Blue Monday



"Blue Monday how I hate Blue Monday
Got to work like a slave all day
Here come Tuesday, oh hard Tuesday
I'm so tired got no time to play

Here come Wednesday, I'm beat to my socks
My gal calls, got to tell her that I'm out
'Cause Thursday is a hard workin' day
And Friday I get my pay

Saturday mornin', oh Saturday mornin'
All my tiredness has gone away
Got my money and my honey
And I'm out on the stand to play

Sunday mornin' my head is bad
But it's worth it for the time that I had
But I've got to get my rest
'Cause Monday is a mess"
-Fats Domino

OK, Patriots fans, you get one day to whine about Sunday's game and now it's time to get over it, move forward and get ready for the 2007 season. If football were 30-minute game, the Patriots would be bound for Miami, but their second-half performance against Indianapolis ranks as perhaps their worst defensive showing in the Belichick Era. Teams that allow 32 points in one half of football generally do not win football games. By the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Patriot defense was sucking wind big time. Their offense only had three snaps in the entire third quarter. It’s hard to make plays when you’re not on the field. So, hats off to the Indianapolis team, and congratulations to Coach Dungy. As much as it pains New Englanders to see the likes of Peyton Manning finally winning the big game, he carried the team on his shoulders in the second-half and is primarily responsible for stealing the victory from New England at the last minute. It never came down to a dramatic last-second field goal as all the experts predicted; the Patriots simply ran out of gas, and this season's over. There were no goats to “blame” or any single play that stands out particularly. The Patriots gave it everything they had.

Yes, it was a heartbreakingly disappointing end to the year, but the Patriots have been quite lucky in recent years in pulling out last-second wins. Last week’s triumph at San Diego crystallized all those great wins since 2001. Those of us who go back to the old AFL/Fenway Park days have nothing about which to complain. The last five years have more than made up for the decades of agonizing over Pro Football’s doormat. So long as the current ownership/management continues their commitment to field a competitive team and employ the same strategy, the Patriots will be just fine. Still, losing stings and will for a little while.

Turning to next year, the Patriots have two first-round picks in April's draft, and with the exception of Asante Samuel and Daniel Graham, all of their front-line players remain under contract for several years to come. They have plenty of cap room to attract quality free agents and are about as good as any of the top contenders to make another run in the highly competitive AFC. So, cheer up, Patriots fans, at least the honor of being “on the clock” belongs to someone else.

The Chicago Bears return to the Big Dance for the first time since Buddy Ryan’s “46 Defense”, Ditka, Sweetness and McMahon smacked down the Patriots 21 years ago. The Bears simply outclassed New Orleans in the snow on Sunday. While the ’06 Bears’ defense couldn’t hold a candle to the ’85 Monsters of the Midway, they’re pretty good. They may be even better if the Judge allows their resident miscreant/probationer Tank Johnson to make the trip down to Miami. They ought to give Manning & Co. a good test.