FOXBORO - Bill Belichick ripped off the headphones as the clock rolled off in New England's 52-7 throttling of the Redskins and immediately hugged his youngest son, Brian.

How could a sweet, innocent daddy entertain such villainous, heinous tactics?

Clearly, Belichick has crossed the line, becoming the two-faced professional wrestling bad guy. He's Roddy Piper in his heel prime, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan without the slapstick one-liners, and Ric Flair in the mid-1980s.

Of course, pro wrestling is staged. Pro football at its worst has become mundanely predictable.

It's an unbeatable combination. Belichick and the Pats are making a mockery of this NFL season, plowing teams under like wasted tomato vines.

Good teams, bad teams, the Pats treat all with such disdain.

Imagine, Brady's third TD pass yesterday made it 45-0?

"That's Belichick's call and he felt he wanted to go for it . . . fine," said Washington defensive lineman Anthony Montgomery. "It's football. We have to stop them, and we didn't."

Scary thought, though. There is nothing Washington or anyone can or has done about it. The Pats continue to force teams to submit then pile on the pressure even worse.

Running it up? You bet they are. And you just try to do something about it.

"You've got no choice but to be upset," said Redskins 12-year veteran Phillip Daniels. "We're down 38 points in the fourth quarter, and they're throwing the football, even going for it on fourth down. It's like a slap in the face.

"At the same time, we've got to stop that."

Opponents are getting miffed, but it's one of those things, part of the blame lies at home where their franchise is not keeping up with the times.

Safety Pierson Prioleau tried to jump on the grenade and blame his own team for not "executing better" and not "doing their jobs." Truth is, even with the four first-rounders in the secondary, Washington simply couldn't match up with the Patriots in the spread offense.

One thing the Redskin players did agree on was the high plane on which Tom Brady now performs.

"He's so smart, and he gets the ball out so quick," noted defensive lineman Demetric Evans. "There were plays the ball was gone and the receivers were in full stride, they hadn't even turned around. He just doesn't make any mistakes."

The news continues to get worse for the NFL as second-year back Laurence Maroney took another step on the road back from injury.

Maroney still isn't taking snaps like a full-time, big-time rusher, but he did carry 14 times for 75 yards and dance for 37 more yards on two catches.

"He's a tough runner," said Evans. "He's like (Joseph) Addai in the Colts offense: someone you have to pay attention to. He's definitely one of the better backs in the AFC."

Half of the season is done, and the Pats have been impervious to anything the opposition has conjured up.

They are unbeaten and untested. And they believe in themselves unequivocally.

"They have a lot of confidence right now," said Washington's Daniels. "Win the way they are winning and they should have a lot of confidence. They definitely have a lot of swagger.

"They do a good job. It's the best team we've played. Hopefully, we get another chance to see them again (in Super Bowl XLII)."

Absolutely untouchable: Pats at midpoint of season

Record: 8-0

Closest game so far: 34-17 win over Cleveland.

Offensive output: 331 points

Defense has allowed: 127 points

Average win margin: 25.5 point a game

Offensive MVP candidates

Tom Brady: 198 for 267 passing, 2,431 yards, 30 TDs, 2 INTs;

Randy Moss: 47 catches, 779 yards, 11 TDs

Wes Welker: 56 catches, 613 yards, 6 TDs

Defensive MVP candidates

Mike Vrabel: 40 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 9 quarterback hurries, 4 forced fumbles

Tedy Bruschi: 51 tackles, 2 sacks

Junior Seau: 33 tackles, 3 interceptions, 1 sack