Pats At It Again

[MattM]

Del Rio apparently told ABC's sideline reporter that his QB--Coach headset is conking out at inopportune times and he's asking the League to investigate. Typical for that bunch of lowlife dirtbag cheaters in NE. Just one more story to add to the pile about them. I swear, it won't surprise me a bit if 20-30 years from now we find out about all the dirty tricks these guys have pulled, including paying off refs. There always seems to be a lot of smoke around that team and its victories and I'm guessing that there's fire.

[Mouldsie]

The heated ball vs Tenn was cheap (and illegal) a few years ago. Remember that?

[BillsCAfan]

other than that, I just hate how everything just goes their way. They never lose a fumble, but if other team just lets the ball breath, they always get it.

[WhiteRabbit]

Del Rio is quite the punk too ...

[dxwwf3]

Good move starting Leftwich

[BillsCAfan]

Good move starting Leftwich

And Garrad would have been better why? Leftwich has played well...relatively. Jax D and Lack of running game lost this one.

[Merk]

Del Rio is quite the punk too ...



I agree

[MattM]

The heated ball vs Tenn was cheap (and illegal) a few years ago. Remember that?

I'd forgotten about that--I was just thinking of (and this is simply off the top of my head, without too much thought):

1. "Just give it to them"
2. the fumble against the Raiders in the playoffs
3. the no calls against the Colts (right in front of a ref in many cases, I must add--I had the game TIVOed and played one play over and over again in slow mo, watching Marcus Pollard's jersey jerk back every time as he was held right in front of a *****ing ref, who was no doubt on the take, as no hanky ever was thrown)
4. the snow game against the Fins when the convict's allowed to plow the field for their kicker
5. a game against the Texans two years ago when Brady throws a pick to ostensibly end the game when, lo and behold, a very late flag comes in 30 yards away from the play (and one that the announcers admitted they didn't understand) that gives them new life and they go on to win

Those guys really suck and I'd love to see either the Broncos or the Colts hand them their heads next week.

[ottoziggyud]

Just now in the game they said bryon was down when the player was only moving him back for 2 seconds. He had the chance to throw it away and he was never down. I think it has more to do with the patriots being more of the champion type of persona. Thus, teams who have a tendency to have a reputation for being penalized are always not given the benefit of the doubt. Therefore, the Patriots are considered perfect with the suberbowl wins and can do no wrong thus the refs and the entire media think they are perfect. I mean look what happened when they did not get as much publicity since they were sucking early on. Then the golden boy tom brady has a cry fest how they are the most disrespected team in the nfl right now. Sorry tom but there are 20 other teams who are more disrespected then yours at least. Patriot cry babies, 3 superbowls and they still find stuff to complain about!

[Mouldsie]

yea that was a bitch move by Tom last week

[WhiteRabbit]

I mean look what happened when they did not get as much publicity since they were sucking early on. Then the golden boy tom brady has a cry fest how they are the most disrespected team in the nfl right now. Sorry tom but there are 20 other teams who are more disrespected then yours at least. Patriot cry babies, 3 superbowls and they still find stuff to complain about!

It's called creating a "me against the world" attitude for the team ... a motivation technique. Don't mistake me for a Pats fan, please ... but I didn't find anything wrong with him using that tactic.

[vman31]

i counted at least 3 strikes against the Jax QB's head tonight too...twice by McGinest (who i cannot stand). Hard to believe a punk like McGinest just passed Bruce as the all time postseason sack leader.

[Pedrorocks458]

i counted at least 3 strikes against the Jax QB's head tonight too...twice by McGinest (who i cannot stand). Hard to believe a punk like McGinest just passed Bruce as the all time postseason sack leader.

We got called for a blow to the chest on a QB last week....don't give me the roughing the passer argument.

[Dirtywater]

Yawn, the radio and equipment is all supplied by the NFL, no t the home team. They have zero to do with that. But, it is oh-so-fashionable-and-trendy to bash and criticize the Pats for anything at all. Ho-hum. :rolleyes2

As for the game, we need to play alot better to beat Indy or Denver.

[ottoziggyud]

It's called creating a "me against the world" attitude for the team ... a motivation technique. Don't mistake me for a Pats fan, please ... but I didn't find anything wrong with him using that tactic.

I can completely see where he is coming from, but to insist that his team is the most disrespecting in the league is just untrue. They get so much publicity as is, it is for motivation, but lets be serious. He turned to sportscenter and realized him and his team were not mentioned every five minutes so he decided to bring it up to the media. There are better ways to do that than to bring it public. God and the NFL love the pats. They can do no wrong.

[frank grimes]

It would have been nice to see NE lose in front of the home crowd tonight but I think watching them lose, on the road in Indy, will be a much much nicer event.

I know I will be smiling from ear to ear :)

[rufc05]

Tom Brady can look no farther than the team they played to find a more disrespected team 12-4 and no publicity. The pats only finished 10-6 in a pathetic division, congratulations you whiny little b*#%es. How about denver or washing or the giants or seahawks. They are all more disrespected then the "praised as gods" pats. We beat the pats in foxborough before the refs got involved and started single-handedly giving the game back to the pats and we went on to finish 5-11. The pats suck and don't deserve any credit

[DropTheGloves]

They shoulda put Flutie in for ***** and giggles.

[MattM]

Yawn, the radio and equipment is all supplied by the NFL, no t the home team. They have zero to do with that. But, it is oh-so-fashionable-and-trendy to bash and criticize the Pats for anything at all. Ho-hum. :rolleyes2

As for the game, we need to play alot better to beat Indy or Denver.


Not to sound too much like a conspiracy theorist, but the way the League seems to love the Pats, from the refs all the way to the media folks, I wouldn't put that past them either. Nonetheless I find it hard to believe that the home team has nothing to do with the headset operations. Does that mean each team has its own team of tech guys that come to the game to operate the equipment, or that the League has guys who do this? My guess (based on operational efficiency logic and remembrances of other coaches similarly blaming home team operators in similar cases) is no, they don't and that they rely on the home team to provide this. Could be wrong, but I doubt it.

And believe it or not, dude, I rooted all out for you guys to win the first time around against the Rams. Too many years of M*ssholes, arrogance and suspect calls later, I hate your team with a passion and really hope you get stomped by Indy or Denver (preferably Indy).

[dogginbox]

you guys sound really lame.

you sound jealous, envious, and down right bitter.

i cant believe there are some of you still crying about the raider game. let me set you straight on this call.

when the infamous play occured, absoloutely it was a devastating play for the raiders.....BUT THE GAME WASN'T OVER, in fact the raiders still had the lead with almost 2 qrtrs to play. the raiders gave up after the right call was made. champions overcome adversity, clearly the raiders were not champions, they gave up.

the supposed "holding against pollard and the colts", the patriots like any good team would, feel out the refs and see what they can get away with, they'd be stupid not to. but as for that particular game, how do you explain the pats beating them again, undermanned, manning coming off a career yr, and the rules in their favor last yr?

see this is why the patriots claim they get no respect:

1st superbowl - the rams were going to destroy the patriots, a dynasty is born......patriots win. side note*(*the steelers, that season, lol, had hotel reservations all planned...what a bunch of morons)

2nd superbowl - the patriots weren't even picked to make the playoffs and indy(the real darlings of the media) was picked to win it all.

3rd superbowl - the undermanned pats beat 2 of the best teams during the regular season who btw everybody who had a voice annointed these teams as the afc representative in the superbowl - not NE. and "how in the world are the patriots going to stop TO if he is even 80%???" they didnt stop TO and they still won their 3rd superbowl.

this season and even a couple in the past maybe the patriots havent looked like the best team during the regular season. but by now i dont see how anyone could pick anyone else? have they not showed they can overcome the odds?

that is the disrespect they are talking about and its true.

[BostonTim]

It's called creating a "me against the world" attitude for the team ... a motivation technique. Don't mistake me for a Pats fan, please ... but I didn't find anything wrong with him using that tactic.

Not only that, WR, I really believe that Brady's purpose in crying about disrespect was to "pre-empt" and in some way mock, the Jag's intent to use the Diss card to get themselves wound up. To get them looking at the Pats and saying: "Wow, they're even better at being disrespected than we are".

I thought it was brilliant.
But I may be somewhat biased, who knows.

Cheers, BostonTim

[RabidBillsFan]

Yawn, the radio and equipment is all supplied by the NFL, no t the home team. They have zero to do with that. But, it is oh-so-fashionable-and-trendy to bash and criticize the Pats for anything at all. Ho-hum. :rolleyes2

As for the game, we need to play alot better to beat Indy or Denver.

Don't expect a huge difference in penalties in the next game, either. Only Pittsburgh can rival the favoritism the referees show towards one team.

[Dirtywater]

Not to sound too much like a conspiracy theorist, but the way the League seems to love the Pats, from the refs all the way to the media folks, I wouldn't put that past them either. Nonetheless I find it hard to believe that the home team has nothing to do with the headset operations. Does that mean each team has its own team of tech guys that come to the game to operate the equipment, or that the League has guys who do this? My guess (based on operational efficiency logic and remembrances of other coaches similarly blaming home team operators in similar cases) is no, they don't and that they rely on the home team to provide this. Could be wrong, but I doubt it.

The answer is that the radios are done in essence by a 3rd party, which in this case is the NFL itself. A crew arrives for each game that handles that.

[nightowltom]

you guys sound really lame.

you sound jealous, envious, and down right bitter.

i cant believe there are some of you still crying about the raider game. let me set you straight on this call.

when the infamous play occured, absoloutely it was a devastating play for the raiders.....BUT THE GAME WASN'T OVER, in fact the raiders still had the lead with almost 2 qrtrs to play. the raiders gave up after the right call was made. champions overcome adversity, clearly the raiders were not champions, they gave up.

the supposed "holding against pollard and the colts", the patriots like any good team would, feel out the refs and see what they can get away with, they'd be stupid not to. but as for that particular game, how do you explain the pats beating them again, undermanned, manning coming off a career yr, and the rules in their favor last yr?

see this is why the patriots claim they get no respect:

1st superbowl - the rams were going to destroy the patriots, a dynasty is born......patriots win. side note*(*the steelers, that season, lol, had hotel reservations all planned...what a bunch of morons)

2nd superbowl - the patriots weren't even picked to make the playoffs and indy(the real darlings of the media) was picked to win it all.

3rd superbowl - the undermanned pats beat 2 of the best teams during the regular season who btw everybody who had a voice annointed these teams as the afc representative in the superbowl - not NE. and "how in the world are the patriots going to stop TO if he is even 80%???" they didnt stop TO and they still won their 3rd superbowl.

this season and even a couple in the past maybe the patriots havent looked like the best team during the regular season. but by now i dont see how anyone could pick anyone else? have they not showed they can overcome the odds?

that is the disrespect they are talking about and its true.

Good fair minded post. A couple of points:

The famous "Tuck Rule Play" that still gets brought up today (why anyone who's not a Raiders fan should even care is beyond me) actually is an irritation to Patriots fans because it was the Patriots, not the Raiders, who got screwed on that play. First, the call on the ball was a tuck and that is the correct call according to the rule book. The funny thing is that I've found that most of the people who complain the loudest about the tuck rule can't actually explain what the tuck rule is. Regardless, the fact remains that it's on the books and the refs did their job in calling it, the rule was reviewed and the NFL kept it in unaltered where it remains and is occasionally called today.
As to who got screwed on that play--the ball slipped out not because the ball was knocked out of Brady's hands, the ball slipped out because as Brady was bringing the ball back down Woodson hit Brady in the facemask with a blatant forearm. The correct call would have been for the refs to call the Personal foul/blow to the quarterback's head. Instead of just getting the ball back, the Patriots should have been given 15 yards and a first down.

When you mentioned the Steelers making hotel reservations for the Super Bowl in 2001, it reminded me of my favorite photo of the 2001 Super Bowl. It's not any of the Vinatieri/Brady moments that you'd expect, it's a photo taken by a Patriots player in a hotel lobby, of all places. To backtrack for a second, the Patriots found out that the Steelers had hotel reservations for New Orleans and Cowher actually spent the entire Monday before the AFC Championship game discussing travel plans to the Super Bowl. The Pats didn't handle this well. They were so superstitious that they refused to discuss the Super Bowl until after the game and thought that the Steelers were more than a little full of themselves. After defeating the Steelers, the Patriots took the Steelers hotel reservations over with Belichick deadpanning, "Well they didn't need the rooms." As the Patriots came into the hotel, the staff was hurredly trying to take down a huge banner that said "Welcome AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers." A Patriots player had a camera on him, took a shot of the team looking at the banner coming down and it ended up being printed afterwards. That explains why even today the Patriots refuse to even discuss anything beyond their next game or how much they've accomplished when the season is still in play. They learned from Pittsburgh.

[nightowltom]

The answer is that the radios are done in essence by a 3rd party, which in this case is the NFL itself. A crew arrives for each game that handles that.

You're correct. The techs are supplied to the NFL by the manufacturers of the equipment, Motorola.

[nightowltom]

Del Rio apparently told ABC's sideline reporter that his QB--Coach headset is conking out at inopportune times and he's asking the League to investigate. Typical for that bunch of lowlife dirtbag cheaters in NE. Just one more story to add to the pile about them. I swear, it won't surprise me a bit if 20-30 years from now we find out about all the dirty tricks these guys have pulled, including paying off refs. There always seems to be a lot of smoke around that team and its victories and I'm guessing that there's fire.

Del Rio said that that was not his beef, though I don't know how anyone could doubt the abilities of an "ace" sideline reporter like Michelle Tafoya. He said that he complained to the refs that his equipment kept cutting out and he wanted to have the Patriots put down their headsets until it was fixed. The ref said they'd get it fixed and it wasn't necessary to have the Pats disconnect their equipment. Del Rio said he thought that it was a rule and the refs (correctly) said that it was a judgement call.

Even though I'm a Pats fan, I agree with Del Rio that it should be a rule and that's what he wants to bring up with the NFL Rules Committee in the offseason. He also mentioned that he might have been better off had the equipment not been fixed. He said that it was repaired at halftime and the second half was a disaster so, tongue in cheek, he added that he didn't know if he helped himself or not.

[WhiteRabbit]

What do you Pats guys think about your next game at Denver? Are ya'll really worried about them??

[nightowltom]

What do you Pats guys think about your next game at Denver? Are ya'll really worried about them??

I don't know if worried is the right term. The Patriots have risen like a phoenix from the ashes in the last few weeks after being given up for dead. If they don't win, I'll still really appreciate the job the Patriots and Belichick have done this season in soldiering on through all of the injuries when they could have leaned on the injury excuse and gone home.

I realize that outside of Pittsburgh anyone the Patriots play from this point on will probably be favored and that's appropriate. I wanted to see the Patriots play Indy this week because I think Indy may be a little distracted and rusty this week and it's the best time to play them. I don't think Pittsburgh will do us the favor of getting rid of the Colts.

As far as Denver goes, the Patriots don't have a great history in Denver but there is reason for us Pats fans to remain optomistic. In the October Broncos-Patriots game, the Broncos got out to a 28-3 lead and just barely hung on when the Patriots shut them out over the last quarter and a half while scoring 17 themselves. All of this happened while Corey Dillon, Kevin Faulk, Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour and guard Logan Mankins were out and Duane Starks was still getting lit up big time at cornerback. Ellis Hobbs has done a nice job replacing Starks and changing to a blitzing pressure defense has helped a lot in all categories. Denver still likes running first and when they met the Patriots early in the season, the Patriots were a lowly 27th in rushing defense. They finished the year 8th and actually performed at the No. 4 rush defense level over the last 6 weeks of the season.

It's probably important for the Patriots to score first in this game. If he has the lead, Plummer can be very effective as he gets into a nice groove of run, run pass. If he gets behind, the old bad Jake the Snake comes out and he tries to force things and makes mistakes.

It's a long response but can the Patriots beat the Broncos? Yes. Will they? Don't know but I always go with the guy badly dressed in the grey sweatshirt. Should be a good game.