As if February and the post-Christmas depression wasn't bad enough, the final whistle of the Super Bowl has blown and the NFL season is well and truly over. What to do on a Sunday? Sifting through last season's statistics should keep you occupied for a while. Start with the NFL total offensive and defensive rankings.

There are plenty of ways to deaden the pain. There may still be football-themed apps to download on both tablet computer and smart phone. This is a good time to begin what you promise yourself every year, that you will learn the names and statistics about each of the players starting in that glorious day in September when it all kicks off again for another year.

For most of February, it may still be possible to find people on the discussion forums. Yes, there are still stones left to be unturned on Inflatagate. Why doesn't the NFL supply the balls to everybody on both teams? Are they going broke? That opens up a whole new world on the discussion groups - conspiracy theories.

Come March, there may still be withdrawal symptoms. Followers of Formula One will be able to put the NFL on hold when the first race starts. Sunday afternoons have meaning again! This leaves those who aren't race fans to fend for themselves. Time to start digging the vegetable garden, maybe?

April. Too soon for barbecues, too late for the football forums. Some NFL fans, apparently, have lives. You should probably try and get one of those for yourself. In the meantime, there is Easter, and a back yard that needs tidying up. On rainy days, you can start work on that spreadsheet you threaten to set up every year to monitor statistics just the way you want them.

May. May is a tough month. None of the websites have been updated. There's nobody on the forums to argue with. Keep working in the yard. Tinker with your spreadsheets. Explore some of the other channels on the television. No, really. They do exist. Take the kids out for pizza. Take the wife out for dinner. You know her, she's the one who makes all the snacks on Sundays during football season.

June is starting to look promising. Your spreadsheet is halfway full of data, the front lawn is so closely mown you could bounce a quarter off it. You may even find one or two fans in Indonesia or Qatar on the discussion forums. No, wait, they had football confused with soccer, like three quarters of the rest of the planet.

Ah, the hot summer months of July and August. Hope is on the horizon. Fill your time with garden parties and in the blink of an eye, it's September and time for the opening match of the new season. Now, instead of filling your time, you can be filling your fridge with beer and wings. Don't forget the potato chips. Life, and Sunday afternoons, have meaning again.