Classless Coach Belichick

[MTK]

Originally Posted by firstdown

The only way they could have stoped running up the score is to start kneeling down on every play because if they ran the ball they moved the chains if they passed they moved the chains. I WHICH WE COULD GET ACCUSED OF RUNNING UP THE SCORE.

No, I can live with a team pounding the ball in that situation and still scoring. But lining up in the shotgun, and going for it on 4th down is running it up.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

No, I can live with a team pounding the ball in that situation and still scoring. But lining up in the shotgun, and going for it on 4th down is running it up.

Well there was a better chance of them getting 3 points then going for it on forth down.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Well there was a better chance of them getting 3 points then going for it on forth down.

Huh?

Do me a favor and the next time you're watching a team blow another team out, pay attention to what they do in similar situations. The vast majority of the time you won't see teams going for it on 4th downs and throwing the ball down the field with a 45 point lead. If you do see that, you must be watching the Patriots.

[GTripp0012]

I know ESPN and SI and Sportsline have been hyping this game since well before this week, but I'm not sure it's possible to overstate the magnitude of next weeks Colts-Pats game.

These are the two best teams in the league, yes, but they may also be the two best teams of the decade. Incredible offense, incredible defense, and the intricate ST history between these teams.

Additionally, I have no idea who will win this game. You can't really look at point spreads because if Manning and the Colts wanted to run up the score, they easily could score as well as the Pats are.

[BDBohnzie]

Of course the score was run up. However, up until going for it on 4th down, I'd say the Pats were playing their game. Going for it on 4th twice in the 4th up as much as they were set the tone, saying that you can't stop us, so we're going to continue to ram it down your throat.

However, at what point does a coach pull back the reigns? Seems like last week, Belicheck did that and the Dolphins put up 28. He didn't want to see that happen again, so the starters were out there until well into the 4th quarter.

The Redskins did not help their cause, coming out as flat as they did. When Rogers went down, the secondary was depleated, and Welker was going up against Lee Torrance and tore him apart.

Chalk it up to a bad game against the best team in the NFL, with a coach who has a chip on his shoulder. It was classless to run the score up, but it happened and he doesn't care. The Skins showed no signs of stopping their offense, so they continued to score.

[The Zimmermans]

WHO THE HELL CARES if he ran up the score. We were more concerned with the PATS than ourselves.

[saden1]

My friend put it best...as far as the Pats are concerned we are slightly better than the Dolphins. Anywho, no need to be pissed, just put this game away and never watch it, read about it or talk about it! Pretend we had a bye week if you have to.

ESPN - San Francisco vs. Washington Drive Chart, October 23 2005 - NFL Football

[carbofisk]

Run up the score? ... What you're saying is, the Patriots were kicking your ass in every conceivable way, and so you wish they'd have just stopped playing. ... Maybe if you'd have cried really, really loud, they would have.

Here's an idea: Play some defense. ... And where was that defense of yours, anyway? ... Whatever -- thanks for dropping by Foxborough. ... And thanks for rolling over like the JV and getting blown out. ... Allowed us to leave early, get to a bar in plenty of time to watch the Red Sox win the World Series. ... It must suck not being a Boston sports fan right now.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by carbofisk

Run up the score? ... What you're saying is, the Patriots were kicking your ass in every conceivable way, and so you wish they'd have just stopped playing. ... Maybe if you'd have cried really, really loud, they would have.

Here's an idea: Play some defense. ... And where was that defense of yours, anyway? ... Whatever -- thanks for dropping by Foxborough. ... And thanks for rolling over like the JV and getting blown out. ... Allowed us to leave early, get to a bar in plenty of time to watch the Red Sox win the World Series. ... It must suck not being a Boston sports fan right now.

I thought Boston fans had some class, guess I was wrong.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I thought Boston fans had some class, guess I was wrong.

Boston fans are among the least classy fans out there, always have been, always will be.. Don't be fooled by the Eastern Seaboard Programming Network to think Boston is a sports utopia filled with kittens and lollypops..

[The Zimmermans]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I thought Boston fans had some class, guess I was wrong.

Yes, you were very wrong. What gave you that idea

[BDBohnzie]

Originally Posted by carbofisk

Run up the score? ... What you're saying is, the Patriots were kicking your ass in every conceivable way, and so you wish they'd have just stopped playing. ... Maybe if you'd have cried really, really loud, they would have.

Here's an idea: Play some defense. ... And where was that defense of yours, anyway? ... Whatever -- thanks for dropping by Foxborough. ... And thanks for rolling over like the JV and getting blown out. ... Allowed us to leave early, get to a bar in plenty of time to watch the Red Sox win the World Series. ... It must suck not being a Boston sports fan right now.

I dont think the problem is the amount of scoring, the problem is how the points are scored...and if anyone thought the Skins had more than a miracle's chance to win yesterday is just lying to themselves.

There is no reason whatsoever for the starters to be in the game with a blowout as late in the 4th as they were. The backups score, so what...however, for a team up as much as the Pats were yesterday, and go for it on 4th down twice, when a field goal puts points on the board, that's classless. But so be it. The league as a whole saw what Belicheck wants to do, and other teams will adjust. Sometimes being the goat isn't a bad thing. I kinda feel bad for the Jets next week...or I feel bad for the Skins because if they don't show up next week, it sets the tone for the rest of the year.

And if the tables were turned, you being a Boston fan, I can't imagine what would be have been left on Pats message boards...All I'll say is what goes around, comes around. The Pats may be the best team in the NFL right now, but once you're on top, you have to fight to stay there...the bullseye is bright, big, and every team from here on out, including the Colts, are gunning to take the Pats down.

[henry12portis26]

Originally Posted by carbofisk

Run up the score? ... What you're saying is, the Patriots were kicking your ass in every conceivable way, and so you wish they'd have just stopped playing. ... Maybe if you'd have cried really, really loud, they would have.

Here's an idea: Play some defense. ... And where was that defense of yours, anyway? ... Whatever -- thanks for dropping by Foxborough. ... And thanks for rolling over like the JV and getting blown out. ... Allowed us to leave early, get to a bar in plenty of time to watch the Red Sox win the World Series. ... It must suck not being a Boston sports fan right now.

Wow... Here's an idea: Get a life ... is ur life that dull u gotta join a skins fan site a bitch to all their fans... u further solidify the statement that the patriots have no class ... I guess it extends out to their fans havin' no class too

[MTK]

PFT's take on the game:

SportingNews.com - Your expert source for NFL Football stats, scores, standings, blogs and fantasy news from NFL Football columnists

Last week in this space, I raised the question of whether opponents of the New England Patriots might be thinking that the team is running up the score -- and whether such opponents will be looking for payback for the full duration of Bill Belichick's tenure with the team.

This week, it's even harder to make the case that the Patriots didn't run up the score against the Washington Redskins and Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. Apart from yet another fake-spike play late in the first half, the Patriots amazingly eschewed a field-goal attempt while leading 38-0 with 11 minutes to play and went for it on fourth-and-short from the Redskins' 7-yard line.

Let's get this straight: Belichick would have been uncomfortable with a lead of only 41 with 11 minutes to go? Please. The Redskins hadn't scored a point. Even if the Patriots had pulled 11 guys out of the stands to play defense the rest of the way, the gap would not have been closed.

And then, leading 52-7 with less than a minute to play, New England still had numerous starters on the field. That's simply inexcusable.

Belichick could be telling the rest of the NFL that if a big deal is going to be made out of the Patriots breaking a signal-stealing rule that many other teams routinely violate, then Belichick will stay fully within the rules -- and obliterate anyone who crosses his path.

The backlash is going to begin. As the buildup begins to the biggest regular-season game of the year -- and possibly ever -- the media will probe the question of whether Belichick is bullying the rest of the league.

Even though the Colts are 7-0, this New England team is so good that, next week at this time, folks might be debating the question of whether the Patriots ran up the score against the defending Super Bowl champs.

[MTK]

And more:

'SKINS, GIBBS HAVE WON BIG, BUT HAVE CALLED OFF THE DOGS

It's a testament to the greatness of the New England Patriots that the dominant topic in the wake of their games is whether they left their starters on the field for too long while blowing out the competition.

Still, Patriot Nation is up in arms over the notion that anyone would dare to suggest that their team or its head coach needs a lesson or two in sportsmanship -- reflecting to a certain degree the attitude projected by said team and said coach.

Only a day after being flooded with e-mails from Colts fans accusing me of having a bias in favor of the Pats for criticizing Gregg Easterbrook's "Colts are good, Pats are evil" essay from last Tuesday, I'm now being flooded with e-mails from Pats fans accusing me of having a bias against them.

Sheesh.

My take on whether I think the Pats went too far on Sunday -- and, more importantly, why I think they're doing it -- is summed up at the top of the Ten-Pack posted at SportingNews.com. Check it out, and then come back for more.

Folks defending the Pats' 52-7 victory have been attempting to turn the tables on their most recent victims, pointing to a couple of past Joe Gibbs romps, in which the 'Skins scalped the opponents for more than 50 points. Specifically, the Redskins rattled the Rams, 51-7, during a 1983 playoff game, and they fricasseed the 49ers by the score of 52-17 little more than two years ago.

But there's a difference. A big difference. In both of those games, the 'Skins apparently called off the dogs well before the fourth quarter. For example, the Redskins led the Rams 38-7 at halftime in the 1983, and scored only six points in the third quarter on two field goals and seven in the fourth quarter on an interception return for a touchdown. In 2005, the Redskins didn't throw a single pass after the 3:30 mark in the third quarter, and Clinton Portis didn't get another carry.

On Sunday, the Pats led 38-0 with 11:02 to play in the game and converted a fourth-and-one from the D.C. seven en route to yet another touchdown pass from Tom Brady.

And that's the broader point here. It's not about scoring a lot of points early in the game. It's about when it's appropriate to pull back. For the 1983 Redskins, they apparently pulled back in the entire second half against the Rams. In 2005, the 'Skins coasted for more than a full quarter.

But the Patriots haven't eased up on offense until the final few -- and likely won't. On defense, starters will still on the field in the final minute on Sunday.

The criticism will only embolden Belichick, and it will make him even more determined to win every game by the biggest margin that he can muster. The only risk? Some crazy-ass defensive lineman eventually might decide he's had enough of it, deciding to gladly take the penalty, the fine, and the suspension for taking a free shot at the starting quarterback's knees.