Drew Brees 5476*

So this is fair.

The Year Christmas Literally Kicked My Ass

An open letter to the my long-time friends this New Year's Eve...

Can Nice Guys Finish First?

My wife Vickie has an inscrutable process for choosing her favorite Patriots player. In the case of her first favorite player, Willie McGinest, it came down to one play, a sack of Peyton Manning in which Willie made an incredibly athletic move to get to the quarterback. “Did you see that?” Of course I did; I’m watching the game. “Who is that guy? He’s sung,” she said, using a Tai Chi term that I was familiar with but hadn’t really understood until that moment. Willie was so in tune with the game of football that there wasn’t an ounce of tension in his body. He moved like water in a river. “Yeah,” I said. “That’s Willie McGinest.”

Her latest favorite player does not move like water in a river unless that river just burst through a dam. Before his record-setting Sunday against the Bills, we watched LeGarrette Blount on the Patriots pregame show on WBZ and my wife said, “Who is that guy?” And that was before we got a look at his custom wheels. LeGarrette Blount, I suddenly realized, is Tom Hanks in “Big.” Who couldn’t like this guy?

It's Win or Go Home Time

In case there was any doubt, this is a quarterback’s league. Make a list of the best QB’s in the NFL and then cross-check that against a list of the teams in the playoffs. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees are probably on your list in some order and all of them going to the pigskin prom. And if it hadn’t been for an officiating gaffe in the Chiefs-Chargers game, Roethlisberger would be in the playoffs, too. Andy Dalton was close to making the best list but then he threw four interceptions against the Ravens. Good thing for the Ginger QB and Bengals’ fans that defense wins championships.

It Comes Down To This

This is the end. For some.

Good Times

Good times.

Is There a Fork in My Back?

Rationality is unfamiliar real estate for most sports fans. This despite the fact that hope so rarely triumphs over reason. Perhaps that’s why, when the underdog wins, it creates an indelible memory. The unexpected moments in life, the unpredictable moments that cause us joy or pain; they stay with us.

Some Dreams Come True... Don't They?

I almost never remember my dreams but I had a dream so vivid last night that I woke up elated, relaxed and happy. For the briefest of moments. Then I realized it was Saturday and the insanity of Christmas 2013 had yet to peak (I’m thinking 2:30pm on Monday). I say that after the blood pressure pushing anxiety of flying my daughter back home in between two major snowstorms, driving down to Logan at night in single digit temps and driving white-out snow. That was bad but we’re talking Christmas, here. It will surely get worse before it gets better. But I digress. Back to my dream…

That's Just Your Opinion Man

I guess I find it disturbing that anyone would look to the person described as “the Patriarch of ‘Duck Dynasty’” for advice of a cultural or spiritual nature but apparently this matters. Phil Robertson has offered his opinions on homosexuality (sinful and icky) and race (African Americans were much happier when they were riding in the back of the bus). Fans of the show and conservatives have come to Robertson’s defense on the basis of his 1^st Amendment right to say stupid things; it’s just what he believes, after all, and that should be cool. Chill out, America. I mean, we all know this is what most of the 60-something white men in America believe, don’t we?

It's Full of Stars

China launched and landed a rover on the moon. I mentioned it to a friend of mine and he said, “Here comes the new space race!” I don’t think so but if that was the case I think it would be an opportunity lost. Why not internationalize the space program? I suppose I see something like that as one or more bricks on the Yellow Brick Road. Heart, hope and happily ever after lies just up ahead. I don’t know. It seems kind of boring, doesn’t it? Everybody living in peace and happiness and matching teal tunics. We like to think of our lives in heroic terms rather than seek a contemplative life. We struggle, we compete, we overcome. Man vs. man, man vs. himself, man vs. nature. Man vs. those extra 10 pounds. 

Penultimate

Almost there.

It Could Be Worse

Not every movie has a happy ending. I hate those movies.

It's Writing Itself

They’ve lost stalwart DT Vince Wilfork, three-down LB Jerod Mayo and Vince’s DT dance partner Tommy Kelly on defense and RT Sebastian Vollmer and All Galaxy TE Rob Gronkowski on offense. They have almost as much money on IR as they do on the active roster. WR Danny Amendola has been nicked up since Week 1, safety Steve Gregory missed time with a broken thumb, cornerback Aqib Talib missed time with a hip injury and they only recently got pass-catching 3^rd down RB Shane Vereen back on the field after a stint on the short-term IR. And just as rookie wide receivers Kenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobson seemed to be getting consistently on the same page with Brady, both of them got hurt.

After all that, the Patriots are 10-3-0 and if they win today in Miami, they will hold the “if the playoffs started today” #1 seed in the AFC Playoffs, thanks to that tiebreaker they hold with the Denver Broncos.

How is this possible?

A Play Here or There

Make a play. Win the game.

What Just Happened

I’m not sure what just happened. Am I asleep and happily dreaming or am I awake and face-to-face with an improbable reality? I’d say impossible but it seemingly just happened so impossible doesn’t apply. Improbable will have to do. Their greatest warrior, their Ajax, Rob Gronkowski fell and still Tom Brady and the Patriots would not accept defeat. They trailed 26-14 with 2:39 to play. They would need Tom Brady to be Tom Brady. They would need to recover an onside kick. They would need a call. They would need someone to step up in Gronk’s absence and they got Shane Vereen catching 12 passes for 153 yards.

I was just along for the ride. And yes, that ride made me throw up.

The Other Fifteen

A little shout out to Matt Schaub who got to ride fate’s savage roller coaster Thursday night. Banished to the bench in favor of Case Keenum thanks to a penchant for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory with ill-timed interceptions was summoned by ex-HC Gary Kubiak when Keenum struggled against the #31 defense of the Jacksonville “Good Seats Still Available/Will Play in London for Food” Jaguars. The Texans trailed 17-7 at the half and fell further behind in the third quarter at 24-10. Schaub had rallied Houston to a 24-20 deficit and had the ball on the 22-yard line with 2:21 to play. It was redemption time for Matt Schaub. When his agent is looking for another team for him this off-season he could point to this game and say that Matt Schaub still has it. And then we saw that Matt Schaub indeed still had it. Instead of a game-winning TD pass, he threw an interception, effectively ending the game. After the chip shot field goal made it 27-20, Schaub was sacked for an 18-yard loss. Game over. He went from future starting QB for the Minnesota Vikings to backing up Andrew Luck in Indianapolis and not taking a snap for the next three years in two minutes.

Can you imagine the dark, foul ball of psychic energy that flooded Matt Schaub’s brain when he threw that interception? I can imagine him thinking for just a moment, “I’m in Hell. I’m doomed to throw ill-timed interceptions for all eternity! What did I do to deserve this? This seems way out of proportion to whatever I did. What? God is a Houston Texans’ fan? That’s kind of random isn’t it? It is what it is? Oh. Even so, isn’t God supposed to be love? Forgiveness? Oh. Except where football and specifically the Houston Texans are involved. I see. Oops! Threw another INT. Maybe there’ll come a time when this will all seem funny.”

Maybe it’s already funny.

Sometimes Life Intrudes

I'll get to the rest of the picks before Sunday (I hope). For now...

Houston 20, Jacksonville 31 - The Texans gave it everything they have to beat the Patriots last week. A third win in a lost season is insignificant unless that win is a pride-saving victory over one of the best teams in the NFL. That did not happen. Having taken pride off the table, Houston will bring its moveable feast of pigskin pain to Jacksonville to face a Jaguars team that beat them just two weeks ago. The 3-9-0 Jags are playing hard for a team whose best case scenario is 7-9-0. One thing's for certain with this game. I won't have any problem switching over to "Project Runway All Stars" at 9:00pm. 

Funny Business

He kids. Because he cares.

Do These Grapes Taste Funny to You?

Apparently, Bill Belichick owns a condo in the Houston Texans’ collective head. Or Antonio Smith’s head at the very least.

Messing with Texas

It’s the classic trap game.