A good reminder

WEEK 15
49ers 41, Patriots 34 (12/16/'12): After a week of the experts putting the Patriots in New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII, the San Francisco 49ers reminded everyone that the NFL is a week-to-week deal. Following their beat-down of the Texans on Monday night, the Patriots were at the top of almost everyone's power rankings and the Dans of the world were booking flights for the Big Easy. Well, in the NFL nothing is easy.

That was obvious with about ten minutes left to play in the third quarter and the scoreboard reading Niners 31, Patriots 3. Not only were the Patriots getting beaten badly at home, they were getting beaten badly at home in the cold rain. In December. A very rare sight around these parts. The Niners were using a bruising defense and an opportunistic offense to knock the defending AFC champs around their own building. And the Pats were making it easier for them by piling mistake on top of mistake on top of mistake. In the cold rain,

It was ugly. Randy Moss was catching touchdown passes. Sophomores Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen were coughing balls up. Brady was getting sacked and harassed. Welker and Hernandez were getting beat up on every play. Here's how the Pat's first nine drives ended... punt, punt, interception, punt, fumble, field goal, punt, fumble, interception. Unstoppable? Hardly. It was about as bad as the Pats' offense with Brady has ever looked. But -- as we always do -- most people in the crowd felt that if Brady could just put a drive together that they could quickly get back in the game.

That's exactly what the offense did. In fact, the offense put together four straight touchdown drives to change a 31-3 game against the best defense in the league into a 31-31 battle with about eight minutes left to play. There are few offenses in the league that could have done that. Unfortunately ... the Pats had a few more mistakes left in them. Moments after Woody slammed the ball to the ground after scoring the tying touchdown, the Pats' special teams took a little nap and allowed kick returner LaMichael James a ridiculous 62-yard run back all the way to Pats' 38-yard line. One play later, Colin Kaepernick hit Michael Crabtree on a quick pass to the sideline and cornerback Kyle Arrington whiffed -- again -- on the tackle and Crabtree took it in for an easy touchdown. A great comeback was gone. As was the Pats' chance to control their shot at a first-round bye.

That's how it goes in the NFL. One week a team looks unbeatable. The next week it can't get out of its own way. That's what makes each week so important ... and so much fun. And that's what will make the playoffs even more fun when they start next month. Both the Patriots and the Niners will be there. And they will both have to play better than they did last night in the cold December rain.

Week 14 rewind

Get ready for the onslaught of stories anointing the Patriots as unbeatable. Because here they come.

The Pats' domination of the Texans on Monday night was as complete a game against a good opponent as the team has had in a few years. When you beat the top seed in the conference 42-14 there's not much to put into the bad column. I guess the only bad would be that it wasn't the Super Bowl. I expected the Patriots to play like that in the '07 Super Bowl ... I'm still waiting.

GOOD

• Brady may have locked up another MVP trophy with this one. He completed 21 out of 35 passes for 296 yards. Not eye-popping stats. But he was in command the whole game. Four touchdowns. No picks. He led touchdown drives of 36, 82, 70, 74, 72, and 68 yards. Total command.
• This was supposed to be the year of Aaron Hernandez. The other tight end. But an ankle sprain in the second game of the season has put a dent in that. But Hernandez seems to be healthy again as his eight catches and two touchdowns showed. If Gronk and Hernandez are both healthy come playoff time then the Pats just might be unbeatable. Because both should be pretty fresh.
• Devin McCourty is you new starting safety. The rookie of the year cornerback lost his touch playing his natural position. It's been a puzzling development. But since being moved to safety McCourty has gotten his touch back. He made a huge interception in the end zone to snuff out an early Houston drive  and he had five solo tackles.
• Big Vince keeps playing bigger and bigger. There may be no better defensive player in football. The Pats are one of the top teams against the run and Wilfork is the main reason. The defense held Arian Foster to under 50 yards rushing. That's impressive.
• Rookie Chandler Jones was having a rookie-of-the-year type of season before he got hurt. He's back now and hopefully can get back in gear by playoff time. The other top rookie the team drafted in the first round, D'onta Hightower, has had more of a struggle so far. But against Houston, the linebacker tied for the team lead with six tackles. He was all over the place. He may be a factor when it really counts.

BAD

• Like I said, the only bad thing about this game was that it wasn't the Super Bowl. But it still meant a lot. Suddenly the top seed is a possibility because Houston has to play the red-hot Colts twice. If the Pats play this solid in their final three games then, as they say, the road to the Super Bowl goes through Gillette.

Light it up

The Patriots dynasty has been a DVD memory for years now. Sure, the Pats are still annoying football fans all over the country by winning divisions and getting to Super Bowls, marrying super models, and building mansions, but this team is not really connected to the three Lombardi teams. It's been eight years since the last title. How could it be connected?

The players that created the Patriot Way (another annoying media-invented phrase) have almost all moved on to other teams or TV studios. There are just a few left. One less now. Matt Light, after 11 years protecting Tom Brady's neck, had his half-time ceremony at Monday night's game. Kevin Faulk had his earlier this year. That leaves just Brady.

I've written odes to past players on this blog. Bruschi. Troy. Willie. Rodney. Dillon. They all played the flashy positions. Catching touchdowns. Breaking big runs. Making big sacks and picks. Light was an  offensive lineman. They are only noticed when they are called for holding or when the QB is face-planted into the turf. They don't usually get the odes. But Light deserves one.

Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli took Light in the second round of the 2001 draft. Light came out of Purdue and the Big Ten with an impressive resume. He was first team All Big Ten as a senior and helped the Boilermakers win the conference crown. At the time Belichick was looking for guys to help keep veteran quarterback -- and immovable object -- Drew Bledsoe from aging a bit too fast. Light seemed like a good pick.

Except to football scribe Ron Borges. Yes, him again. Borges wrote this in the Globe the day after the Pats drafted Richard Seymour in the first round and Light in the second ... "On a day when they could had impact players David Terrell or Koren Robinson or the second best tackle in the draft in Kenyatta Walker, they took Georgia defensive tackle Richard Seymour who had 1 1/2 sacks last year in the pass-happy SEC, and is too tall to play tackle at 6-6 and too slow to play defensive end. This genius move was followed by trading out of a spot where they could have gotten the last decent receiver in the draft (Robert Ferguson) and settled for tackle Matt Light, who will not help the team any time soon."

He actually wrote that. And he still goes on TV and acts like he knows what he is talking about. Ah, the modern-day sportswriter.

Matt Light, who would not help the Patriots any time soon, started 12 games in his rookie year, playing a key role in an offense that averaged more than 110 yards per game on the ground and protected a young quarterback on his way to leading the team to its first Super Bowl title ... ever. Light, who would not help the Patriots any time soon, helped that Pats ground game rush for a huge 133 yards against the Rams in that Super Bowl. For that, Light was named to the Football News all-rookie team.

And he was just getting started. Light became Brady's security blanket for years to come. A hairy one, but a rock-solid one. Light won two more rings and was part of the offensive line in '07 that kept giving Brady enough time to connect with Randy Moss time and time and time again. There has never been a better offense in the history of the game. That starts with the line. Two of Light's best years were the last two when everyone (including Borges I'm sure) thought he was all done. He wasn't. It seemed that every week one of the story lines going into a big game was "could Light stop this guy or that guy from killing Brady?" If you look at Brady's stats it's easy to see that much more often than not Matt Light did indeed stop the other guy. And he seemed to enjoy every minute of it, even when he was going face-to-face with a defender after the play.

That was Matt Light as a player. Always playing as hard as he could and enjoying the moment. Light's trademark shaggy beard and ever shaggier hair were outdone only by his sense of humor. In interviews and on the sidelines you could see he was the guy who kept things light (no pun intended) in the locker room and on the field. You need guys like that. You could see Brady sure appreciated having a guy like that for 11 years.

As a fan, so did I.

'Tis the season

WEEK 14

Patriots 42, Texans 14 (12/10/'12): The headline on this post has been banned (rightfully so) this time of year at the newspaper where I work. But when it comes to December and the New England Patriots it truly 'tis the season ... for winning .. when it really counts.

All week the Patriots said the game against Houston, the AFC's top seed, was a good measuring stick for them. In 2012 in the AFC, it's still the Patriots who are the stick and it's the rest of the conference that keeps doing the measuring. And coming up short.

The Texans are a very good team and if they have home-field advantage in the playoffs they will be tough to beat. But last night, in what they themselves admitted was the biggest game in the history of their franchise, the Texans were not a very good team. At least not when compared to the Patriots.

The game was supposed to be a tight contest and played in very rainy conditions. Neither proved to be the case. The back seat of my car was loaded up with rain gear and we invested in a new tailgating tent (like the team, we are getting ready for the playoffs) but we didn't need it. My raincoat stayed in the car and the tent ended up shielding us from the rays of sun that broke through the clouds just before sunset instead of the predicted downpours. A Monday evening in the Enchanted Forest with temperatures in the 50s and steaks on the grill had us fired up by the time we got to kickoff. Seems the Pats were pretty fired up to.

Brady and the offense scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and it was 21-0 before the Texans could get their prime-time sea legs. Brady and Lloyd connected on a rare deep bomb for the second score which came just a few plays after McCourty picked off Matt Schaub in the Pats' end zone. The offense was clicking and the defense was coming up with third-down stop after stop. One team looked focused and confident. The other looked confused and intimidated. As is often the case, it was the Pats doing the intimidating.

Brady finished with nearly 300 yards passing and threw for four touchdowns with no picks. He spread the ball around to Welker, Hernandez, Lloyd, Woodhead, and even connected for a 63-yard touchdown with old friend  Donte Stallworth. And the running game was strong again. On defense, the Pats held Arian Foster -- the second-best back in the league -- to just 46 yards. It was an all around impressive performance.

It's been so long since the Pats have lost a home game in December that I can't even remember it. Next week will be an even bigger challenge as the Niners -- with the league best defense -- come to Gillette for a Sunday night game. It's another measuring stick game.  And it's the Niners who will be doing the measuring.

It's December. 'Tis the season.

Monday Monday

TALES FROM THE TAILGATE
Cowboys 35, Patriots 21 (9/21/'81): Are you ready for some football? Of course you are. The Patriots host the Texans tonight in what is expected to be a warm -- but rainy -- night at Gillette. I hate tailgating in the rain more than anything. But nothing can dampen a Monday Night battle for supremacy in the AFC.

In 2012 the NFL plays on Thursday nights, Sunday nights, Saturday evenings, and of course from sunrise to sunset on Sunday. But Monday Night is still special. It all started in the 1970s to promote the merged AFL and NFL. It brought football to a new level and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Even when your team is mediocre (Jets), it's always fun to settle in on the first weeknight, open a beer, and watch them play.

The Patriots have played 44 MNF games. They have won 22. They have lost 22. Like most Patriots stats, the majority of those wins have come in the last 20 years. In fact, the team has played 20 of those 44 games in just the past decade. Bill Belichick is 15-5 in those games. I have enjoyed some great nighttime football during that time. My favorite is still the 2010 game against Rex Ryan and the Jets. The Pats were 9-2. The Jets were 9-2. Not-so-skinny Rex was talking about a new sheriff in the AFC East. Final score ... Patriots 45, Jets 3.

The Pats have played at least one Monday night game for eleven straight years. It comes with the territory when you are a championship contender year after year. And whether at home or on the road they are among the most anticipated games on the schedule. But before Belichick and Brady (and Parcells) turned the franchise's fortunes around, the Pats were not regulars on MNF. In fact, after a particularly ugly night at the old stadium in 1981 the Pats (more to the point: their drunken fans) were banned from Monday Night games for years.

1981. Ron Erhardt. "Call me Fargo." 2-14. I was a 19-year-old fan who a mere five years earlier had become hooked on the team watching Steve Grogan, Russ Francis, Steve Nelson, John Hannah, Stanley Morgan. and a group of entertaining, tough players make the playoffs and almost knock off the eventual champs the Raiders. The Pats fired their coach (Chuck Fairbanks) before the playoffs the next season and went into a downward spiral that hit rock bottom on a cool, late September night at what was then known as Schaefer Stadium. A perfect night for tailgating. A perfect night for drinking. For drinking a lot.

The Patriots started the season 0-2 but were ahead of the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in the third quarter. Matt Cavanaugh was the team's quarterback and he made Zolak look competent. Cavanaugh threw four picks and the Cowboys scored 18 straight points to win 35-21. It was ugly on the field. And uglier off the field.

Schaefer (later Sullivan and Foxboro) was known as a tough stadium. It was not a place to bring your kids. Or you girlfriend. Or your doberman. It was like watching the game at the corner bar. There were three fights for every touchdown. It seemed that as much beer was dumped on people as it was consumed. Of course that's impossible but it often felt that way. As Rodney Dangerfield would say... "What a rough crowd." On that night in 1981, as the Pats blew the game to Dallas and fell to 0-3, the rough crowd turned into a raging mob. The final stats on the game say Cowboy great Tony Dorsett rushed for 162 yards and the Patriots finished with seven turnovers. The final stats in the stands (and the dirt parking lot) say 100 people were kicked out of the game, about 60 people were arrested, 35 ended up in the hospital, 1 cop's gun was stolen, and 1 person in a wheelchair was assaulted.

The mayhem was so bad that ABC Television decided they weren't going to be bringing their MNF crew to lovely Schaefer Stadium for a while. Turns out it was 14 years before the Patriots played another Monday night game at home. Fourteen years. It was a different time for sure. I was in the stands that Monday night in 1981. I got out alive. Someone else was in the stands that night. Robert Kraft. He too got out alive. And something tells me it was that night he decided he would one day buy the franchise and make it so that boxing skills were not required to attend a Patriots game.

Thirty years later it is a great place to watch a game. And now a lot of those games are on Monday night. I think you had to be there on that night in 1981 to truly appreciate what Mr. Kraft has accomplished.

The leader board

One month to go in the 2012 NFL regular season. So far it's been a highly entertaining season (unless you live in KC). This is a pretty good brand of NFL football. And I grew up on 1970s NFL. One of the toughest, craziest, most innovative decades of football ever. If you are a pro football fan, today's NFL -- with the NFL Network, NFL.com, and, most importantly, the Red Zone -- is as good as anything television has to offer. It's the best comedy/drama/reality series there is.

There's the story of Peyton Manning coming back from "Terminator" neck surgery and playing better than ever. There's Andrew Luck, the rookie who replaced Manning in Indy, showing why Indy was crazy enough to give up on one of the three greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. There's RG3. There's the Colts going from two wins last year to a playoff team this year, inspired by their coach who was diagnosed with cancer. In an era of fantastic offensive displays, there are contenders in San Fran, Seattle, Houston, and Chicago that are led by nasty, hard-hitting defenses.

Oh, and there's Tom Brady and the Patriots battling for the top -- again. The rest of the NFL-loving world must be beyond sick of them. That makes rooting for them that much more enjoyable.

Twelve teams will make the playoffs. Six in each conference. These are the twelve I think will make it...

1. Houston Texans (11-1): It took back-to-back overtime wins against lesser teams (Jags and Lions) to keep the Texans from plummeting down this list. But win they did. The have talent all over the field and they are well coached by the perfectly coiffed Gary Kubiak. The Texans face the biggest game in their franchise history on Monday night at Gillette. Bigger than their playoff game last year. Why? Because if they win they are the #1 seed and get to eat Texas BBQ throughout the AFC playoffs. If they lose then they are in a dogfight just to get a first-round bye. The Texans are the second best team in the league against the run. The Pats are eighth in rushing. The Texans have a point differential of an impressive +130. There's only one team better... the Pats at +170. That's right. The Pats have score 170 more points than they have allowed.

2. New England Patriots (9-3): And that's why they are the second best team in the league till they win Monday night. Did I mention they have scored 170 more points than they have allowed? And they have done it with major injuries to Hernandez, to Gronk, to Edelman, to most of the offensive line, to both starting safeties, and now to rookie of the year candidate Chandler Jones. If Brady and the Pats can get a bye and get healthy come January, there is only one team that would make me nervous in the playoffs. That's the one with the white N and the G on their blue helmets, of course.

3. Atlanta Falcons (11-1): I said in an earlier ranking that the Falcons have the smell of that team that goes 15-1 and loses at home in the Divisional Round to the Bears or the Giants. They are starting to smell just a little less each week. Following their first loss to New Orleans a month ago they have beaten Arizona, Tampa, and their nemesis the Saints in three tough games. Playoff-like games. The Falcons have the fourth-best passing attack. But they are only 28th in the league in rushing, And they are average stopping the pass and the run. They deserve to be ranked at the top of the NFC heading into the stretch drive, but I wouldn't bet on them getting a chance to play for the Lombardi.

4. Denver Broncos (9-3): How great would it be if Peyton Manning and the Broncos came into Gillette for the AFC Championship game? I know, be careful what you wish for. But it would be great. Especially if it was about 25 degrees with a little snow. I've got plenty of layers for that. And it just might happen because Manning the Elder is playing as great as ever. It really shouldn't come as a shock. Impressive, yes. But not a shock. If you've been watching Manning for nearly 20 years you've seen him do some amazing things. This year is no different. The best play the veteran made all year was when he passed over other teams and chose to go to Denver. The Broncos were a pretty good team last year. Now they are very good.

5. San Francisco 49ers (8-3-1): The best defense in the league is great to have but you still need to be able to control the ball and score points on offense. That's the Niners achilles heel. And they now have a quarterback controversy. That's never good. Jim Harbaugh got a little too smart for his own good. But he's always been that way. The Niners were looking solid with Alex Smith at QB, the guy who led them to the NFC title game. Then he got hurt and Harbaugh's guy Colin Kaepernick came in and looked pretty good. But really not any better than Smith. And then the Niners lost to the Rams with Kaepernick and now Harbaugh has a problem. But it's not a huge problem because quarterback is not -- by far -- the most important position on his team. That's because his running game is the second best in the league. And the defense? Well, it's second against the pass and third against the run. The best defense in the league.

6. Green Bay Packers (8-4): It's been a crazy season so far for the Pack. The team that went 15-1 last year has had a much bumpier, injury-filled ride this time. The Pack had a game stolen from them by the fake refs. After five games they were sitting at 2-3 but then strung together five straight wins and were looking like the NFC favorite again only to get stomped by the Giants. After all that, the Pack is still sitting at 8-4 and now have a chance to grab that #2 seed and get the bye and a home game at Lambeau. If Aaron Rodgers and his well-coached team can do that then I think you will be seeing them in the Super Bowl.

7. New York Giants (7-5): Or you'll see these guys. A month ago I had the 6-2 defending champs at the top of the list. Since then they have gone 1-3. They are now in a dogfight with the Skins and the Cowboys ... and the Skins with RG3 are starting to jell. Why do I find the Giants more dangerous at 7-5 than I did when they were 6-2? Because that's what the Giants do. Little Manning had a rough few weeks but you now he will be clutch when it counts. And the G-Men have that great pass rush. Still, I get the feeling that the horseshoe may have fallen out of this team's pocket.

8. Chicago Bears (8-4): When the Bears are clicking they are a heck of a team. It's just hard to believe a team coached by Lovie Smith and led by Jay Cutler will click when it counts. But the defense is good enough to give them a chance to find out. There's been a lot of talk of how Brandon Marshall has made a huge difference on the offense. And he has. But the Chicago passing game is 31st in the league. Sure, the running game is top 10. As is the defense. But with Cutler in charge the Bears are always beatable.

9. Indianapolis Colts (8-4): One of the more compelling stories in the league this year is the Colts resurgence and the fact that it's happening while their first-year coach is being treated for cancer. As great a human interest story as that is, it's the play of rookie QB Andrew Luck and the rest of the rebuilding Colts that has been something to see. Luck has had Manning-like moments. The rest of the team is  pretty average, but Luck (like Manning) makes everyone better. The Colts are the Cinderella team riding on emotion. You don't want to play them in the first round.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5): This is the point in the rankings where you can choose from about fifteen teams. I'm going with the proven commodity. Big Ben and the Steelers are getting older and are pretty banged up. But they just schooled RG3 and the Skins on how to play smash-mouth football. As the Ravens are losing more guys to injury, the Steelers are starting to get healthier. If they get Polamalu back they should win the AFC North and be a team to fear in the playoffs because they have the experience and they have Big Ben.

11. Seattle Seahawks (7-5): Pete Carroll has something going here. Much to my surprise. It seems like he has built a really good college team in the Northwest and those college players are responding to his style. The Seahawks are like the Bears. Good running game. Very good defense.  Not very dangerous passing game. But rookie Russell Wilson has been gaining more confidence. I would have more faith in him than Cutler in a playoff game. Seattle will go as far as their young, nasty D will carry them.

12. Baltimore Ravens (9-3): If there were more than four weeks left in the season I think the Bengals would catch the Ravens for the last wildcard spot. The veteran (old) team in Baltimore is fading that fast. The Ravens are 15th in the league in passing, but only 23rd in the league in rushing. That's hard to explain considering they have Ray Rice. More worrisome if you are a Raven fan is the fact that the defense is ranked 23rd against the pass AND the run. The Ravens have a lot of talent, but they are a wounded team heading into the playoffs.

Dishonorable mention: The 3-9 Philadephia Eagles. Sure, I could have put the Jets here after their performance on Thanksgiving night against the Pats. (He ran into his ass!) But enough of the Jets. The Eagles are having an even more hideous season. Their second in a row. Since dubbing themselves the "Dream Team" before last year, the Eagles have gone 11-17. Dream on. Michael Vick. Disaster. DeSean Jackson. Disaster. Nmandi Asomugha. Disaster. Andy Reid. Gone.

Joy division

WEEK 13
The Patriots clinched another AFC East title with a solid -- if somewhat difficult -- road win down in Miami. A win of any kind on the road in the NFL is a good win. A win that clinches your fourth division title in a row ... well that's a great win.

The Dolphins are a pretty good football team. They almost beat the Colts on the road a few weeks ago and they did beat the Seahawks last week. Both the Colts and Seahawks are playoff teams. I watched both of those games and was impressed with how well coached the Dolphins are and how tough they play. They won't make the playoffs, but they are not an easy win for any opponent.

Most Pats fans knew that. Except for Dan Shaughnessy. Then again, he's not really a fan. He's a Dan. And if you are a Dan you really don't know much about the NFL. It's pretty obvious. Before the game Dan wrote the following ... "Winning the AFC East is kind of a joke. It’s like the New York Times being named one of the top 10 newspapers in the country. It’s like Shaquille O’Neal winning a slam-dunk contest at Lincoln-Sudbury High School." Actually, it's not like that at all. As Tom Brady would say ... Winning any game in the NFL is tough. Winning a road game in the NFL is really tough. How did the mighty Niners do against the Rams yesterday? Not so good. The Jets, Bills, and Dolphins are not near the top of the league, but when they play a solid game they are nobody's pushover. Especially the Dolphins.

But Dan didn't see it that way. He added this in his column before the game: "It’s weird to be this confident for any road game in the NFL. ... Sunday is no contest. This New England team is on a roll."

There is no "on a roll" in the NFL. Each week is different. The Giants looked like they couldn't be stopped a few weeks ago then proceeded to lose two in a row. Some weeks Gronk catches 12 passes and two touchdowns and looks like a monster and then the next week he catches two passes and spends a lot of time blocking. The NFL doesn't operate in hot teams and "rolls." It's week to week. A fan gets this. A Dan doesn't. Most fans thought the Pats would win because they are the better team. But "no contest"? In Miami? Against a pretty tough team in your division? Please.

So what did Dan have to say today after the Pats did win in a very tough road game to take the AFC East? "We are spoiled. A win, even when it clinches a division title/playoff spot, isn’t good enough anymore. ... It was pretty ugly — downright unwatchable at times." Who is we? Speak for yourself. Once a Dan, always a Dan. Unwatchable? I really enjoyed watching that game. The Dolphins have a good pass rush and are one of the best teams in the league against the run. They challenged the Pats and the Pats answered the challenge. If you are a football fan, you love a game like that. If you are a Dan, you want every game to be 49-19 so you don't have to pay attention and you can beat the traffic. There were many big moments in yesterday's game and the Pats came through in enough of those moments to get the win.

Especially at the end of the game. Miami kicked a field goal (forced by a great Mayo sack on the delayed blitz) to cut the score to 20-13 with just more than eight minutes left to play. Brady and the offense got the ball at their own 20 and -- after a day spent getting stuffed on the ground -- they handed it to Ridley time and time again for an impressive 16-play drive that chewed up seven of those eight minutes. Gosty kicked a field to seal the win. The Dolphins D said "go ahead and try to run on us" and the Pats offense (especially the banged up line) responded by doing just that. That's football. It was a great drive to watch. For a football fan, that is. Apparently not all that fun if you are a Dan.

Ugly or not, the win did indeed clinch the division, the first of the three goals the team sets every year for the regular season.

1. Win the division.
2. Get a first-round bye.
3. Get home-field advantage.

One down, two to go. A win next Monday night at Gillette against top seed Houston will go a long way to accomplishing the other two.

I was surprised to see how few times the Pats won the division in the first 40 years of my life. Just five. Then I remembered something... they often sucked! Bad. Does 1-15 ring a bell? Which makes what the team has done in the past twelve seasons (10 division titles) even more amazing ... and completely unexpected.

My nephews have grown up knowing nothing but division titles and playoffs. It won't always be like that. They will have their 1-15 some day. But not any time soon. But they know that. And they appreciate and enjoy every win -- even the "ugly" ones. They are fans. Not Dans.