Bowling team

The NFL named its AFC and NFC Pro Bowl teams this week. The Patriots had six players honored. The game -- usually played after the Super Bowl in Hawaii -- will be played on the Sunday between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl this year. Not sure why. Just another bad idea by Commissioner Goodell motivated by what he thinks the fans want. The players on the Super Bowl teams will not take part in the game. Here's hoping the Pats players named to the team don't get to see Diamond Head this year.

The obvious pick was Tom Brady. This is the first in what will be a long line of honors regardless of how the team does in the playoffs. He has had a historic year. It's as if he took that ranking in the NFL's 100 Greatest Players personally. I know I did.

Rookie Devin McCourty was a somewhat surprising pick -- not because he doesn't deserve it -- but because the Pro Bowl selections are often made on reputation and he doesn't have one yet. Well, now he does. The first-round pick out of Rutgers has played as well at the hardest position in football as I've seen in a long time. Third-year linebacker Jerod Mayo and safety Brandon Meriweather also made the team. Mayo is completely back from the injury that slowed him last year. He may not make the flashy plays like Bruschi did, but he's around the ball all the time. Meriweather is also around the ball all the time and he delivers some of the hardest hits in the game -- legal and not. Unfortunately he sometimes delivers those hits to teammates.

Offensive lineman and recluse Logan Mankins was one of those reputation selections. He was picked for the third time in his career even though he missed the first half of the season because he didn't like the new contract the Pats offered him. When this season is over, re-signing Mankins has to be priority #1.

During the last offseason, priority #1 was re-signing the Big Man. Vince Wilfork. The deal got done, making him one of the highest paid players in the league. It was the moment that set the tone for the success that has followed this year. Giving athletes their big pay day -- deserved or not -- often leads to the beginning of the end for that player. The history of sports is littered with guys who got the cash and hit the beach -- or the buffet. But not Big Vince. He has had his best season ever. Defensive linemen have been going down all around him and Wilfork hasn't missed a beat. He's still an immovable object in the middle but has switched more to play end this year than ever in his career. He is the foundation that this whole team rests on.

The team was in need of someone to take the "Patriot Way" leadership mantle from Tedy Bruschi.

The Big Man is that guy. This won't be his last Pro Bowl season.

Bringing it home

WEEK 16
The day after Christmas is usually one of relaxing, returning gifts, digesting the holiday meal, and -- in my case -- working. The newspaper comes out every day. You know. Newspapers. Remember?

WEEK 16: Finishing strong.

I knew I would be driving my way through a blizzard to and from work but that was OK because there would be lots of great sports radio to listen to because the Patriots had gone into usually snowy Buffalo and thumped the Bills 34-3 to wrap up the AFC East and homefield throughout the playoffs.

Each year Mark and I say there are three goals for the regular season: 1. Win your division. 2. Earn a first-round bye. 3. Get homefield advantage. Check. Check. Check. Rex Ryan always skips those goals and goes right to winning the Super Bowl. Which explains why the Jets are runners-up in the division yet again.

The Patriots jumped all over the Bills early, putting up 27 points in the first half. Brady threw three more TDs while BenJarvis broke 100 yards rushing. Woody came close too, putting up 93 yards. It was a solid offensive performance. But it was the defense that was the story, forcing seven turnovers. Since starting the season giving up points and yards in healthy doses, the youngest defense in the league has started to cut down on both. Since the first half of the Thanksgiving game in Detroit, the D has given up very few big plays and even fewer points. It's key to the team's playoff hopes. The offense will be able to make plays when the games get even tougher. The question all year has been will the defense be able to? As of the moment, the answer is looking like yes.

There's one more home game to go in the regular season -- the day after New Year's against Miami. It should be fun, although probably frigid. It will be good practice for the playoffs at Gillete, where the Patriots will play all their games for as long as they are alive.

Pack it up

WEEK 15
I took my first DNP of the year for last night's Pats' victory. A sore throat and a Christmas tree that needed decorating with my daughters kept me on the couch for what was expected to be an easy win against the Packers. Anyone who doesn't know by now just hasn't been paying attention... there are no easy wins in the NFL.

Matt Flynn (no relation, because apparently he can throw a spiral) played the role of a young Tom Brady against the real -- if a little older -- thing. And he almost pulled it out the win. But the Patriots rallied from nine down in the fourth quarter to claim a key victory that moves them one step closer to the AFC's top seed.

WEEK 15: Season's greetings.

Shep texted me as he entered the stadium "No traffic. Great tailgate. Great weather. Should be a great game." That seems to be the only kind the Patriots are playing this year.

The Packers -- without starting QB Aaron Rodgers -- were not being given a chance to give the Pats a game. But Green Bay is an NFC playoff contender with one of the best defenses in the league. It was going to be a battle. The Pack started with an onside kick and continued to put the pressure on the whole game. After a few blowouts, a battle was a good challenge for the Patriots. Once again, they met the challenge and won.

Brady continued his streak of great games, throwing two more touchdowns and making very few mistakes. Bennie and Woody averaged more than six yards a carry. The offensive line kept the QB alive against a fierce Packer pass rush. And the defense did just enough against Flynn. (One benefit of not going to the game was not having to sit with 60-plus thousand yelling "Flynn. You suck!") My namesake put up 250 yards but gave up a key interception that Kyle Arrington took back 36 yards for a touchdown. Arrington's pick was just another example of a Patriot stepping up and making a big play. It's the difference between this year's team and 2009.

Maybe the biggest big play of the year was made by one of the biggest men.

Flynn led the Pack on an impressive six-minute touchdown drive to take a 17-7 lead late in the first half. The Patriots needed someone to step up again. Right guard Dan Connolly turned out to be that guy -- by making a 71-yard kickoff return.  A kickoff return! All the way down to the Green Bay 4-yard line. It was the longest return by an offensive lineman in the history of the league. I'm guessing by quite a few yards, too.

The Pack's kicker squibbed the ball down the middle of the field and it bounced into the hands of the big blocker. As Connolly wrapped the ball in a bear hug and started to run, my daughter Amy and I started shouting "Go down! Go down!" for fear that he would fumble. Suddenly Connolly got near midfield and realized that everyone was waiting for him to go down -- including the Packers. So he tucked the ball under his right arm and started rumbling down the field. "Run! Run!" we started yelling. He stiff-armed a would-be tackler at the Pack 30 and then made a move -- that's right a move -- inside the 15 before being taken down just short of the goal line.

My phone buzzed with a text from Mark. "That has got to one of the ten best plays in the team's history. Right?" I replied yes. If he had scored it would be top five. Flynn tried to lead a game-winning drive and made it all the way down to the Pats 15, but it ended with Tully Banta-Cain knocking the ball loose and Big Vince recovering the fumble to put the Pack away.

As I flipped through the post-game highlights and "analysis," I came upon Felger asking Tweedledum and Tweedledum (Curren and Borges) if the loss was a reminder to all those who thought the Patriots were going to waltz their way to Dallas. Of course Borges couldn't wait to pounce on that, once again offering caution to all those kool-aid guzzling fans that the 11-2 Pats are very beatable. Problem is that I don't know of any fans who were under the delusion that the Pats had already earned a ticket to the Super Bowl. That's -- as usual -- total media hype. Have they looked good the last month? Hell ya. But there are lots of tough games still ahead.

Starting Sunday in the iceland that is Buffalo.

Great expectations

My drive home from work usually involves listening to DA on 98.5. His is the one sports-talk show I make a point of checking out. I like Dale and Holley and sometimes I enjoy letting Felger entertain me. But when it comes to actual sports talk and analysis, DA's evening show is the place to go.

Last night he was talking about the Pats' season and what, going forward, would be considered a successful one. DA felt that even were the Patriots to lose their last three games and then get knocked out in their first playoff game it would still be a successful season. a good building block year. I couldn't agree with that one. If we were talking about the Chiefs or the Jags, then maybe. But if the Pats lose their next four games it would actually be the low point in the Belichick era. A total disaster. It's not going to happen anyway.

Then I switched to the old WEEI 850 over on AM. Someone was filling in for Mike Adams, who is always good for a few laughs. Not sure who the fill-in guy was but he offered his take on what would be considered a successful season. "If the Pats don't win the Super Bowl this season will be a major disappointment," he said. "Anything less than that would be a failure." The polar opposite opinion. Also one I can't agree with.

So what are the expectations now that the Patriots are sitting at 11-2 after dismantling the Bears in the snow?

Well, if the season doesn't end like last year, when the Ravens handed Brady and Belichick their worst playoff defeat by far, it will be a big improvement. The Patriots are almost sure to get a first-round bye, unlike last year. That means they will be rested and confident coming into their first playoff game at home, unlike last year. One win and the Pats will advance to their sixth AFC title game in a decade. A game that very likely will be at home.

Make it to the AFC title game. That's what I'm hoping for. And expecting. Everything from that point on would be just another joy ride for Pats fans. If the title game is at home the Pats will be the favorite. But it will be against any one of several very good teams... the Steelers, the Colts, the Jets ... or the Ravens. Any of those teams can come into Gillette and knock off the Pats. (Another shot at the Ravens would be sweet -- although they are the team that still scares me the most).

But Brady is playing the best football of his Hall of Fame career and is surrounded by a well-coached, disciplined, focused, aggressive group of teammates on both sides of the ball. It would be hard to imagine them losing in their first playoff game like they did last year. Every team that makes the playoffs (except the NFC West champ) will be a very good team and capable of getting hot and going to Dallas. That said, it's hard to picture the Pats getting upset at home in the second round. They have been tested too many times this year and passed almost all of them.

The team has overcome key injuries, won huge game after huge game in almost every way possible, and very rarely beat itself. They look playoff ready. One home playoff win and me, Shep, Mark, Matt, and Bergs will be getting ready for tailgating at the AFC title game -- again. That would be a successful season in my mind.

Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow.

WEEK 14
Is there any chance there will be a freak snowstorm in Dallas on Super Bowl Sunday? If so, and they decide to keep the roof open, the Patriots are going to be tough to beat. Of course that's getting ahead of things. Just a little.

WEEK 14: Winter wonderland.

The Pats' 36-7 stomping of the Bears in a driving Chicago blizzard combined with the Jets loss at home to Miami suddenly put the Pats in total control of their division and the all-important first-round bye. Just a week ago the Pats and Jets were both 9-2 and battling for the top of the AFC. Now the Pats sit at 11-2 while New York has stumbled to 9-4. Like the New England weather, things change quickly in the NFL.

I've been to many of the Pats memorable snow games. The Snow Bowl. The snowball game. Both playoff games against the Colts. But yesterday I was glad to be sitting on the couch in my parent's warm den, drinking beer and eating pizza with my nephew Steve. He too had been to one of the snow games of the past few years. He too was glad to be warm and dry and watching the snow on the television. It was a great show.

On the anniversary of the '82 Snow Plow game (yes, there are a lot of "snow" nicknames), the Pats plowed over the ferocious Bears defense with almost 500 yards of offense. I thought last year's game in the snow against Tennessee was a ridiculous offensive performance in ridiculous weather. Yesterday's was even better because it was against a defense that was allowing only 17 points per game in good weather. Tom Brady has completed his evolution from young star to veteran leader. He looks like Larry Bird in his prime. He's the best and he knows it. And he makes everyone on his team that much better. NFL Network might want to revise its list of top 100 players right now and move Brady up a few spots. Just a few.

I had started BenJarvis Green-Ellis on my fantasy team figuring in such brutal conditions that he would get the ball all day. (I benched Darren McFadden who put up 40 points. I won't be winning coach of the year in my league). So what did the Pats do? They came out in the shotgun. I should have known. BenJarvis and the running game was great, but it was Brady and the passing game that set the tone from start to finish. Again. Brady didn't spread the ball around quite as much this time. He mostly focused on Welker and Branch, with each catching eight passes. Those are two clutch receivers to have heading into the playoffs. Brady opened the game by leading the offense on scoring drives of 12 and 11 plays. By the time he hit Branch for a 59-yard touchdown on the last play of the half the game was over at 33-0.

Like the game against the Jets, the second half became a test of how mentally tough the defense has become. The answer is very tough. Even with rookie-of-the-year candidate Devin McCourty on the sideline with an injury (which I only knew because Steve read it on Yahoo, not because announcers Jim Nance or Phil Simms noticed he was missing), the young defense was stronger and faster than the Bears at every turn. The defense forced four turnovers, one of which was a fumble recovery that Gary Guyton took in for a touchdown. Guyton was filling in for suspended rookie Brandon Spikes. That's the kind of year it's been. A Patriot gets suspended and his replacement scores a touchdown.

That's how the team has survived injuries to key starters and a schedule that saw them playing -- and beating -- just about every playoff contender in the AFC.  Week after week different players have stepped up. Regardless of the opponent. Regardless of the weather.

Who will step up next week at home against Green Bay? That's just as important of a question as what will we prepare for our tailgate feast? It's the Packers. Cheese must be involved. Lots of it. But hopefully no snow. Till the playoffs that is.

Here's a great video on the '82 Snow Plow game. The fact that years later Don Shula still loses sleep over this makes me happy to no end.

PATRIOTS VS. DOLPHINS SNOW PLOW GAME

Stretch drive

The NFL has hit the three-quarter point of the season. Just four games left to determine which teams will make the playoffs and which will be in planning-for-the-draft mode. Some teams, like the Patriots, are pretty much assured of making the postseason, it's just a matter of deciding where and when they'll play. However, not every playoff team is in the top 10. The AFC West and South and, of course, the NFC West are led by teams that will be playing in January but shouldn't be, while some of the teams on this list will be home. That's why the Pats win over the Jets was so big. It's called controlling your own destiny.

1. New England Patriots (10-2): I had high hopes for the Pats this season. But this is ridiculous. 45-3 over the Jets. Big road wins in Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Miami. Tough conference wins against Baltimore and Indy. 10-2. They have met every challenge head on and won most of them. The road gets even tougher, if that's possible. But that's OK because Tom Brady, officially in the prime of his career, is playing out of his mind.

2. Atlanta Falcons (10-2): Mattie Ice. The Falcons QB has moved into the top tier at his position this season with several come-from-behind victories. Kevin Turner and the running game supply the thunder to Ryan and the passing game's lightning. Throw in the defense that is 8th in the league against the run and 7th in points allowed and Atlanta is a serious threat to dethrone the defending NFC champ Saints. Especially if they have home-field advantage, where they never lose.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3): Big Ben had his nose broken last week against the Ravens, was harassed all game, and still made huge play after huge play. I don't give him the respect a two-time Super Bowl champ deserves. Maybe I should. Late in the game Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs had him for what would have been a big sack but Roethlisberger stiffed armed his way out of it, threw the ball away, and then made the winning TD pass on the next play. The Steelers should earn a bye.

4. New Orleans Saints (9-3): The defending champs have had a very challenging season, and still they have only lost three times. The Saints are starting to get healthy again and Drew Brees is starting to look less like Drew Bledsoe in the past few weeks. Running backs Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas are back to take some of the heat off Brees. The Saints won it all last year with one of the worst defenses in the league. This year they are 5th in points allowed. The Saints won't give up their title easily.

5. New York Jets (9-3): Losses don't come any uglier than what the Jets endured in Gillette. But that was the Jets first road loss this season. And you know if they should return to Foxborough in January they won't be afraid. That said, the Jets offense has some serious issues and it's not all Mark Sanchez's fault. LT is beginning to do his usual late season fade. The offensive play calling is aggressive at the wrong time and conservative at the wrong time. The Jets will have to win some road playoff games again. They can do that.

6. Baltimore Ravens (8-4): The Ravens had a chance to sweep the Steelers and put a lock on the AFC North, only to see Troy Palamalu's hair cause a big fumble that cost them the game. But they are still the team in the AFC that scares me the most come playoff time. Hopefully they don't make it out of the first round. Their offense, which was supposed to get better with the addition of Anquan Boldin, is actually not as tough as it was last year. Maybe there is something to this thing about the focus on a deep threat holding back on offense.

7. Green Bay Packers (8-4): They are one game behind Chicago in the NFC North, but I rank da Pack ahead of da Bears. We'll see if I'm right, as the Pats play them in back-to-back weeks. Aaron Rodgers continues to have a great season despite no running game. But it's the pounding defense, allowing a league best 14 points per game, that should allow the Pack to win the NFC's black and blue division. That seems fitting.

8. Chicago Bears (9-3): Can a team coached by a guy named Lovie really win it all? No. The Bears are on a nice five-game winning streak heading into their clash with the Pats at frigid Soldier Field this weekend. But don't let that fool you. Jay Cutler is still the kind of QB that will kill his team when it counts. The Bears also have a great defense, leading the league in sacks, but the offensive line is also leading the lead in sacks... sacks allowed that is. That is not a formula for success.

9. Philadelphia Eagles (8-4): The Eagles and dog-lover Michael Vick are the darlings of the football talk shows on ESPN and the NFL Network. But please stop with the Vick MVP talk. Have you been watching Tom Brady? That's your MVP. But the dog whsiperer is having a great year and is sure fun to watch. Can he make the big plays in the postseason? That will be the key for Andy Reid. Then again, that was the key when Donovan McNabb was the QB. And we all know what the answer was all those years.

10. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4): My preseason pick for AFC surprise team continues to surprise. Each week I see predictions that the almighty Chargers are going to win the West. Each week the Chiefs remain at the top. If they split their last four games to go 10-6 they will take the division crown and be one tough team to play at home in the first round. Matt Cassell had an emergency appendectomy this week. The timing couldn't be worse since the Chiefs play the Chargers. But even if they lose I still think KC, behind Romeo's D, will outlast the overrated Chargers.

Dishonorable mention: Denver Broncos. Six weeks into his first year as head coach, Josh McDaniels was undefeated and pumping his fist like the big kid on the playground. Since then the former Pats assistant coach has been kicked around like the little kid on the playground. Now he's fired. Another Belichick protege who didn't seem to understand the key to his mentor's success. Win or lose you can never lose your focus. If you do, you'll lose your job.

Ted-dy! Ted-dy! Ted-dy!

If there was ever a question about who is the most popular Patriot of all time, it was answered during halftime of the Pats-Jets game. On a cold night like Monday, halftime ceremonies are usually just an afterthought to getting warm, using the bathroom, or getting another drink. Not on this night. Except for the red seats (I guess the lure of the clubhouse and the flatscreen TVs is just too strong), most fans stayed right where they were as Mr. Kraft brought out a blue #54 jersey and had the man of the hour -- of the night -- put it on.

Tedy Bruschi removed his coat in the frigid air and donned his game shirt. He let out a Bruschi roar and the adoring crowd echoed it right back at him. On a night when Tom Brady was working hard on leading a new Patriots team to a shot at a Super Bowl, Bruschi was leading the fans on a great trip down memory lane.

The halftime ceremony was just like Bruschi. Simple, heartfelt, fun, and memorable. A video montage opened the proceedings, chronicling the linebacker's 13-year career. After Kraft praised him for his dedication to the team and the community, Bruschi gave a shout-out to the best coach in the history of the game and to the fans who braved many cold nights like Monday to cheer him on.

Pointing to the championship banners, he did what Belichick's players always do... give credit to everyone else. He went through the names of the great players who helped put those banners in the south end zone corner of Gillette. Troy Brown, Joe Andruzzi, Ty Law, Lawyer, Rodney, Willie, Vrabel, Ted Johnson, Roman Phifer, Richard Seymour, even Larry Izzo. The mention of each players name brought a loud "Whoooo!" from the delighted crowd. (One player that he didn't mention? Asante Samuel. I guess Tedy is still pissed about that dropped pick in the Super Bowl too.)

There are going to be a lot of fun induction ceremonies at the Hall at Patriot Place in the upcoming years. If Bruschi's day is anything like his night on Monday, it will be the best one of all.

Bruschi captured the mood of everyone at Gillette when he said, as he stepped to the mike wearing his #54 jersey, "It still feels good." It sure does.

Duke of New York, A-Number 1

WEEK 13
Patriots 45, Jets 3 (12/6/'10): As my nephew Pete and I high-fived everyone around us, touchdown after touchdown, interception after interception, we kept saying (OK, shouting)... "Don't let up! Keep pouring it on them!"

Pour it on they did. The Patriots played a huge game against a very good opponent about as well as you possibly can. The final score, which it rarely does, perfectly reflected the game. The entire game. The Pats looked to remind the bigger than life Jets and their coach that they were still the Duke of New York and A-Number 1 of the AFC East. Message sent.

WEEK 13: No let-up.

There were so many key moments in the game, as there have been all season. Brady had four more touchdowns and looked championship sharp. BenJarvis, who is becoming money at the goal line, punched in two more scores. Welker, Gronk, Woodhead, Branch, Tate, Hernandez all came up big. The D had three picks and were on the ball all night, delivering hit after hit. Young players McCourty, Mayo, Chung, Cunningham, and Spikes played like veterans.

But the biggest moment came at the start of the fourth quarter after the Pats scored to go up 38-3. As the stadium fell into total delirium, Belichick called the entire team together on the sideline. Assistant coaches motioned to the extra point team to hustle over to hear the sideline chat (Matt Light, as is his wont, was last. He should have to buy dinner for the team in Chicago this weekend). The coach, instead of feeling satisfied or cocky with a five-touchdown lead like much of the 69,000 watching, implored his team to finish the game strong.

The Pats did finish strong, following the coach's speech by picking off Sanchez (again) and putting up another touchdown. The D held the Jets out of the endzone right through to the final gun. It was an impressive finish. Just as impressive as the way they started.

The Jets won the toss and decided to let Brady take the field first. It was a sound decision by Mt. Ryan, giving his team the ball to start the second half. The strategy proved useless after Brady and the Pats had stomped all over New York for two quarters. We watched from our seats as the Pats offense brought wave after wave of players. Branch, Welker out. Hernandez, Woodhead in. Welker, Hernandez, Gronk in. Woodhead, BenJarvis out. Branch, Tate in. Gronk, Woodhead out. Offensive set, after offensive set. Wave after wave.

As the Jets walked dazed, down 24-3, into their locker for the half, a familiar face walked out into the opposite endzone. Tedy Bruschi. The inspirational leader of the franchise's Super Bowl run amped up the already electric atmosphere during an excellent half-time tribute to him. When the teams came back for the second half, the crowd was chanting Ted-dy!, Ted-dy! and ready for some more football.

The Jets took the ball down to the Pats' 10-yard line to start the second half. A touchdown and the score would be 24-10 and the Jets would have some life against a D that has allowed a lot of late game points. Jets QB Sanchez fired one over the middle on second down and rookie Brandon Spikes was in the right spot and picked it off. The Jets' best chance was snuffed out by the youngest defense in the league. A defense that is gaining in confidence with each play. A defense that looks ready for the stretch run to the playoffs. The stretch run starts next week with yet another big game against the 9-3 Bears.

With just more than five minutes to play and the Pats up 45-3, the Jets were looking for some garbage points. In places like San Diego, Miami, Arizona, or Indianapolis the stadium would have been just about empty as fans left the blowout to either head home or fire up the post-game grill. About 80 percent of the much-maligned Gillette crowd remained in the frigid cold, cheering every play of the D and serenading the Jets with songs and chants. The stadium was shaking like the old concrete toilet bowl with the aluminum benches. Pats fans, like their team, are ready for the stretch run too.

As Brady said as he brushed back his hair at the post-game press conference: "It's good to be a New England Patriot on Tedy Bruschi night." It's good to be a New England Patriot fan, too.

The bigger they are

Monday night. The 9-2 Pats host the 9-2 Jets. Belichick. Brady. Mt. Ryan. Sanchez. Boston vs. New York. Hated rivals playing for the regular season gold ring ... the #1 playoff seed.

BILL & REX: Excellent adventure.

It's the biggest regular season game in the franchise's history. Since the franchise is only about a year or two older than me, I know what I'm talking about because I've seen a lot of those games. The Pats have had some huge battles through the years, but none like this. A victory and the Pats have an excellent chance to skip the first week of the playoffs (the one they got killed in last year) and settle in at Gillette for a playoff run. Lose, and even if they finish 13-3, they would likely find themselves on the road in round one at very unfriendly places like Kansas City or Jacksonville or Indy. The stakes have never been higher.

And the rivalry with the Jets has never been hotter. Jets' coach Mt. Ryan has brought a whole new swagger to the Jets and so far it is working. Although Gang Green has pulled a few wins out by the rather large seat of their coach's pants, they are unbeaten on the road entering December. In the NFL, that just doesn't happen that often. Lucky or not, the Jets are G-O-O-D, good, good, good. And they may be getting better. Suspended WR Santonio Holmes has had a few games to get in the flow so the Jets offense should start to click. The defense remains the league's best, playing an aggressive, loud style that reflects their coach.

On the other side is Bill Belichick. Always focused, always thinking ahead. Two traits that his team seems to be embracing more and more each week. The Pats have responded to their loss in Cleveland with three huge wins, two on the road. Tom Brady may be playing the best football of his career. Which is actually not surprising since he is now -- right now -- in the prime of his career. With distractions like Adalius Thomas and Randy Moss now gone, the Pats are locked in.

So the question is which team is ready for the next step? Is the Jets offense on the verge of putting it all together to carry the team to the top of the AFC? Or is the Pats young defense ready to build on their strong second half on Thanksgiving and start shutting teams down for an entire game? The answers will determine which team is sitting pretty come January.

But December comes first. The forecast is for temps in the low 20s and a biting wind. Time to find those extra layers. Lots of them. Winter football is here.