Eric Heise dot Com ~ The Monday Analysis 5 December 2005 ~ A Writer's March

Winter is here. Snow games, the Christmas music in full-swing, houses lit up with tiny lights. And the march to the playoffs begins. But first, a stop in the awards zone.

Michael Jordan. Lance Armstrong. Tiger Woods. The 2004 Boston Red Sox. Cal Ripkin, Jr. Don Shula. Joe Montana. Arthur Ashe. Jack Nicklaus. Muhammad Ali. Bobby Orr. Carl Yastrzemski. Edwin Moses. MaryLou Retton. Sugar Ray Leonard. Pete Rozelle. Sandy Koufax.

The above names were Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. Brady is the Sportsman of the Year for 2005.

"It really is a great award, a great honor," Brady said on Friday. "I think of the people that have won. I remember when Michael Jordan won, Joe Montana, Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, the Red Sox last year. It’s really an honor."

Brady beat out a slew of contenders including his own head coach Bill Belichick and former coordinator Charlie Weis, now head coach of Notre Dame for SI's Top Spot.

Brady has been the magic man in New England, the first since Doug Flutie played for Boston College, since taking over the starting position in 2001 and leading the Patriots to their first ever Super Bowl. It would be the first of three. Brady was named Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XXXVI and XXXVIII. His top receiver, Deion Branch, captured the honor in Super Bowl XXXIX.

"It is an individual award. But the reason I’m at this point now is because I’ve been around a lot of great people," he said. "There’s been a lot of hard work by me and the people around me that support me. There are a lot of people that have always been there for me to rely on, and they’re the reason I’m in my sixth year."

Patriots Kicker, "Mr. Clutch" Adam Vinatieri passed Gino Cappelletti for the all-time points leader spot for the Patriots. Cappelletti played for the Patriots from 1960 - 1970, and his record 1,170 points held true until Sunday, when Vinatieri kicked a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter to pull ahead.

"This is a significant milestone for Adam at this particular point," Cappelletti said after the game. "But in time it will be an insignificant milestone, because I hope we're all around here watching him make his 2,000th point."

"When you amass as many points as Gino Cappelletti has in your career it means a couple of things," Vinatieri said. "One, you've been on very successful teams. And you've been around a long time."

Congratulations to both Adam and Gino on their tremendous accomplishments for the Patriots. Patriots Nation salute both of you.

The Patriots Defense seemed to kick it up a notch, started to put lots of pressure on the quarterback,. and maybe it was because Brooks Bollinger (15-37 for 135 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT for a 39.6 rating) is a rookie playing very bad. Maybe Defensive Coordinator Eric Mangini wanted to take advantage of the weak ball handler. Maybe we'll see more of that.

Tom Brady played another heroic-style game, common-place for him the week after tossing 4 INTs. Brady was 27-37 for 271 yards with a 93.4 rating. He hit receivers well, but the receivers missed too many, dropped too many, and the offense had to scurry off the field while in the red zone on four field goal situations. Adam Vinatieri was 3-4 in field goals, missing a 45 yarder in rotten weather and field conditions.

But time of possession is the Patriots' ally. New England held the ball for 38:10 minutes over the Jets for 21:50 minutes, and had the offense played stronger, those number might - no, would have - been a bigger margin.

The defensive pressure was a sight for sore eyes. Rosevelt Colvin and Jarvis Green registered sacks. Colvin, Seymour, and Willie McGinest were all over Bollinger, registering hurries, pressure passes, and incompletes all afternoon.

"That was a satisfying win for the team," said head coach Bill Belichick. "Defensively, each time you hold a team to three points, you gotta feel good about that."

Curtis Martin was held to 29 yards on 15 carries, and Laveranues Coles had the longest pass reception for 14 yards.

"It was a good win," said Brady after the game, though he sounded frustrated. "After coming off last week, everyone was so bummed out and in the tank. We're at 7-5, we lead the division, and it would be nice to string together another win next week."

As for other former Patriots now playing in Jersey, Ty Law was pretty ineffective, and sat out the later part of the game. He limped often, indicating that broken foot has yet to heal.

The Monday Analysis POWER Rankings

The picture gets clearer every week.

1. Indy (12-0). Stop, already.

2. Denver (9-3). Can't go losing to the Chiefs like that. Especially with the turnovers on both sides.

3. Seattle (9-2). If Seattle wins on Monday, and next week, the division is all theirs.

4. Cincinnati (9-3). Nice win over the division rival Pittsburgh.

5. Carolina (9-3). The Panthers are steamrolling to the end zone of the season, and leaving everyone in the dust.

6. Chicago (9-3). Surprise! Da' Bears rule the North.

7. NJ Giants (8-4). The Giants outlast Dallas, even with Manning playing like a bum.

8. Dallas (7-5). The 'Boys are falling fast. Two weeks now they've given the game away.

9. Atlanta (8-4). If the Falcons don't start kicking it up, they will need to scramble for a postseason position as they give away the division.

10. New England (7-5). Nice win over New Jersey. Now keep it going.

11. Tampa Bay (8-4). The Bucs are shuffling, and that's about it.

12. Pittsburgh (7-5). The Steelers are drifting downward.