Pigskin Wishes and Fishes

It's quiet. 

Too quiet.

Who knew I'd miss that QB controversy so much?

Sometimes, it's hard to be a fan. Your team is 4-4-0 and just sat on the couch eating tacos as the trade deadline passed. Now, your team is every bit the riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma they were a week ago and the couch is a mess. 

At least it's a rivalry game this week with the Colts coming to Foxborough.

Not that most week's aren't rivalry games for New England. 

The AFC East teams, of course. Then there are all the villains from the Pats' many Oscar-winning, I mean, Lombardi-winning performances over the years; the Steelers, the Ravens, the Titans, the Jaguars (yes, the Jaguars), the Chiefs, and as noted above, the Colts. The Patriots even have rivalry games with NFC opponents, including a certain team that begins with a 'G' but will not be mentioned here because if you say their name three times they somehow show up in the Super Bowl and beat the Patriots.

When it comes to the Colts, these are no longer the heady rivalry days of Brady and Manning, or even Brady and Luck. This Sunday, it will be Mac Jones and Sam Ehlinger. Pigskin troubadours have yet to write heroic lyrics in tribute to either Jones or Ehlinger at this point in their careers. That doesn't mean we won't be humming the tune and tapping our feet to the Ballad of One of Those Guys someday. And, in the Any Given Sunday spirit of the NFL, maybe this will be a game that songs are written about.

No, I don't believe that for a minute.

What Mike Will Be Hoping To See/Not See This Sunday

Stop Before You Run Out of Toes

The Patriots have been committing penalties of the self-inflicted wound type (aka, pre-snap) at an unsustainable rate this season. Twelve men in the huddle? Did you ever think a Bill Belichick coached team would be this sloppy? If you consistently have to go 15+ yards for a first down you're probably not getting that first down, um, you know, consistently.

Confuse Schrodinger's Cat

I'm starting to call out Patriots plays before they happen while watching the game on TV and if I can do that, I have to assume actual professional football players can, too. I get that - as Belichick himself said - there are times when you have to run when they know you're going to run and sometimes you have to pass when they know you're going to pass, but, aren't there a whole lot of other sometimes?

I was told there'd be no temporal physics on the final but I have to think the answer to that question is "Yes."

Days Without A Turnover: 7

Few statistics correlate to winning/losing NFL games than turnovers.

Defense, Special Teams, and a Field Goal

Winning 3-0 counts the same as 35-0 in the standings. 

It isn't good for my heart or my liver but I'll take the W.

Go Pats!