Should the Pats be running up the score on everybody in garbage time?

[Semtex]

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yeah and if brady breaks his hand on a QB sneak going for it on 4th down in the 4th quarter with a monster lead against some crappy team, belichick will become legendary for making one of the greatest coaching blunders of all time.

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As Nochance said...risk v reward. The odds Brady is going to do that in a meaningless possession as opposed to any other possession is miniscule enough that they're going to play football for 3.5 quarters regardless of what the score is.

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this is exactly the point i argued at the beginning. chance of injury while running up the score > chance of injury on any random play. these aren't chivalrous gentlemen playing professional football, they are fierce competitors, some with incredibly ghetto roots. the odds just say sooner or later one of these guys is going to let his ghetto side take over and do something stupid.

[gusmahler]

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chance of star player getting injured >>> chance of team coming back from one of those 30 point leads against the patriots

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I'm sure the 1992 Oilers thought the same thing (or, for a more recent example, the 2007 Titans).

[gusmahler]

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If the largest comeback in NFL history is from 32 down,

[/ QUOTE ]What was the largest comeback in NFL history before the 1992/93 playoffs? Hint, it was less than 32. So, with a 32 point lead, the Oilers probably should have taken it easy, right?

My point is that records are made to be broken. While the largest comeback now is 32 points, who's to say it won't be 35 points if the Pats take it easy?

Plus, from one perspective, isn't it MORE insulting to put in your scrubs. You're basically saying, "my team is so good, you can't even beat my second stringers."

[kyro]

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the odds just say sooner or later one of these guys is going to let his ghetto side take over and do something stupid.

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The odds say this? Seriously?

What do you think the odds are that in the next possession Brady is playing QB with a more-than-comfortable lead, he suffers a season-ending injury?

[Semtex]

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chance of star player getting injured >>> chance of team coming back from one of those 30 point leads against the patriots

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I'm sure the 1992 Oilers thought the same thing (or, for a more recent example, the 2007 Titans).

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thank you for proving my point. i see you came up with only two instances of this happening. i'm not going to bother listing all the times a star player has been injured in a game.

[kyro]

OK, can we end the "Belicheck is just being cautious" argument, because everyone knows that's not the issue.

[Semtex]

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the odds just say sooner or later one of these guys is going to let his ghetto side take over and do something stupid.

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The odds say this? Seriously?

What do you think the odds are that in the next possession Brady is playing QB with a more-than-comfortable lead, he suffers a season-ending injury?

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quit being a nit, i was using it as a figure of speech.

[kyro]

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the odds just say sooner or later one of these guys is going to let his ghetto side take over and do something stupid.

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The odds say this? Seriously?

What do you think the odds are that in the next possession Brady is playing QB with a more-than-comfortable lead, he suffers a season-ending injury?

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quit being a nit, i was using it as a figure of speech.

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Way to avoid my question, which is very legitimate.

[Semtex]

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the odds just say sooner or later one of these guys is going to let his ghetto side take over and do something stupid.

[/ QUOTE ]

The odds say this? Seriously?

What do you think the odds are that in the next possession Brady is playing QB with a more-than-comfortable lead, he suffers a season-ending injury?

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quit being a nit, i was using it as a figure of speech.

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Way to avoid my question, which is very legitimate.

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i have no idea, but i guarantee its more than the odds that buffalo, miami or the redskins were making a comeback in their games.

[West]

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What was the largest comeback in NFL history before the 1992/93 playoffs? Hint, it was less than 32. So, with a 32 point lead, the Oilers probably should have taken it easy, right?

My point is that records are made to be broken. While the largest comeback now is 32 points, who's to say it won't be 35 points if the Pats take it easy?

Plus, from one perspective, isn't it MORE insulting to put in your scrubs. You're basically saying, "my team is so good, you can't even beat my second stringers."

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I understand this point, but my point is that even taking into account the fact that it's possible to break the existing records, the situation in this case was still insurmountable. They had a lead 13 points larger than the largest 4th quarter comeback in the history of the NFL. They're not on the road, they're at home. They're a smart, unbeaten team with a bunch of players who've won multiple super bowls, and an excellent defense. Washington was not coming back.

Putting in bench players is saying "this game is over, I don't want to see my starters getting hurt". Nothing insulting about that when it's 38-0 in the 4th.

I will give you guys this, I can buy the argument that, at least in the pros, the talent differential is close enough that anything less than starters staying in in an epic blowout should not be considered 'running up the score'. But I think it's fair to say that how Belicik handled things in the Redskins game is not how most coaches would have handled it, and I think he should be a little more forthcoming when the media asks him about it. Especially since there's a perception right now, right or wrong, with the "eff you" TDs and all that, that they are thumbing their nose at everyone.