to convince me that the Eagles would cover a 7-point spread. They’re a very good team, and I like Donovan McNabb and their secondary.

So I was all set for another nail-biter, another classic that would hinge on the right leg of Adam Vinatieri.

But then a week ago this past Thursday, I accompanied a herd of 100 or so media from around the country into the Patriots’ locker room at Gillette Stadium.

It was like we’d walked into a hornets nest. The players were surly. They were curt with their answers, and to a man, they looked like they couldn’t wait until our half-hour of allotted time with them was over.

Now, anyone who has followed this team through the media knows their modus operandi with the likes of yours truly. They spout clichs, give the vaguest answers to the most in-depth questions and, above all, they don’t give us anything that could end up pinned to the opposition’s bulletin board. They’re a pretty crafty bunch. I’ve never seen professional athletes turn a question around like these guys can.

They’re as good at handling the media in the locker room as they are at handling the opposition on the gridiron. But the media swallows their stock answers because the players are usually respectful, patient and relaxed, even if they’re not glib.

That wasn’t the case last week. Sure, there were exceptions. Rosevelt Colvin was obviously basking in the glow, but who could blame him, given where he had to come from to play in his first Super Bowl. Tedy Bruschi is as nice a guy as you’ll ever want to meet and probably the most accommodating Patriot when it comes to the media, but even he had a little edge to him.

The only guy who seemed truly relaxed, truly at ease with all the microphones, tape recorders and cameras in his face, was Vinatieri. Maybe he knew something we don’t yet. Perhaps he thinks he’ll be able to watch from the sidelines with the clock ticking down the final seconds and a Super Bowl Champions cap fit snugly on his head for a change.

I might chalk up the team’s mood that day to the fact that it was their first day back from a two-day break, their first day facing a throng of microphone-toting leeches that was only going to get bigger and dumber over the next 10 days.

Watching them from a distance this week, though, I don’t think that was the case. In contrast to their Foxboro demeanor, the Pats have seemed much more relaxed than they have before past Super Bowls.

They’ve also been doing a lot more talking back these past two weeks, and throughout these playoffs, than they have in the past. It used to be that they’d just brush off any perceived slight or insult. That hasn’t been the case this year. Whether it was the media falling over itself to get on the Colts’ bandwagon or Freddie Mitchell’s dissing of the secondary, they’ve been doing a lot more barking this year. Why is that?

I think it’s because they’re fed up. Even though the majority of the media and fans around the country have finally come around to giving them their just due, the Patriots still only hear the naysayers. Even after winning two championships, it’s what still drives a lot of them.

There’s one other reason I think the Patriots are going to lay the smack down on the Eagles tonight. Actually, two – Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel. The players have a great deal of respect for those two guys and I think they want to send them out with a bang.

Irrelevant, you say? Let me tell you a little story.

Back in 1986, the Chicago Bears had the greatest defense in the history of the NFL, and the mastermind behind it was defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan. Of course, Ryan became a hot commodity that season, and it was reported that he would leave the Bears after Super Bowl XX to become head coach of, coincidentally, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Well, the night before the big game, in which the Bears were set to meet, coincidentally, the Patriots, Ryan and his defense gathered for one last meeting. After going over the game plan for the final time, Ryan stood up in front of his tearful players and gave an emotional farewell. When he left the room, defensive tackle Steve McMichael hurled a chair across the room and impaled a blackboard.

At that moment, the Patriots were toast. The Bears mauled them the next day, 46-10.

I’m not suggesting that Daniel Graham and/or Ted Johnson went McMichael on some innocent Jacksonville blackboard last night. But I am certain that this is going to be more than just another game, or even just another Super Bowl, tonight for the Patriots.

It’s their first, and maybe their last, chance to make history. It’s their last chance to play for their mentors, and it may be their only chance to silence their doubters, real or imagined.

Again, the Eagles are a good football team and worthy foes. But like the Patriots of 19 years ago, they are victims of circumstance. This is beyond their control.

Patriots 46, Eagles 10. Corey Dillon, MVP. Dress warm for the parade on Tuesday.