Football vitriol
Every time I got the urge to come back and start typing, I'd first go take a look at all the bloggers in my bookmarks list. I'd see all the annoyance and unpleasantness, and decide my time was better spent playing with my children. Then, of course, football season started, and I figured I might start blogging Patriots games again. Except that when you're watching the games on TiVodelay, that seems a little trite. And I'm quite tired by the time I'm done watching the game. And really, do you need another person telling you how great the Patriots are? I didn't think so.
But I got really annoyed at Gregg Easterbrook this week. His Tuesday Morning Quarterback column is filled with the most hate-filled vitriol about the Patriots. Worse than terminal BDS, really. I excerpt and comment for your "pleasure":
Argument for the New England Patriots as scoundrels in the service of that which is baleful: Dishonesty, cheating, arrogance, hubris, endless complaining even in success.
See, Easterbrook has a hard-on for the videocamera scandal; he thinks it's this generation's Watergate. What Gregg has forgotten is that, in fact, scheming for advantage is way of life in the NFL, as is breaking the rules, and taking your penalties when caught.
As for arrogance and hubris, this is a team which refuses to discuss anything except the coming game, always compliments their opponents before and after the game, and is the first to find fault with their own play. As for complaint, he is referring to the Patriots' known penchant to latching on to others without that discretion, and using that material to fire themselves up. So when T.O. says to "getcha popcorn ready", the Patriots do.
Belichick and the rest of the top of the Patriots' organization continue to refuse to answer questions about what was in the cheating tapes -- and generally, you refuse to answer questions if you have something to hide.
Yup, and only the guilty need a lawyer.
The team's star, Tom Brady, is a smirking sybarite who dates actresses and supermodels but whose public charity appearances are infrequent.
I love how charity in his mind is tied to the accolades that come with it. Hey Gregg, that isn't charity. That's buying an image.
That constant smirk on Brady's face reminds one of Dick Cheney; people who smirk are fairly broadcasting the message, "I'm hiding something."
Doesn't even need comment.
New England is scoring so many points the Patriots offense looks like cherries and oranges spinning on a slot machine. The Flying Elvii stand plus-159 in net points, by far the best scoring margin in the NFL. This is supposed to be impressive. But I think it's creepy....
Let's just get this straight. Because the Patriots are playing so well, they must be bad. Hunh.
On Sunday, the Patriots led the winless Dolphins 42-7 late in the third quarter, yet Tom Brady was still behind center. And he wasn't just handing off the ball to grind the clock, either. Rather, he was back in the shotgun, still throwing to run up the score. Here is a summary of the Patriots' possession with a 42-7 lead late in the third and Brady, Randy Moss and the rest of their offensive starters on the field: Pass, run, pass, run, pass, pass. When backup quarterback Matt Cassel entered the game in the fourth quarter, with the Patriots leading 42-14 -- a margin larger than the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in NFL history (see below) -- did he hand off the ball to grind the clock? Here were Patriots' coaches first three calls: Run, pass, pass. Cassel's second pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, and Brady re-entered the game. Did he grind down the clock? Pass, pass, run, run, pass. The final score was 49-28.
Ahh, yes, Easterbrook reveals his special place for "running to grind down the clock." For most quarterbacks, that makes sense; incomplete passes stop the clock. But to grind the clock, you not only have to keep the clock moving, you have to get first downs. Rather than going runwhacky, the Patriots continue to use a phenomenal passer - who had one grounding and three (THREE!) incompletions on the day. For Brady, passing is as reliable as running.
The week before, New England led Dallas 42-27 and had second-and-goal on the Cowboys' 6-yard line with 1:43 remaining and Dallas out of timeouts. Three kneel-downs would have ended the game. But Belichick kept calling plays, frantic to run up the score -- including calling a play with 23 seconds remaining from the Dallas 1-yard line, resulting in a touchdown that made the final New England 48, Dallas 27. The Patriots then kicked off, and Dallas got the ball with 13 seconds remaining. Cowboys coach Wade Phillips showed the dignity Belichick lacked and ordered a kneel-down.
What Easterbrook leaves out is that the reason the clock was stopped at 1:43 on second down was that Wade Phillips had just called a timeout. Had that not been called, the Patriots running plays would have run out the clock after third down, no touchdown. Wade Phillips wanted the ball back. The Patriots ran plays to eat up the clock. The Cowboys couldn't stop an undrafted free agent running back.
Innocent people falsely accused crave the recovery of their reputation, working hard to convince the world they are good. Creepy people who think they can get away with something act belligerent and show poor sportsmanship, which is what Belichick is doing right now.
Really? I've seen a lot of innocent people falsely accused just get tired and hide. And a lot more get really, really belligerent. In fact, guilty people often work hard to preserve their reputation.
Whew, got that out of my system, for this week anyway. See you later.
