The big story today is the Patriots running up the score on the Redskins yesterday, resulting in a 52-7 final. I was going to do a big post on the game and the implications, but The Big Picture pretty much hit the nail on the head. I'm not a Skins fan, but it was absurd watching Brady repeatedly throw deep with the Patriots up by 30+ late in the game. The icing on the cake was when the Patriots went for it on 4th down in field goal range. At the time, they were up 38-0. Kick the field goal, asshole. I'm not going to go all TMQ here and act like it's the end of the world when coaches run up the score, but I've never seen anything like that in the NFL. Running up the score in any league where margin of victory matters (college football, college basketball at least to a certain extent, most soccer leagues, etc.) is perfectly acceptable. If that extra score can help you in the standings, then by all means keep playing hard. But in the NFL, margin of victory doesn't come into play until the 6th tiebreaker for wildcard races (and the 7th for division races). The Patriots had nothing to gain by scoring more, other than humiliating the Redskins (not a difficult task).
Patriots fans should be embarrassed, too. They were cheering every late score and every completed bomb like it actually mattered. I'm sure you'll see plenty of Belichick apologists excusing all of this. They'll claim that the Patriots just play hard, and you can't ask them to go easy on teams. It's one of the first lessons of sportsmanship, though. You should be gracious in victory as well as defeat. If Belichick had pulled Brady at the start of the 4th quarter and then run the ball for most of the rest of the game, I wouldn't be complaining. Even if he called a few pass plays to get Matt Cassel some experience, as long as they punted or kicked a field goal on 4th down, I think Belichick would have an argument.
The Big Picture makes a great point that the Redskins showed a lot of discipline by not getting into a brawl or taking any cheap shots at the Patriots once the game got out of hand. If this sort of thing continues, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see some defensive players taking out their frustrations on Brady (seriously, where's Bill Romanowski when you need him?).
So basically, fuck the Patriots, fuck Boston, and especially fuck Belichick. You're a real first-rate asshole, Bill.
Photo credit: i-dig from fark via KSK
October 29, 2007
Running Up the Score
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I'm a Redskin Potato fan, but I'm also a Brady fan, seeing as how we went to school together and everything. So I'm rooting for Brady to break Manning's record. I was upset that he ran two in rather than pass.
This makes me a Patriots apologist. While I think your point is fair, we're trying to get Brady a record and give a screw you to all the people who complained about the video taping. We are on a mission. If you don't like it, tackle somebody.
You're also apparently a sports bigamist. How can you call yourself a Skins fan and then say "we" about the Patriots? Or does "we" mean you and Brady (if so, what is your contribution to the relationship)?
And if Brady is gunning for the single season touchdown record, fine. In that case, I just don't want to hear about how all they care about is winning.
During the game, Aikman was talking about how the rushing touchdowns mean just as much to Brady as the passing ones do, and how it's all about winning for him. Ummm, yeah, that's pretty easy to say when you're winning every game. It's a lot tougher to say you don't care about individual performance when your team is 2-8. But apparently that isn't even true for Brady. Apparently he does care about breaking the record, even enough to risk injury dropping back to pass in garbage time of a blowout.
Can we at least stop calling the Patriots "classy?"
I am a little bit of a sports bigamist. The "we" definitely refers to me and Brady, but I have become a Pats fan in the meantime, as the Pats success and his success coincide. I don't think my Pats fandom will continue as soon as Brady is gone.
As for my relationship with Brady, I contribute love, adoration, stalking and heavy breathing into the phone. He reciprocates by letting me sneak up behind him and taking stealing locks of his hair.
Your disgust with the Patriots is understood. I hate successful teams, too, if I don't root for them. They are clearly lying when they say they don't care about 16-0 or the TD record. Personally, I would like them to come out and say they want to humiliate everyone, but that just wouldn't fit in with Tom Brady's image. So instead they have to lie about.
And for the record, I did want the Skins to win, but by halftime, I was rooting purely for Brady's stats.
I've heard justification for going for it on the two 4th downs, but I don't buy it.
Throwing a 25-yard jump ball to Randy Moss up 38-0 late is not very classy. Keeping 90% of the starting defense in (I saw at least Vrabel, Colvin and Samuel in on the Pats last possession, and I was half watching) is not very classy.
The two 4th down conversions would not be classless if most coaches were involved. The first was a 4th and 1 from the Redskins 7 yard line, Pats up 45-0, 11:02 remaining. If Belichick kicks the field goal, he'd be accused of running up the score. If he kneels, it's demeaning to the Skins. If he goes for it and the Skins can stop him, they get the ball and all is right in the world. This one doesn't bother me, so long as the play called is a QB sneak or dive up the middle.
The second attempt was 4th and 2 from the Skins' 37 with 7:16 remaining, Pats up 52-0. (Gamebook here). What were Belichick's options there? 1) Punt from the 37 (demeaning, and allows the Redskins to extend the game by attempting a "comeback".) 2) Attempt a 54-yard field goal (demeaning, could be accused of running up the score, hands the ball to the opposition in good field position when you're trying to preserve a shutout) 3) Go for it, and give the Redskins a chance to stop you and retain some dignity. I think 3) is a defensible choice, but only if you run the ball on a straight handoff up the middle. Instead, they completed a pass that Gaffney took 21 yards.
So what are the Skins going to do about it? Exact revenge in four years at FedEx? In eight years at Gillette?
I bet TMQ and his son Spencer both needed surgery to repair their apoplexy yesterday.
Of course, a pass on the second 4th and 2 wasn't necessary.
Sorry, the Moss play was 35 yards.
You kick the field goal! If you have 4th down in field goal range (and can't kneel to end the game), you kick it. That's not running up the score at all.
Even the 54-yarder? I think the 4th and 1 at the 7 is unforgiveable. The 4th and 2 from the 37 is forgiveable so long as you run to convert it and the intention is to get a first and run the ball three more times.
I shouldn't have said the 4th and 1 from the 7 "doesn't bother me". I meant to say it could be defended if a different coach had been at the helm.
I have been saying for weeks now that when they leave Brady in and throwing in the 4th of these games, some team just needs to have a backup DE "take one for the league" and take Brady's knees out. All would be right in the world and they would get what they deserve.
Maybe Mangini could call in his Sopranos chips and frame Brady for coke possession?
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