Beating a dead horse

WEEK 13
Patriots 31, Colts 24 (12/4/'11): Entering the fourth quarter at Gillette yesterday, the Pats had a very comfortable 31-3 lead. It was about halfway to what I thought would be a 42-6 final. The crowd was enjoying the glow from a beautiful late fall day. A look down at the Pats bench showed the players were mostly doing the same.

A check of the final score shows that the Colts scored three unanswered touchdowns in the final quarter. I can't say I really noticed. The game was -- of course -- never in doubt. The final score came with about 30 seconds left to play. It was more annoying than anything else. Like the last two weeks (KC, Philly), the goal was to beat an inferior team, get the W, and move on. It will be the same next week in Washington.

If the Pats can get a road win next Sunday and get to 10-3 they can lose one of their last three and still have a good shot at a bye. The final three will not be easy. A trip to Denver to play the fifth Beatle Tim Tebow. A home game Christmas Eve against a rejuvenated Miami team and then a New Year's Day home against always tough Buffalo. That's why the stretch of KC, Philly, Indy, Washington was so important. Run the table there and you have room for error. They are one win away from that.

Yesterday's win against the Colts was not supposed to be among the win-and-move-on games. But the Manning-less Colts are closing in on a perfect season. 0-16. I wonder if they will hang a banner for that next to the one they have for losing in the divisional round? (They really do have such a banner). The anticipation in the parking lot at 9 a.m. was for the spicy wings warming up, not so much for the game. The reason we were in a good mood was not because we were excited to watch Dan Orlovsky play quarterback. We were in a good mood because of the partly sunny, 50 degree day. We were in a good mood because of beer for breakfast.

The game was another slow start for the offense. (Insert "that has to stop" comment here). But once Brady, Welker, Gronk, and company got going it was game time. Gronk scored three more touchdowns. He is one shy from setting the record for TDs in a season by a tight end. Whenever I get annoyed that the Pats can't seem to find a young NFL-caliber wide receiver (Bethel, Tate, Price) I remember that they have drafted Gronk and Hernandez. Two of the best pass-catchers to enter the league in years. Welker had another great game and the defense -- at least while people were paying attention -- continued to improve. Most importantly the D is getting healthy. Mayo looks to have his speed back and Chung and Spikes should return soon.

It wasn't a perfect day. The fourth quarter was full of mistakes. And some in the crowd decided to boo Adam Vinatieri. It certainly wasn't loud enough to warrant all the talk on the Blabosphere today (or maybe I just wasn't paying attention again), but it was still surprising. If people want to boo #4 because he went to the enemy Colts and helped them win a Super Bowl that's up to them. But they are wrong. Vinatieri delivered the greatest moment in New England sports history. I can close my eyes right now and see the ball sailing right down the middle of the Superdome. I hope the few hundred who were booing don't plan on coming to #4's induction ceremony into the Pats hall of fame. There should only be cheers for him.

The Pats held on for the victory in front of a nearly empty stadium. Brian Hoyer even played. It just wasn't a playoff intensity kind of day. Even at the tailgate.

Mark boarded the Amtrak at Penn Station in New York at 2 in the morning. In tow he had a bottle of wine, newspapers -- and two large tin trays of wings that he had marinated and a tin tray of celery, carrots, and ranch dressing for dipping. Bergs gathered him in Providence and after a stop for breakfast they arrived at the Enchanted Forest. Shep set up the new portable oven and Mark put one of the trays of wings in to warm up. We toasted another day of great weather, turned on some Allman Brothers, and enjoyed the glow.

Twenty minutes later the tin tray of wings was set on the table and the eight of us gathered around with plates at the ready. Mark pulled off the foil cover. The next second we were all bent over laughing at the sight of a steaming tray of celery, carrots, and two plastic containers of ranch dressing. Seems that in the glow of the morning Mark hadn't checked to see if it was actually the tray of wings he was putting in the oven. Clearly, our tailgate is not quite in playoff form either.

"i'll be ready come January," Mark said.

When we all finally stopped laughing I took a closer look at the steaming tray of raw veggies and dip.

"I don't think it's quite done yet."