FUNNY PFT LINE...

[packers11]

POSTED 11:12 p.m. EST, November 18, 2007

PATS GO TOO FAR, AGAIN

With a bye during Week Ten and a close game against the Colts before that, it has been three weeks since we've seen the Ferrari among a flock of Fords that is the New England Patriots.

And it's clear to us that coach Bill Belichick still doesn't know, or care, if he laps the field 50 times.

Twice in the third quarter while sporting huge leads, the Patriots kept the field goal unit on the sidelines for a fourth down deep in the Bills' end. On the second occasion, the Pats were up 42-10 on the Buffalo 10 and New England faced fourth and one.

The groan of disapproval from the crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium was barely audible over the comments of NBC's Al Michaels and John Madden, who seemed to see no problem with the maneuver.

We did, and we do. The Patriots are abusing their power, in our view, and they'd better hope that Earl Hickey is wrong about that whole karma thing.

We don't know whether it's karma or fate or just an innate sense of justice and fairness, but we've had a feeling for a couple of weeks now that something will happen to keep the Pats from getting to the Super Bowl or, when they do, someone like Brett Favre will find a way to chop down the beanstalk.

Maybe they can predict the future??? :lol:

[Carolina_Packer]

I think teams should feel free to stop them anytime. Just like a guy who poses at home plate to admire a home run or a guy who does showboat TD celebrations. Stop them and they won't.

You may be right about the come uppance headed their way, but rather than people talking about meteors falling on Belichick during a game, or someone pile driving Brady, how about outsmarting and outperforming them? It's gotta happen on the field for it to be legit, so if they can't stop them, they must be better.

[the_idle_threat]

But the guy who admires a home run too long will get buzzed with high heat later, and the showboating receiver will get drilled by the safety sometime down the line. Our games have a built-in tendency to self-police selfish behavior. So it's not that surprising that some of us would like to see similar "justice" when a coach acts out of line.

[Pacopete4]

exactly... there is no reason to run up scores like they are... its just redic

[Badgerinmaine]

You know, it's not the rolling up a big score that bothers me. Remember a few years ago when the Packers were playing the Cardinals in the last game of the season and needed to rack up points trying to win a potential playoff tiebreaker? Brett Favre was slingin' it the whole game as the lead got bigger and bigger, and they could get away with it because everyone knew that they needed to win by as large a margin as possible. I thought it was a hoot.

What bothers me about how the Patriots are doing it is how long they leave in their star payers in games that have long since been decided. Their reserves could be getting more game time experience, and for them to be taking chances of Tom Brady or other star player hurt in a game like that is ridiculous.

[SkinBasket]

What bothers me about how the Patriots are doing it is how long they leave in their star payers in games that have long since been decided. Their reserves could be getting more game time experience, and for them to be taking chances of Tom Brady or other star player hurt in a game like that is ridiculous.

I don't see the losing team pulling it's star players just because the game is out of reach. Should the NFL also have a Hug Unit that can go comfort sad players after a big loss?

I say if the players are playing at such a high level that they have been for so long, you don't fuck with that and start giving half your team half the game off. They still have to be ready in case one of these weeks, someone actually poses a challenge and the starters are actually needed deep into the game. Having them play abbreviated games just to spare the feelings of the other teams isn't how you keep your team sharp.

[hoosier]

I say if the players are playing at such a high level that they have been for so long, you don't fuck with that and start giving half your team half the game off. They still have to be ready in case one of these weeks, someone actually poses a challenge and the starters are actually needed deep into the game. Having them play abbreviated games just to spare the feelings of the other teams isn't how you keep your team sharp.

That's more or less what happened to the Colts two years ago: started out 13-0, Dungy began pulling their starters to save em for the playoffs, and they lost two of last three. When playoffs started they couldn't recover their lost momentum and lost a crappy game to Pittsburgh. Moral of the story: when you got it going on, don't change a thing. It's foolish to think you can turn it off and on again just like that.

The only thing worse than Bellichick running up the score are the players and fans who whine when he does it.

[Deputy Nutz]

Maybe the NFL should make the Patriots play their games under the Connedicut High School Football Rules where if you beat a team by more than 50 points the head coach gets suspended for showing up the lesser team. Sound fair?

Like it or not, the New England Patriots are the best run organization in football, and they just prove it again, and again. Same said, but going for it on 4th down up by 32 is a bit of stretch.

[run pMc]

If you are up by 30 with the ball and it's 4th and 1 at the opponent's 20, which is worse:
kicking the FG and taking the points
-or-
running a play and daring the other team's D to rise up and stop you?

I understand the other team has to stop them, but I think NE has been a little tasteless in how they are doing this. People on this forum (including me) have been calling for M3 to pull Favre when GB gets ahead by 3+ TDs in the 4Q; I don't see why Belicheck wouldn't pull Brady and some of their starters up by 5+TDs in the 4Q.
When karma comes around, I will be less inclined to feel sorry for NE.

[FritzDontBlitz]

What about taking out your star players to give your backups game experience? Whatever happened to that?

And, if you guys are so much in favor of keeping your star players on the field after the game is out of reach, why do you guys bitch about it if Favre is on the field too long when the Packers are ahead?

Hmmmm, I see the Pats play Philly next week, and Pitt on December 9th. Those are two hard-nosed blue collar teams, I am curious to see how Bill Bellicrap's tactics play with them....

[SkinBasket]

When karma comes around, I will be less inclined to feel sorry for NE.

I'm sure NE has bigger concerns than "karma." Like winning the Super Bowl.


What about taking out your star players to give your backups game experience? Whatever happened to that?

And whatever happened to playing football for 60 minutes instead of worrying about the emotional status of the other team or your existentialist standing in the universe?

[mraynrand]

I say if the players are playing at such a high level that they have been for so long, you don't fuck with that and start giving half your team half the game off. They still have to be ready in case one of these weeks, someone actually poses a challenge and the starters are actually needed deep into the game. Having them play abbreviated games just to spare the feelings of the other teams isn't how you keep your team sharp.

That's more or less what happened to the Colts two years ago: started out 13-0, Dungy began pulling their starters to save em for the playoffs, and they lost two of last three. When playoffs started they couldn't recover their lost momentum and lost a crappy game to Pittsburgh. Moral of the story: when you got it going on, don't change a thing. It's foolish to think you can turn it off and on again just like that.

The only thing worse than Bellichick running up the score are the players and fans who whine when he does it.


I think you're mixing up two things - keeping your team sharp and running the score. Clearly, Belichick is running up the score. You don't need to go for it on 4th and one when you're up by a ton to keep your team sharp. In fact, you could argue that you should kick the field goal to keep you kicking team sharp in case you need them to win a game. So the two are not the same. BB is totally within his rights to run up the score. But when you run up the score, you piss people off, and they're much more likely to pound the QB or the WR all the harder if they get the chance. I know I would. Not dirty like late hits, but if I got the chance, I'd put everything I had into the sack/tackle. I hope Philly and Pittsburgh lay the lumber and lay it hard.

[hoosier]

I think you're mixing up two things - keeping your team sharp and running the score. Clearly, Belichick is running up the score. You don't need to go for it on 4th and one when you're up by a ton to keep your team sharp. In fact, you could argue that you should kick the field goal to keep you kicking team sharp in case you need them to win a game. So the two are not the same. BB is totally within his rights to run up the score. But when you run up the score, you piss people off, and they're much more likely to pound the QB or the WR all the harder if they get the chance. I know I would. Not dirty like late hits, but if I got the chance, I'd put everything I had into the sack/tackle. I hope Philly and Pittsburgh lay the lumber and lay it hard.

I don't disagree that he's running up the score to settle a score. And I won't feel any sympathy for NE or Bellichick if and when things go badly for them--but nor should the league be legislating sympathy for the downtrodden.

I don't think I'm confusing sharpness with running up score. Bellichick's vendetta aside (repeat: I fully agree that his goal is to run up the score and be an asshole), NE is finding themselves in a complicated situation for a number of reasons. First, because their games are basically over before halftime and to pull Brady for the second half of every game would compromise their momentum. From every perspective I can think of (strategic, commercial, aesthetic) playing the scrubs for the last 30 minutes would suck. So do you just pull him for the last 6 minutes? Why bother when he's already been playing almost two quarters of a blowout? Second, about going for it on 4th and short, it seems to me that if you kick the field goal you're just as guilty of rubbing it in. The only way not to rub it in would be to go for it and fail.

[Carolina_Packer]

I think you're mixing up two things - keeping your team sharp and running the score. Clearly, Belichick is running up the score. You don't need to go for it on 4th and one when you're up by a ton to keep your team sharp. In fact, you could argue that you should kick the field goal to keep you kicking team sharp in case you need them to win a game. So the two are not the same. BB is totally within his rights to run up the score. But when you run up the score, you piss people off, and they're much more likely to pound the QB or the WR all the harder if they get the chance. I know I would. Not dirty like late hits, but if I got the chance, I'd put everything I had into the sack/tackle. I hope Philly and Pittsburgh lay the lumber and lay it hard.

I don't disagree that he's running up the score to settle a score. And I won't feel any sympathy for NE or Bellichick if and when things go badly for them--but nor should the league be legislating sympathy for the downtrodden.

I don't think I'm confusing sharpness with running up score. Bellichick's vendetta aside (repeat: I fully agree that his goal is to run up the score and be an asshole), NE is finding themselves in a complicated situation for a number of reasons. First, because their games are basically over before halftime and to pull Brady for the second half of every game would compromise their momentum. From every perspective I can think of (strategic, commercial, aesthetic) playing the scrubs for the last 30 minutes would suck. So do you just pull him for the last 6 minutes? Why bother when he's already been playing almost two quarters of a blowout? Second, about going for it on 4th and short, it seems to me that if you kick the field goal you're just as guilty of rubbing it in. The only way not to rub it in would be to go for it and fail.

I agree. I'm not about running up the score, and I think Belichick probably is out to stick it to the league for the Spygate Scandal, and to show that video taping or not, we are the best and we can take you out behind the woodshed and beat you senseless and we won't stop.

When you were growing up and were playing (insert sport or game here) against someone either older or better than you, say a father, brother or friend, which would piss you off more? 1) Never being able to beat them in said activity or 2) knowing that they were dogging it to spare your feelings and keep it competitive?

What is NE supposed to do? Take a knee on 4th and 1 in field goal range? Wouldn't that be like my #2 above? That would piss people off too. If they kick a field goal and tack on points, people complain, so they go for it and convert, and people complain again. What are they supposed to do? According to some, you can't try, but perhaps you're supposed to just not try and take a knee? Calling a run on 4th and 1 and converting it says, you have to stop us, we are not going for 3. Those scenarios are made sticky by the fact that they are so damn good that when they ARE up by 40 plus points, they are in that situation in the first place. Again, if teams/fans want this to end, come up with a way to beat them. Plain and simple. I don't like showing up other teams either, but teams need to come out and not soil themselves because they are playing the Patriots and they need to get to Brady before he has 5 seconds to surgically take a defense apart.

[hoosier]

I don't like showing up other teams either, but teams need to come out and not soil themselves because they are playing the Patriots and they need to get to Brady before he has 5 seconds to surgically take a defense apart.

Agree. The only way someone's going to beat them this year is if someone manages to generate consistent heavy pressure against Brady. And even then it will take that team playing a complete game.

[the_idle_threat]

but nor should the league be legislating sympathy for the downtrodden.


Nobody's calling for the league to legislate anything. Nobody's calling for a slaughter rule or a hug committee.

People would just like to see New England have some class.

And failing that, people would like to see New England get punched in the mouth. That's all.

[Scott Campbell]

Maybe Bill just wants that killer instinct and mean streak to be part of their team culture. There's got to be some pressure on them. If they don't win the Superbowl, it'll be one of the great choke jobs of all time.

[footballfever]

but nor should the league be legislating sympathy for the downtrodden.


Nobody's calling for the league to legislate anything. Nobody's calling for a slaughter rule or a hug committee.

People would just like to see New England have some class.

And failing that, people would like to see New England get punched in the mouth. That's all.

Couldn't have said it better myself, can't wait till someone sends their 3rd stringerrs in there when they are down 63-0 against that son of a bitch bellicheat and he's still throwing it and they have those 3rd stringers track brady or moss down and just bodyslam the fuckers well after the play. I like how in basketball if somebody does shit like that to you you have the option of a flagrant foul, throwin an elbow in someones face. I don't wish pain upon anyone, but i wouldn't mind seeing Brady eating out of a straw for a very long period of time.