WWW- Granted, I picked the Vikings to win Monday night but I kept telling people New England was going to be a runaway train. And the reasons for that should be obvious when you consider that next Sunday night’s game pits the Patriots against the Colts. It’s ratings, baby, ratings, and New England coming off a loss wouldn’t be much to tout for a potential midseason blockbuster. And that’s the way you got to think as the football season gallops towards the playoffs.

Most Adultfyi’ers went with the Patriots and in the weekly win-loss wrapup this accounted for more 7 and 7’s than a suburban bar in Pittsburgh. Pool leader Harry Weiss wound up with a 9-5 record and finishes Week 8 on top of the pack with a 76-38 record. Harry has a two-game lead over Sean of www.pornlegends.com and Mike Dickinson.

MINNEAPOLIS [NY Times] – As he waited for the game to begin Monday night, Minnesota Vikings Coach Brad Childress stood intently on his sideline, nattily dressed in a purple Vikings golf shirt with matching cap while holding a laminated play card the size of a diner menu. Across the field, New England Coach Bill Belichick wore a gray sweatshirt that could have been pulled from the bottom of an equipment bag.

For the first two months of the season, the Patriots’ passing game was as flashy as Belichick’s attire. With Deion Branch traded to Seattle, quarterback Tom Brady did not have a completion longer than 35 yards, and the Patriots ranked 21st in the N.F.L. in passing offense.

But Monday night at the Metrodome, the Patriots exploited enough seams in the Vikings’ pass coverage to make up for the absence of a game breaker. Brady threw for 372 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Patriots won easily, 31-7.

“There’s a reason he’s an all-Pro,” Childress said of Brady. “He can pick you apart.”

The victory gave the Patriots (6-1) a commanding lead on the Jets (4-4) in the American Football Conference East. New England will play host to the Indianapolis Colts (7-0) on Sunday night.

Brady, who had two completions of at least 40 yards, set a career best for passing yards in a half by throwing for 257 in the first two quarters. He improved his record as a starting quarterback to 19-1 on artificial turf and 8-0 in domes.

“Rather than try to pound it on those guys inside and have them bring in another defender down there, we decided to throw it a little more,” Brady said. “The receivers did a great job of adjusting.”

The Vikings (4-3), in their first year under Childress, won four of their first six games with an opportunistic defense that ranked second in the N.F.L. against the run. The offense, though, remained a work in progress. Lacking a game-breaking wideout, the Vikings – even with tailback Chester Taylor among the N.F.L.’s leading rushers – had managed only eight offensive touchdowns entering the game.

So once the Patriots built a 17-0 lead by halftime, with quarterback Brad Johnson throwing two interceptions – one to Rodney Harrison at the New England goal line – a comeback seemed unlikely and the booing reached a peak.

After Ben Watson’s touchdown catch late in the half, Brady said he was nearly hit by a bottle thrown from the stands.

“It’s ridiculous, some drunk fans,” Brady said. “They should take it out on each other.”

Brady completed his first seven passes for 100 yards as New England exploited the Vikings in the air. Three times in the first half, Patriots receivers turned short-to-medium-length catches into big gains that led to points.

Wideout Doug Gabriel’s 45-yard catch and run on the Patriots’ third offensive play led to the first touchdown, which came on a 6-yard grab by Reche Caldwell.

Johnson drove the Vikings to the Patriots’ 5 before overthrowing Mewelde Moore over the middle, enabling Harrison to intercept. A subsequent 40-yard catch by Watson, starting for the injured Daniel Graham, set up Stephen Gostkowski’s 23-yard field goal.

In the final minutes of the first half, Caldwell turned a short catch into a 34-yard gain to the Minnesota 42. The Patriots rookie tailback Laurence Maroney, who played at the Metrodome for the University of Minnesota, then rambled 22 yards to the 20. Despite a holding penalty, the Patriots went on to score, as Brady found Watson from 9 yards out with 25 seconds to play. The Vikings struggled offensively. The Patriots held Taylor to 15 yards on seven carries in the first half; he injured his shoulder in the third quarter but returned. He finished with 22 yards on 10 carries.

A possible touchdown pass from Johnson hit Troy Williamson in the face mask at the 10 on the first series of the third quarter.

Moore took a punt 71 yards for a touchdown with 10 minutes 36 seconds left in the third quarter for the Vikings’ first points. But Maroney followed by taking the ensuing kickoff back 77 yards, even after running into one of his teammates near midfield. Brady went on to throw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Troy Brown.

With five seconds left in the third quarter, receiver Chad Jackson broke two tackles on a 10-yard scoring pass from Brady to give the Patriots a 31-7 lead. That score sent the first wave of Vikings fans up the aisles and out of the Metrodome.

Brady completed passes to 10 receivers, 7 each to Watson and Caldwell.

“He must have hit every receiver had,” linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. “We were watching on the sidelines and enjoying it.”

The Vikings turned the ball over four times and produced 284 yards of offense.