Day 224: Oh How I Despise the Bye Week!

So the Patriots aren't playing this weekend. That sucks. They have a bye week and because of that, I'm left to watch teams I don't really care about. I do care about the outcomes of all those other games since those determine my standings in the pool, but really, I only care about watching the Patriots. I understand that these guys need a break... a little mid-season R and R, but dudes... this sucks. They better come back faster and stronger and more motivated than ever!

Bye weeks are especially painful when they come later in the season... you know, when baseball has ended and there's nothing else to keep you occupied on a Sunday afternoon. With all this free time on my hands I'm forced to clean. Or participate in other constructive activities. This weekend it was woodworking. Outside in the cold. For hours. Patriots football would've been way more fun.

And if the bye week isn't bad enough, the Patriots don't play again until a week from Monday. So now, not only do I have to wait that much longer to see them play, but chances are, I won't even make it to halftime because those damn Monday night games are on just too late! Two Sundays in a row with no Patriots? Oh the injustice!

Anywho... the Patriots go into their bye week with an impressive 7-2 record. I say impressive because this team could've easily sucked early on with pretty much no one for Tom Brady to throw the ball to. He had a bunch of rookies that had difficulty running the correct routes. Rookies that started to make Brady look bad. And at times Brady made Brady look bad. In light of all the personnel changes and injuries, this team has done pretty well.

The Pats enter their bye week at a point where they appeared to be hitting their stride after pounding the Pittsburgh Steelers 55-31 and finally getting all those key cylinders pumping at the same time. Tom Brady looked so much better—23-for-33 for 432 yards and four touchdowns. Yes, please. I'll take that performance every week. I really hope this time off doesn't kill this recent chemistry.

The other reason I'm hating this bye week? I can't figure out what hallucinogenic drug I was taking when I picked the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers to beat the Eagles. Not a smart move...Grrrrrrrrr