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Crass Belichick Runs Up The Score On Another Hapless Opponent

November 22, 2011 By

Yay. We finally got a game in which the media can do some good old-fashioned grousing about Bill Belichick (a “prick” according to Fred Toucher) heartlessly running up the score on another hopelessly defeated opponent.

The Patriots 34-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last night did not come as easily as the score would indicate. For much of the first half, Romeo Crennel’s Chief defense did a tremendous job stifling Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. In the second half, the Patriots pulled away, and had the ball at the very end, where rookie Shane Vereen was given a chance to show what he could do, and he ended the drive by scoring his first NFL touchdown for the final score.

Despite that fact that Kansas City called all their timeouts on that drive, (indicated that they were still playing) many in the media still want to jump on Belichick again, showing once again just how little they comprehend what’s happening on the field. So for their edification here are three reasons the Patriots kept playing instead of just giving the ball up.

  • Going for it on 4th down instead of kicking a FG gives defense another chance to stop you. (and avoid more points)
  • Getting a look at Vereen and what he can do against NFL competition.
  • Many of the NFL tie-breakers depend on points scored, points allowed and net points.

There are reasons to keep playing, especially in a conference race that is so tight – four teams now have a 7-3 record. Should they have taken Brady out? Maybe, but I suspect doing that is easier said than done.

Can’t beat original - Ian Rapoport says that while KC is trying to emulate the Patriots model, they’ve got a long way to go. Shalise Manza Young has the game story in the Globe. Mark Farinella says that it wasn’t too exciting, but the W is all that counts. Art Martone has the Patriots just taking care of business.

Ten Things We Learned Monday Night: The legend of Rob Gronkowski continues to grow - Christopher Price says that the Patriots tight end is the best in the game.  The Standard-Times has Five things we learned from the game. Dan Duggan has the Best and Worst from last night, and so does Mary Paoletti.

Rob Gronkowski making major impact - Jackie MacMullan with another look at the tight end, who came close to breaking his neck last night. Tom E. Curran has more on the Gronk Life. Mark Murphy has Gronkowski getting to 20 touchdowns faster than any other tight end in history. Rich Garven has Gronkowski making a quick impact on the NFL. Jim Donaldson has the tight end just adding to his growing legend last night. Bob Ryan notes that Russ Francis and Ben Coates have nothing on this kid.

Julian Edelman breaks through - Mike Reiss looks at what was a showcase game for the versatility of the former college quarterback. Karen Guregian has Edelman getting back into the good graces of the coaches and fans. Nick Underhill has Edelman doing it all for the Patriots last night. Jeff Howe has Edelman not wanting to talk about his off-field incident. Paul Kenyon has Edelman showing that his a jack-of-all-trades.

Carter counting on complements  – Greg A Bedard says that Andre Carter is going to need help in the pass rush, because all of the NFL is going to be aware of him now. Ron Borges has a new nickname for the Patriots defense – The Who. Guregian has Ty Law saying that what the Patriots unknown defensive backs are doing is more impressive than what the likes of Earthwind Moreland were doing on the 2004 team. Bill Burt says that the defense has time to come together. Howe has the defense still trying to Figure Themselves Out.

Kyle Arrington well-positioned for success - Dan Duggan has the cornerback adding to his league lead in interceptions.  Nick Underhill says that some might call it luck, but with seven picks on his resume now, there might be more to it.

Bummer of a first half - Rapoport’s notebook has Tom Brady not too happy with his play in the first half last night. The Globe notebook from Shalise Manza Young has more on Arrington. The Enterprise notebook from Glen Farley has the post-Thanksgiving schedule looking good for the Patriots.

The Bruins won their ninth in a row last night, as Tim Thomas shut out the Montreal Canadiens on the road 1-0.

Bruins make it nine in a row – Fluto Shinzawa has the details on the win. Stephen Harris has more on the win.

Bruins back in the driver’s seat – Joe Haggerty says that the Stanley Cup hangover is finally over.

Paille is back on job - Shinzawa’s notebook has Daniel Paille getting back in the lineup. The Herald Bruins Notebook has Bruins players happy for Sidney Crosby.

Red Sox, Bobby Valentine look like fit – Gordon Edes says that at long as Valentine can impress the Red Sox baseball ops, the manager’s job is his.

The Meaning of Bobby V.: What Valentine’s interview says about Sox’ managerial search - Alex Speier is his usual thorough, analytical self.

Debunking three Valentine myths - Sean McAdam has three myths about Bobby V that need to be dispelled.

Filed Under: Morning Links
  • Angry Old Bastard

    He probably wanted to take a look at Marcus Cannon too as well as let him have some fun seeing what Cannon has gone through…..The "running up the score" thing is old and tired but it's to be expected of the "usual suspects"

  • Steve

    On the last drive, there were 15 plays, 12 of which were runs, (the rest were short passes) in which the opposition calls all three of its time outs is not running up the score … had KC not called their timeouts, the clock would have run out before the Pats' TD. Also, there was no complaining from the KC coach at the handshake which he's done previously.

  • donna28

    You missed part of what Toucher was saying… he wasn't opposed to continuing to score. He questioned the wisdom of leaving your starters in a game that was already in hand and risking injury. It really is surprising how many people can't differentiate between those two concepts. Yes, an injury can happen at any time, but more plays = more opportunities to get a knee rolled up on.

    • http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com Bruce Allen

      I didn't say anything about what Toucher was saying, other than he called Belichick a prick. That was enough for me, regardless of whatever point he was trying to make. There's no need to make it personal like that.

      The injuries thing is silly. You can't take out the whole team.

      • Angry Old Bastard

        not to mention it feeds into the, " fellowship of the miserable" argument. Patriots win game 34-3 and THAT is the first thing you hear in the morning? Talk about running up the score and players that might have been left in the game too long?

        on side note, didn't listen but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Dennis and Callahan spent morning mocking Ocho, mocking Palko,mocking Belichick, mocking Patriots defense, mocking Obama and crying about how late the game went.

        • latetodinner

          It was Bobby V. talk…I guess they will break down and talk about the Pats next August.

          I know the Red Sox have become a French Farce at this point. But I do find it interesting that the morning after the Pats win the talker simulcast on NESN was talking Sox GM search rather than breaking down the game in the 8:00 hour. Yes, I know at 7:20 they talked to Kerry Byrne and that was a really good segment. But I am surprised they went with any Bobby V talk at all…why not save it for tomorrow?

      • donna28

        No, you can't take out the whole team. But you could take out your starting QB, without whom, you go nowhere. And obviously he's not going to be happy about coming out of a game but neither is John Lackey.

        For read-ability sake, I wouldn't insert a parenthetical aside if you didn't mean for it to appear directly related to the sentence in which you inserted it.

        • alex

          Belichick places a higher value on in-game reps than you do, apparently. I'm gonna go ahead and side with him on this one.

    • alex

      Matt Flynn has appeared in two games for the Packers and thrown three passes. Charlie Batch has appeared in one game for the Steelers and thrown zero passes. Whoever the Saints backup is hasn't gotten on the field at all which means Brees, like Brady, has taken all the snaps for NO this year…. Now I'm a big Toucher and Rich fan, but I'm not about to say Freddy T knows more about football than the coaches for NO, GB, NE, and PIT.
      I

  • latetodinner

    Running up the score is an easy and dumb angle to exploit. Rossie Colvin pointed out to Fred T this morning that with the lack of contact practices in the CBA using the last few minutes of a game like this as an evaluation tool is invaluable. Its not like they had BJGE running on that last drive it was Shane Vereen. Also Marcus Cannon was at Right Tackle because Matt Light had been rolled up on a few minutes earlier…they had Solder replace light and let Cannon replace Vollemer. If you want to question anything it was the third down pass before the penalty into the endzone…but even that should not be questioned. If the Chefs (great ogglie mooglie) don't want the Pats to score…play better defense. I think Todd Haley knew this. it would be one thing to pick a fight with someone like John Harbough…quite another to question BB's motives if you are Haley.

    As an aside…I am far more impressed with Edelman's work in the slot than I am with the punt returns. He had not played defense since high school and he broke up that running play while not looking out of place in pass coverage. At 6'1" with his quickness and smarts he might make the perfect slot corner. He sees the field as a QB. I hope BB continues with the experiment.

    • Tyler

      Edelman is 5'10", but in any case he seems capable as a nickel/dime corner.

  • Winning_

    The running up the score thing is sooo Old. I really don't want to be dragged back to 2007. These are professionals. They get paid to make stops. Don't let the offense score. Just because the defense (KC) has given up, doesn't mean the offense (NE) needs to follow suit. If this was a 8 year old Pop Warner game, thats another argument.

    • APimpNamedDaveR

      Amen. I'm sick to death of this, too. If one professional football team is 77 points better than another professional football team, they should be winning by 77 points. I couldn't care less about whether a 2nd-string linebacker on the other team making $256k a year feels "insulted" by that.

  • Frank

    Fred is just mad because his favorite coach sucks toes. Who cares what a Jets fan thinks about Belichick?

  • classless

    So has anyone in the media accused Green Bay of running it up yet? Didn’t think so.

    Also, anyone catch Mike Tirico’s audible disappointment when Haley and Belichick didn’t brawl at the 50 yard line?

  • Tom

    Hey everyone…
    BREAKING: I read Mazz's piece today on his blog and you can all shut off your TV's and internet until January. DO NOT watch the Patriots until then. Ok? The games are already won, and they also don't mean ANYTHING (unless they lose or don't play perfect… then they mean EVERYTHING)

    So enjoy the holidays and see you in the divisional round!!! Woohoo!!!

  • Tom

    The Patriots' world, according to Mazz:
    "Fact: The only things we stand to learn about the Patriots over the balance of the season are all bad. If they play well, it will be because they should. In the big picture, relative to 2009 and 2010, we still don't know if the Patriots can truly win when it counts, the recent home playoff losses to Baltimore and the New York Jets still serving as the backdrop to this season."

  • mandb97

    It's a shame the Patriots lost to the Chiefs last night. I really thought they would…. Wait, you mean the Patriots won? They won 34-3? Wow, if you listened to sports talk, especially Felger and Maz, the Patriots surely must have lost.

    Seriously F&M show just how awful sports radio is in the Boston market and how horribly unintelligent the hosts are. Both love to tell us how historically bad the Patriots defense is but if you are an intelligent caller and tell them the Patriots are tenth in points against or have positive turnover ratio you hear from Felger, "Well you don't believe those stats do you?" Well Mike, I do because they are facts not opinion. Unlike Felger, who believes that total yardage has suddenly become the most important defensive stat in football, I look at stats that actually determine games like turnovers and points allowed.

    P.S. Jermaine Wiggins must have pictures of Mike Thomas. He has become brutal. Someone needs to tell him the word is nothing, and not "nuttin".

    • latetodinner

      Hey mandb…first off…Happy thanksgiving to you and yours. Regarding Wiggins…I don't understand having him on the radio at all…everything has an element of white racism. Tony Maz mentions Vickk in relation to Tebow and Wiggins immediately says "Don't go there". Between that, he professed hockey knowledge and his incessant pitching of his clothing line I feel like i am listening to Don Imus. Can't stand him.

  • mandb97

    When WEEI took over 93.7, I thought there were be some improvement in the ratings but not a lot. I thought listeners had had enough of the grating personalities like D&C and Ordway. It looks like I was wrong. Chad Finn, earlier this month, wrote that WEEI had a significant increase in the ratings for October. It looks like the LCD wins again. If the number stay this way for the fall period, then quite a few jobs will be saved.

    D&C was never in any real danger of being removed. Their ratings were still pretty good. They have improved but they are still third in the important demos.

    Mut & Lou have been helped significantly by going to FM. I believe they are now fifth after being way down when still on AM. The show will probably be saved. Frankly, I'm glad because I do not think the show is that bad and I find it hard to believe that people in this region are enamored by the hot sports takes of Gresh. I highly recommend reading Ryan Hadfield's "Sports Media Musings" article from earlier in the week. It gives more proof as to how much of a dolt Andy Gresh is. Gresh's take on the Penn State situation shows a complete lack of self-awareness.

    The Big Show is now third in the ratings since going to FM. Unlike Mutt and Lew, I am not glad about this. In my previous post I did not mention the Big Show because I simply cannot listen to Glenn Ordway or Mike Adams. I really believed that Ordway would be let go by the end of football season. I think he may now survive the end of his contract, which only makes listeners losers.

    Mike Adams has amazingly doubled Damon Amendolara since going to FM. Adams is as bad a personality as there is yet still has a following. This is a huge indictment on D.A. and how his show has regressed since he first came on the air. I actually blame Mike Thomas or Cha Chi Loprete for the demise of Amendolara. D.A. was a voice of reason who did not say the outrageous thing for the look at me effect. But as the other shows on 98.5 passed their competition, D.A. stayed even or was slightly behind Adams. My guess is that Thomas or Loprete wanted Amendolara to become "Felger jr", that is, come up with a foolish conspiracy theory. The latest was saying John Lackey had nothing wrong with his elbow even though the Red Sox put a provision in his contract in case of Tommy John surgery. The Red Sox believed it was not a matter of if but when Lackey would need surgery. Even though the nighttime is not a major ad revenue time for radio, you still need to be competitive and if D.A. is not then he will be let go.

    • Big Fat O

      Doing a radio show solo is very hard these days. I can't listen to DA because of his monotone voice. I don't expect him to yell and scream but adding a co-host would do his show good and I might listen them.

      The station has plenty of Felger wannabe's like Bertran and Johnson who would like a full time gig so it may make the show a bit more listenable.

      Even though Sarandis was a kook and could hold his own solo his show was much better when he had a co-host like Lenny Megs just to add a different perspective.

  • mandb97

    It is amazing how much better the Dan Patrick show is compared to any of the Boston Sports radio shows.

  • Doc Michaels

    Agree with most your analysis mandb but for me Mutt & Lou is only listenable when Merloni is there. Mutantsky by himself is still absolutely horrid, as he was today with Troy Brown talking football. It's like he's the "Carmine" of young demographic-driven talk show hosts…blah blah blah with nothing insightful to say, all cliches.

    As far as the rest, I think EEI's turn back towards respectability is two fold: first the FM, second the fact that 98.5 is grating on listeners. There's only going to be so long most listeners can take Felger and his lap dog rain all over every team's parade in this town. Just imagine when the teams actually ARE bad, it'll be like the boys who cried wolf. Wiggins is an embarrassment on the air, second only to Mazz who ought to know better but does nothing but agree with Felger all day….in fact there are times Felger seems more balanced than his co-host!

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