I put on my Santa Dukes hat and shared my rendition of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas on Total Access Saturday.

Many would argue that the New England Patriots’ slide began that fateful Sunday vs. the Indianapolis Colts when Bill Belichick decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the end of the game, but his biggest mistake was sending four players home from practice last week — and alienating Randy Moss in the process.

Dr. Dukes examines the hearts and guts of the Steelers, Giants and Patriots, providing a diagnosis for what is happening with each of these recent Super Bowl winners.

Deion Sanders said it best when he said, “I love second-chance stories.” Titans QB Vince Young is making the best of his second chance.

There were plenty of recent developments that made Jamie Dukes say ‘hmm,’ including an embrace between Broncos QB Jay Cutler and Eagles QB Donovan McNabb that might have been a bit too cuddly.

Here’s what stood out to me after Sunday’s action.

Bill Belichick made the right call in going for it on fourth down and has three Super Bowl rings as justification for his decision.

It’s that time again, time to pass out my midseason awards. I’ve got some special awards to hand out, including the Barry Sanders Award (aka, I’m so fed up with losing it’s time to retire), the Fall Award (players who thrive during the fall, but wilt during the winter) and the Enron Award (demonstrating poor football etiquette).

Midway through the season, it’s time to see what we’ve learned. I took a look at Ted Thompson, Eric Mangini, Vince Young, Roy Williams (of the Cowboys), Tom Coughlin and, last but not least, Drew Brees, on Saturday’s NFL Total Access on NFL Network.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. THERE WILL NOT BE A PLAYERS WALKOUT BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS!

History shows us that when you disrespect the Terrible Towel, bad luck comes your way. Check out my Put Up Your Dukes segment from NFL Total Access, where I explore the illustrious history of the Terrible Towel.

Brett Favre to is playing very well, and the reason is as simple as A-B-C. Teams are rightfully locked in to Adrian Peterson in the form of eight-man fronts. Therefore, it is easier for Favre to recognize in his pre-snap surveillance which receiver has man coverage.

All of the juicy soap opera scenarios appear to be coming from one place this season — the NFC East.

For some teams the Wildcat is a trend or trinket. Consequently, these teams make a cursory attempt at executing the Wildcat offense. Just like any other aspect of life, if you give a half-hearted attempt it will yield little or no fruit. If you are going to be successful with this or any other offense, it requires execution.

I was one of the loudest critics of Ted Thompson’s decision not to welcome Brett Favre back after the QB decided to unretire. Thompson is right in his assessment that Aaron Rodgers is a good quarterback. I just didn’t like the timing, considering they were a missed field goal away from the Super Bowl.