Week 6 is a tough week to pick games. 13 total games with few gimmes, especially with injuries, teams not living up to potential and inconsistencies in play. Without further ado, here are my picks for this week's action.

Cincinnati Bengals (0-5) v. New Yok Jets (2-2)

I will actually be at this game. This is a simple game to pick. No Carson Palmer, no chance.

MY PICK: JETS(in a blowout, I don't care if Fitzpatrick was the valedictorian)

Miami Dolphins (2-2) v. Houston Texans (0-4)

The Dolphins are on a tear defeating both New England and San Diego. The wildcat offense has defensive coordinators scratching their heads. Houston had has some tough luck losses to Indianapolis and Jacksonville. That one stroke of bad luck always seems to happen to them. It'll happen here. Miami is improving and I don't think Houston can effectively answer the Wildcat.

MY PICK: Dolphins at the last minute

Chicago Bears (3-2) v. Atlanta Falcons (3-2)

Atlanta's win at Green Bay is proof that the Falcons are a team on the rise. Matt Ryan has looked really good, especially at home against terrible teams. The Bears manhandled Detroit and their defense is almost back to it's 2006 strength when they made the Super Bowl. I like Ryan, but the Bears defense will overwhelm him. Expect Kyle Orton to put up respectable numbers.

MY PICK: Bears

Detroit Lions (0-4) v. Minnesota Vikings (2-3)

We all know Detroit is terrible, but the Vikings aren't much better. A lucky win last week against the Saints could give them the confidence they need to try to get back in contention for the NFC North title. Adrian Peterson will run for over 200 yards in this contest.

MY PICK: Vikings (but they won't cover the 14 point spread)

Carolina Panthers (4-1) v. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)

This is a very good game with very good defenses. Tampa Bay has some key injuries and who knows what the status of Joey Galloway will be come kickoff. The Bucs did not look very good against a suspect Broncos defense. The Panther defense is getting back to its usual ways and this is a very well balanced offense with Willams and Stewart and Muhammad and Smith. This will be too much for the Bucs to handle.

MY PICK: Panthers, it won't be close.

Baltimore Ravens (2-2) v. Indianapolis Colts (2-2)

This is a weird game. For some reason neither team can score. The Colts should be thanking their lucky stars they aren't 0-4 for everyone knows they sure play like an 0-4 team. They can't win at home, they haven;t stopped the run (Bob Sanders is sorely missed) and the offense has yet to click. The Ravens defense is good to the point that if they had an offense they'd be 4-0. I think the Raven defense will overpower the Colts offense and I need to Colts to prove to me that their 2 wins weren't flukes.

MY PICK: Ravens

Oakland Raiders (1-3) v. New Orleans Saints (2-3)

A bad loss for the Saints last week. If they can keep the ball they are still one of the finer offenses out there. New coach, same old dysfunctional team.

MY PICK: Saints (Tom Cable will be fired by Thursday, maybe Al Davis will have learned PowerPoint by then)

Washington Redskins (4-1) v. St. Louis Rams (0-4)

The Redskins shouldn't need a second-half comeback here. They just need to be sure that they don't play down to the competition. Rams defense might improve under Haslett, but it won't be better than the Redskins.

MY PICK: Redskins DUH!!!!!!

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3) v. Denver Broncos (4-1)

Jacksonville really needed to win last week against a banged up Steeler team on a short week. They didn't get it. The Bronco defense looked better against the Buccaneers and I think it is a defense on the rise. The Jaguars can;t run the ball with two of the better RB tandems in the league and the pass offense is mediocre at best. Denver should take care of business here and build a thick buffer between them and the Chargers.

MY PICK: Broncos

Green Bay Packers (2-3) v. Seattle Seahawks (1-3)

Calling this game the Holmgren Bowl is old and tiring, just like the Seahawk passing game. Rodgers had his up and down moments in last week loss to Atlanta. Luckily, the Seahawk secondary is terrible. Rodgers should torch them for over 300 yards and 3 TD's. The Seahawks cannot pass the ball effectively, especially with the likely absence of Deion Branch and will continue to struggle against a Packer secondary  without Al Harris.

MY PICK: Packers by a wide margin.

Dallas Cowboys (4-1) v. Arizona Cardinals (3-2)

The circus has finally reached Glendale about 8 months later than they were supposed to be there. The main question is which Cardinals team will show? Will we see the Cardinal defense that gave up 17 to Buffalo or the Swiss Cheese quartet that gave up 56 to the Jets? We know the offense won't be a problem, especially with Newman and Williams missing for the Cowboys. Plus, the Cowboys have not looked impressive the last two weeks (How does Cincinnati even keep this game close?) I think the injuries to the secondary, the Pacman Jones distraction and the drama with T.O will bite the Cowboys in their assless chaps.

MY PICK: Cardinals

Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) v. San Francisco 49ers (2-3)

Brian Westbrook will miss this game and it will hurt the Eagles offense, but it will still be better than the Niners offense which looked inept last week against the Patriots. The Eagles need this win to save their season. Expect the Eagles defense to score and secure a very close victory.

MY PICK: Eagles the best 2-3 team in the land

New England Patriots (3-1) v. San Diego Chargers (2-3)

When it comes to San Diego, something ain't right. This is a team that should be undefeated. The Patriots will find a way to exploit the many weaknesses the Chargers currently have and be able to focus on taking out the rest of the positives. New England is starting to find that balance on offensive.

MY PICK: Patriots by a large margin

New York Giants (4-0) v. Cleveland Browns (1-3)

A no brainer. Cleveland is worse than Seattle, even with the return of Donte Stallworth. The possible absence of Kellen Winslow will negate Stallworth's return. Plaxico Burress returns for the Giants. Just call the police,22 Browns will be murdered this game and Romeo Crennel will be Notre Dame's defensive coordinator by Thursday.

MY PICK: Giants, at least you can go to bed at halftime.

Enjoy the games this weekend. Fell free to argue with me.

<a href="http://www.yardbarker.com/author/new" onclick="window.open('http://www.yardbarker.com/author/new?pUrl=' + (encodeURIComponent('<?php the_permalink() ?>')).replace(/\./g,'%2E')+'&pHead='+(encodeURIComponent('<?php the_title() ?>')).replace(/\./g,'%2E'), 'yardbarker'); return false;"><img style="border: 0; padding: 0 0 0 15px; vertical-align: bottom;" src="http://www.yardbarker.com/images/extern/bark_narrow.gif"></a>

Please fire Brad Childress.

He sucks and he's making the Vikings suck. You have a team with great potential, a team you thought had a chance of going to the Super Bowl and you're lucky to be 2-3. Giving Brad Childress the keys to this franchise is like hiring Lindsay Lohan as your limo driver. Yes, he may look like a good coach, but in reality he's just a hot mess incapable of doing the simplest of functions.

I know you might ask me, why fire him? He went 8-8 last year, winning 6 of the last 8, with Tavaris Jackson as the quarterback. That record was a fluke. When it counted, when you needed a win to make the playoffs, you choked like the New York Mets in September. You let the defense and Adrian Peterson carry you and when teams began to smarten up and put eight in the box, the offense had mud in the tires.

But enough of my one-liners and cliches. Why should you do the right thing and immediately fire Childress? Let me break it down:

1. The offense is terrible.
   • You rank 18thin the whole league at 20.2 points per game. The New Orleans game was the first time you broke the 20-point plateau and you're not really scoring withthat offense. How does a team with Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor, Bernard Berrian & Sidney Rice manage only 7 offensive TD'sin 5 games?????? How can you win with QB's that average less than 200 yards per game while only completing 54.8% of your passes for a 73.3 QB rating?
   • Rice cakes have more imagination that your offense. Funny things about this is that Childress was an OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR!!!! But wait, didn't Andy Reid call the play in Philly? So, what did he do, squiggle lines in crazy patterns for Donovan McNabb? I digress. Here is the Viking offense in a nutshell, First down, RUN, Second Down, RUN, Third Down, if more than five yards, try to pass, if five yards or less, RUN. Fourth down, PUNT or FIELD GOAL. If there are eight in the box, RUN. If there are 11 in the box RUN. I think you get my point. If you don't you will when Adrian Peterson is injured by Week 11.
2. Your pass defensive is the human version of Swiss Cheese. Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Kerry Collins (didn't he does this in the 2000 NFC Championship game too?) and Peyton Manning have made fools of your 20th ranked pass defense. How many times do the Viking stop the run on 1st down only to allow the opponent to complete a 12 -15 yards pass for another 1st down? Too many. Brees was doing all night last night. The Vikings were outgained by over 130 yards in the first half. You have only intercepted the ball 4 times and only have 8 sacks in 5 games. I thought Jared Allen was supposed to solve this.
3. Special Teams are horrendous. 2 TD's given up to Bush last night (you should have learned the first time) and there were four other instances in which the Saints started in their own 40 (twice in Vikings territory). Maybe you should try kicking the ball out of bounds. It works on punt and it saves you some clock on kickoffs.
4. You coach not to lose. Wasn't this the same reason you benched Tavaris Jackson (a good move that should have been made two years ago)? Up 15-0 against Indy and you run 75% of the time and settle for Field Goals. Up 17-10 last night and you settle for a field goal instead of aggressively going for the touchdown. The TD drive to Berrian was the first sign of aggression since the days of Mike Tice (at least they were exciting when they lost).
5. You relied on TavarisJackson and expected to go to the Super Bowl with him. If the Vikings couldn't reach the Super Bowl with Daunte Culpepper, what made you think you could with Jackson?? He is consistently at the bottom in key QB stats. His decision making is more questionable than President Bush's and hasn't shown any ability that he could be a QB in this league. Yet, you made him the QB of the future, failed to bring in a decent free agent (Favre, Pennington, even Culpepper) and now we're stuck with Gus Frerotte.

Thankfully the run offense and defense is respectable, scoring 6 of the teams 9 TD's. But the Vikings are a proud franchise rich in offensive history. From the days of Fran Tarkenton and the Purple People Eaters, to Three Deep with Moss, Carter & Reed, this franchise has always been exciting and competitive. Brad Childresshas ruined that tradition and replaced it with a ho-hum lifestyle that is not even competitive.

Mr. Wilf, for the sake of the franchise, the fans and this season, please fire Brad Childress and let the Vikings return to the excitement that have while playing to win.

Without further ado, here are my picks for Week 5:

Tennessee Titans (4-0) vs. Baltimore Ravens (2-1)

The main question is "Will there be an offensive TD in this game?" The answer is yes, by Tennessee. The Ravens offense looked its best last week and wasn't that impressive against a banged up Steelers squad. The Titans are for real. LenDale White may not play, but Chris Johnson will hold his own and Kerry Collins will manage the game well enough to bring memories of Trent Dilfer back to Ravens fans.  The Titans have the sicker defense.

MY PICK: TITANS in a low scoring affair.

Kansas City Chiefs (1-3) v. Carolina Panthers (3-1)

Don't read into KC's win last week. Denver's inability to stop the run (Larry Johnson 198 yards) and keep the ball (4 turnovers) made KC look better than they actually are. Johnson will not run for more than 70 yards and Steve Smith will have at least 2 TD's against a terrible secondary. Expect Herm Edwards to give another we play to win the game speech on Monday.

MY PICK: PANTHERS in a blowout.

Chicago Bears (2-2) v. Detroit Lions (0-3)

Why am I talking about this game? Detroit sucks and everyone knows it. The Bears and Kyle Orton will find a way to make it close, My recommendation, just let Detroit play on offense all day and you'll win.

MY PICK: BEARS (The defense outscores the Lions offense)

Atlanta Falcons (2-2) vs. Green Bay Packers (2-2)

This is the toughest game to pick because it all depends on game time decisions. I could easily wuss out and wait until 12.59pm, but that's Kim Kardashian- Bush league. If Aaron Rodgers plays the Packers should win the game, but not by much. If he does not play, a Falcon victory would not be surprising. Falcons QB Matt Ryan looked real good in his two wins. Don't be too critical of his two losses, they have come against teams with superior defenses. The Packers have major secondary issues with the injury of Al Harris and I expect Ryan to have a respectable game.

MY PICK: PACKERS (in a close game IF Aaron Rodgers plays)

Indianapolis Colts (1-2) v. Houston Texans (0-3)

The stats lie more than Roger Clemens. Both teams are better than their records indicate. The Colts are coming off a bye week and they truly needed the rest. The Texans are playing their first home game. I want to be sentimental here, but I won't.

MY PICK: COLTS huge!!!

San Diego Chargers (2-2) vs. Miami Dolphins (1-3)

Miami's win against New England was great and may have carried over had it not been a bye week for them last week. San Diego is starting to come around. A blowout of the Jets and a nice 4th quarter that led to the wackiest press conference since Drew Rosenhaus' "next question" conference a few years ago (Al Davis should learn how to use PowerPoint. Black backgrounds with Silver text looks real sharp in front of the media). The Charger offense will overpower the Miami defense an the talent is just superior.

MY PICK: CHARGERS (can't predict the margin, they have yet to be consistent)

Washington Redskins (3-1) v. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)

Word on the street is Brian Westbrook will play. The Eagles win when he plays. It's that simple. While Washington looked impressive in it's win over Dallas last week, Philly has a better run defense and the Redskins passing game isn't sophisticated enough to handle Jim Johnson's blitzkrieg.

MY PICK: EAGLES (unless Westbrook doesn't play)

New York Giants (3-0) v. Seattle Seahawks (1-2)

Deion Branch and Bobby Engram, come back for the Seahawks. This is good for Matt Hasselbeck who has been atrocious this season. The bad news is they play the Giants. Good defense. Plaxico Burress is suspended for this game but it won't affect the outcome. Expect Amani Toomer to have a multiple touchdown game.

MY PICK: GIANTS(but the Seahawks will cover)

Denver Broncos (3-1) v. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)

This is a weird game. The Broncos have a great offense when they don't turn it over. The Bucs have a great defense. Tampa's running game is good while Denver's run defense is terrible. Joey Galloway will miss this game and the Bucs passing game has been less than spectacular. I think Denver's offense will prevail over the Tampa defense.

MY PICK: BRONCOS (don't grill me if I'm wrong)

New England Patriots (2-1) vs. San Francisco 49ers (2-2)

It's comes down to these two things. First, the Patriots lost badly and are pissed. Second, Belichick had two weeks to plan for the game while pissed. This is a no brainer.

MY PICK: PATRIOTS (likely a blowout)

Dallas Cowboys (3-1) v. Cincinnati Bengals (0-4)

The Bengals lost to Cleveland, the 2nd worst team in the league. The Bengals are the worst. I just hope Marion Barber scores all their touchdowns for my fantasy team.

MY PICK: COWBOYS (DUH!!!!)

Buffalo Bills (4-0) v. Arizona Cardinals (2-2)

I told you the Cardinals are the favorites in this game would you believe me? You should. What are the people in Vegas thinking? They gave up 56 points to the Jets and are favored against a better Bills team?? The Bills defense will give Kurt Warner fits causing multiple turnovers.

MY PICK: BILLS (defense will score)

Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)

I teach history. History doesn't lie. Jacksonville owns PIttsburgh like my wife owns me. When healthy, the Steelers are the best team in the AFC, but....The Steelers are one injury away from becoming the NFL'sversion of the Ford Pinto. BOOM!!!!! Call the Fire Department!!!! Jacksonville will find a way to control the clock and the injuries to key players like Rothelisberger and Parker will prove too damaging. If the Steelers want to beat a Jaguars team on the rise, they need to keep them to field goals when in the red zone.

MY PICK: JAGUARS (Pittsburgh is to banged up)

Minnesota Vikings (1-3) vs. New Orleans Saints (2-2)

I'm a Vikings fan. The Vikings suck. Drew Brees will take advantage of the shoddy Viking pass defense like it was a drunk chick at a frat party. Reggie Bush will be a non-factor (the Viking defense may score), but so will the Viking pass offense. The Saints defense isn't THAT terrible. Adrian Peterson will have a big day, but Brees' day will be even bigger despite the injuries to Colston and Shockey. Don't discount the Vikings if Brees has to throw more than 40 times, that defense can score. But it's unlikely.

MY PICK: SAINTS (in a massive blowout)

We'd have more information for you, but the idea of paying ESPN to read "Insider" information is a little absurd. They got scooped on the Favre story when it appeared they had 47 of their own people attached to it. We're supposed to pay ESPN for stories that SI.com will probably break first anyway? Yea, no.

What constitutes a "classic" sports uniform?

I started to consider this topic after watching a Serie A (Italian football) match where one of the teams (Palermo) had pink jerseys.

Yes, you read that right. Pink. Jerseys. Here, look.

Can you imagine Dick Butkus or Jim Otto playing in a pink jersey? How about Gordie Howe? No F'ing way.

I could go off in another direction here, about how some conventions and assumptions in American professional sports just, by definition, prohibit the use of certain teams names and/or uniform colors that occur in other countries. In fact, I will for a moment.

Unlike college sports, where unusual team mascots may have emerged and survived, professional sports teams' names in this country tend to have a very narrow range of acceptability. Typically, they are aggressive names. Lions, Tigers, Bears, Vikings, Jaguars, Panthers, and so on. I don't pay attention to the minor sports, like "Ultimate Arena Fighting Football Gladiators", or whatever, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were teams like the Punishers, Maimers, BoneCrushers, WhackJobs, and the like.

Even our bird teams are aggressive: Eagles, Hawks, Ravens, Seahawks, Falcons. Even Blue Jays are nasty, aggressive birds. The only relatively benign birds I can think of are both baseball teams, e.g., Orioles, Cardinals (yes there are football Cardinals but only because they used to be from St. Louis and they were too lazy or cheap to change it). Oh, wait, there's the Anaheim Ducks, but that was basically a promo for a bad movie. I can't believe a team called the Ducks won the Stanley Cup - but that's part of an anti-NHL rant that I'm not prepared to get into right now.

In any case, can you imagine a domesticated housepet-type-bird as the mascot for a real (i.e., not baseball) sports team?

Well in English football they have the Norwich Canaries. Yes, you read that correctly. Canaries.

 As it turns out, it's a particular species of bird with a long history in the region. But still, as a sports mascot, it's kind of...well... lame, isn't it?

Does that strike fear deep in the heart of the competition? Ooohh...watch out for those Canaries. You might get peeped at, or get a nasty scratch. Somehow it doesn't conjure up images of raptor-like violence or destruction. Even in Hitchcock's The Birds, the canaries didn't peck anyone's eyes out, although they likely did cheer the perpetrators on.

Similarly, there are certain colors that are, or are not, acceptable for a sports team's uniform.

There's been a trend over the last ten years or so to adding BLACK to a team's uniform - I guess to make it look meaner. Perhaps there's a socioeconomic implication there but I don't know and I don't want to go there. Anyway, this guy did a post along these lines about NFL uniform redesigns which is pretty good and quite comprehensive. Another fellow did a nice listing of his top 50 classic soccer jerseys. I owe him the link to the Palermo jersey - thanks dude!

My point was, after viewing the travesty that was this Italian team's pink jerseys, that it could NEVER happen here in the states. I mean, we've had some ridiculous professional sports team uniforms, typically during the decade of horrendous design also known as the 70s, but eventually these mistakes have been rectified. They've even undid the 70s logo change at NASA, for goodness sake.

So, what then constitutes a classic uniform?

For me, it comes down to a few key variables:

• A certain consistency or longevity of use
• Non-fugly throughout time
• Non-fugly logo & clean number font
• Tendency to be associated with great teams

I don't have a comprehensive list thus far, but I know there are a few that I have tended to like over the years:

• Montreal Canadiens
• New York Yankees/Detroit Tigers
• Chicago Bears
• Boston Celtics
• Los Angeles (Brooklyn) Dodgers
• Chicago BlackHawks
• Indianapolis (Baltimore) Colts

Many teams have had so many uniform and logo changes over the years that they can't be considered. Many of those tend to blend into a sort of sameness that prevents a casual fan from knowing immediately which team is which. Others have redesigned their logos in a most noxious fashion. That's why this tends to be a fairly short list.

You could see a picture of Jean Béliveau or Rocket Richard (or here, Yvan Cournoyer) and that Canadiens jersey looks the same as it does today. Looks distinctive in black and white, looks terrific in color with its blue stripe surrounded by white over a red jersey (OK, it's hockey, call it a sweater).

The Yankees white with pinstripes, with the NY crossed letters logo over the left chest is timeless and classic. Even if you hate the Yankees now, it's still the same uniform that Gehrig, DiMaggio and Ruth wore (though Ruth stretched it out a bit). The classic "D" on the Detroit Tigers uniform seems the same to me as well.

The Chicago Bears black with three arm stripes is a great, 'down and dirty' classic that looks the same as it did in the 40s without being excessively dated. Similarly, the Celtics simple classicism has remained appealing without being dated.

I always liked the scripted "Dodgers" logo, which to me is sort of an "All-American" icon. When you go abroad, and people wear weird "American-style" jackets that tend to say ridiculous non-English phrases on them, they still have some kind of scripted logo like the Dodgers logo. It's just sort of classic to the eye and stays fresh even when it's treated as a retro styling cue.

Finally, the Blackhawks and Colts have kept a consistent look throughout the ages even with some minor styling tweaks. The Blackhawks Indian Head logo is really cool, even in this PC age, and the Colts uniform is a model of simplicity and consistency.

Well, that's my list. What are your choices?

Anyone? Bueller?

Andre Tippett made the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

What a great player he was, and a great guy from all accounts. During the early to mid 80s, when the Patriots were finally beginning to look like a contending football team, Tippett was one of the Patriots who really emerged as a star. For some reason, the Patriots either drafted or acquired some great linebackers during that period (ones that come to my mind immediately include Steve Nelson, Don Blackmon, Larry (later Laurence) McGrew, Clayton Weishuhn (career cut short by injury but he was fantastic) and many others, and he was the best of them. As fans we really started to take pride in the team's defense during that era.

Mike Holovak died recently. 

He was the first Patriots head coach I remember. I was young, and unaware of his other accomplishments, which were substantial. What I do remember at that time was that he looked amazingly like my father's uncle Saul (who, by the way, just celebrated his 90th birthday - congratulations Uncle Saul!).

During the 60s he (Holovak, not my great uncle) coached some pretty mediocre Patriots teams, and my dad would always want to put on the radio after the game to listen to what he called "the Golly Bob Show". The Patriots announcer at the time, Bob Starr, would always have a post-game interview with Holovak, who would end up having to explain the team's bad performances, and he always started out, "well golly, Bob...". Funny what you remember 40 years on.

A Dedication for the Patriots' Season

Go Pats!

I grew up watching the Pats try in vain to make any playoffs at all, having been shellacked by those Chargers in the 1963 AFL Championship game by a score of 51-10. From '64 on, they never seemed to have recovered from that beating, and it wasn't until the mid-'70s that they made any appearance in the playoffs at all.

 While the Pats were able to handle the Chargers in the last playoff in which they met, last year,  and it seems likely that the combination of a healthy 17-0 Patriots squad and a battered, injury-ridden Chargers team will mean a continuation of the Patriots good fortunes, I can't help but think back to those early AFL days, when both teams were outstanding, but one was clearly dominant.

And it wasn't the Patriots.

1963 AFL Championship Game: Patriots vs. Chargers

19

Nowadays, it's hard to find someone in this area who is not a Patriots fan. Everyone loves a winner, and we've come to expect the Patriots to not only win, but dominate their opponents.

But it was not always thus.  

In 1960, my father bought two season tickets to the Boston franchise of the new American Football League. It was the first time professional football would be played in Boston, and he wanted to be a part of it. In 1964, I was finally old enough to join him at the game. One of my earliest memories was sitting in temporary stands, in a snowstorm, watching the Patriots play the San Diego Chargers. I distinctly remember looking down between my feet behind me and seeing the Green Monster of Fenway Park.

He typically took me to six of the seven available home games each season. My sister got one, to be 'fair'. I think she chose to see the Jets because Joe Namath was 'cute'. I wonder if she thinks that now. She probably doesn't know anything about the "Kiss me, Suzy Kolber" incident either, which is just as well for all concerned. But I digress.

Over the next seven years or so,  my father and I drove into Boston to 'home' games at several stadia, including Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard Stadium. There was always a feeling of being a refugee, or second class citizen, and the Patriots' performance typically bore that out. They were largely horrible teams then, and we were pleased when they were competitive, let alone if they actually won. All the other teams seemed to have 'real' stadia, and 'real' teams.

Finally, in 1971, the Patriots got their own stadium, in Foxboro. I had never heard of Foxboro, let alone been there. Since it was quite a distance from our home (we lived north of Boston), many of the local Patriots fans chipped in and hired a bus to take us to and from the games. I still have the 'evidence' that I attended the first regular season game at Schaefer Stadium (named after a mediocre local beer), consisting of an "I was there" wallet card and a simulated gold coin. I actually have quite a few of those gold coins. There was a great feeling of hope and change, as the team was renamed the "New England" Patriots, and they actually beat the dreaded Oakland Raiders in that first "real" home game. But they were still not a great team by any stretch.

In 1974, I think it was, they actually opened the season by winning their first five or six games! It was incredible. The Patriots actually got shown on the NFL Films "Game of the Week"; a national pedestal which had, to date, ignored them as the cellar-dwelling hapless Patsies they had been. They were finally a "real" NFL team! The euphoria was short-lived, however, as they lost six of their remaining eight games and finished 8 and 8. Still, a successful season by Patriots standards.

From there, I got my license and my father and I started to take turns driving. Then I went off to college and only made one game a year. I don't know who my father took with him, but he still went to all the games. The team improved somewhat and was more competitive in those years, but save for the famous "roughing the passer" call in a playoff against Oakland, still never really contended. After my graduation, they got worse again. My dad had moved further north and finally had to cut back on his game attendance, so I usually had the tickets. Oftentimes, I couldn't even give them away if neither of us could attend for some reason. The Pats had one miracle season in '85-'86, but got trounced in the Super Bowl by Chicago. Right after that, they had a drug use scandal and the team tumbled back into relative mediocrity. We still attended most every game though.

Finally, in the early 90s, I had my first child, and my dad and I decided to give up the tickets. The stadium was less fun to visit - our seating section, right on the 50 (the 46 to be precise), had gone from the same congenial regulars every week to a random selection of drunks, and it was almost perilous to attend.

Soon after, the stadium and then the team was bought by the Kraft family, and the rest is history. They changed uniforms, cleaned up the stadium, and became contenders within a couple of seasons.

My father, who instilled in me a love for football and the Patriots in particular, passed away before his time, in 1998. Most of the over 150 games we attended together were losses. He saw the Patriots make the Super Bowl twice, and get defeated soundly both times. He never saw the Red Sox win the World Series in his lifetime.

Since then, the Patriots have become the dominant team in the NFL, winning three Super Bowls and likely on their way to a fourth. If they do, they will have won 19 games without a defeat. If I could, I would officially dedicate this season to my father, who as much as anyone alive, deserved to see this amazing achievement.

These are your new grandchildren. As you can see, they're going to be Pats fans too.

Thanks, Dad.

Lee Carsley

Andy Johnson

Thomas Gravesen

The Boy

I don't intend buying him an Everton jersey, but it is the holiday season so donations would be cheerfully accepted. Just kidding. He does, actually, have a Patriots onesie in Laurence Maroney's #39. After all, we're AMERKINS, dammit!