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Post by President B. Dazzle on Oct 29, 2007 10:46:19 GMT -5
sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AsbUTEHKnMVmsPPBCJovKS.b2bYF?slug=packpatriotsinexcusablef&prov=tsn&type=lgns1. Is Belichick giving the rest of the NFL the finger? 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.
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