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

[Jay Riall]

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Why do 31 other teams in the NFL run the clock down when they have a massive 5 TD lead sewn up?

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The other 31 teams don't have a chance to go down in history as possibly the greatest and most dominating team in the history of football...

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Yea but there have been teams in the past who have had chances to go down as the best team in history, and they didn't do what the Patriots are doing.

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lol I edited to asnwer your reply before I had even see it.

Also: complaining about running up the score on someone is one of the most un-American things I have ever heard (and I hear un-American things all the time living in Europe).

[prohornblower]

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I think that if a player actually did make a dirty hit on Brady that knocked him out for the rest of the season and possibly even his career, the backlash against him and his team would swamp the current antipathy directed toward the Pats right now - especially if it came out that a coach directly ordered for the hit. Run up the score or not, there is no place in sports for dirty hits that could result in serious injury. None, whatsoever. Anyone who says a serious hit designed to inflict debilitating injury on Brady or anyone else on the team is justified totally lacks perspective on the situation. This sort of unsportsmanlike conduct simply dwarfs anything the Pats are doing on or off the field.


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Not that I disagree, but you are asking 6'2" 250 pound linebackers to be "reasonable" on national television while they're being embarassed 42-0. Adults this large, playing an activity in which controlled strength is to be harnessed, might "snap" now and then and take out Brady's knee.

Belechick should be expected to maintain rationality while being calm, cool, and collected on the sideline of a game in which his team is up 42-0. Belechick should realize this, if he were smart, and proactively try to keep his team from running up the score. (Whether they are trying to or not).

He should look out for the physical interest of his players a little more than he's done to-date.

Stop with the fake-spike TD passes. If you are up by 4 TD's in the 4th, put Cassell in and run the ball more. Get backup guys some work and keep your superstars off the field. Run the clock out. Huddle up after each run and just waste time. It's not that complicated, really.

But to determine that a 250 pound beast flipping out and ending Brady's career would be "unreasonable" of him, well, I think that is too much to expect at this point.

I'm not saying it's right.

[Vagos]

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Really? You admit Brady didn't need to be in last week. If he had gotten hurt, you wouldn't question his being in the game in the least? I don't get that. According to you, Brady shouldn't have been in the game. He went in, got hurt, and the person that decided to play him is blameless? I don't get it.

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I really don't get this either. When Belichick was caught foolishly cheating against the Jets, a lot of Pats fans I know were initially like "Ughhh, what a dumb decision by Belichick". But now somehow, they are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with Belichick on his every decision, no matter what the consequences. Baffling.

[Vagos]

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And to people saying 'They will be considered the same if they grinded out a bunch of 14-10 wins rather than running up the score' - you are wrong. What is wrong in wanting glory and a disgustingly good legacy? I am sure as hell enjoying watching them do just this.

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There's nothing wrong with wanting to leave a great legacy. It's obviously too soon to tell, but I'm not sure getting caught cheating and then using that as a catalyst to blow your opponents out of the sky when the game is well over is going to be conducive to a great legacy. But I could be wrong, time will tell.

[RunDownHouse]

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Not that I disagree, but you are asking 6'2" 250 pound linebackers to be "reasonable" on national television while they're being embarassed 42-0. Adults this large, playing an activity in which controlled strength is to be harnessed, might "snap" now and then and take out Brady's knee.


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Come on. No NFL pro has ever decided to stomp on someone's unprotected head during play. Nobody has ever taken a swing, or spit on anyone, just because they lost their cool. These guys are pros. They can meekly accept being slapped in the face by Bill Belicheck's dick without exercising any poor judgment in the face of an adrenaline-packed moment. They must love it, because otherwise they'd simply stop the Pats offense in a legal manner, right?

Now, when does Albert Haynesworth face Brady?

[Jay Riall]

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And to people saying 'They will be considered the same if they grinded out a bunch of 14-10 wins rather than running up the score' - you are wrong. What is wrong in wanting glory and a disgustingly good legacy? I am sure as hell enjoying watching them do just this.

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There's nothing wrong with wanting to leave a great legacy. It's obviously too soon to tell, but I'm not sure getting caught cheating and then using that as a catalyst to blow your opponents out of the sky when the game is well over is going to be conducive to a great legacy. But I could be wrong, time will tell.

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'Hey, I hate the Patriots so whenever I get into an argument about them I'm going to bring up the spy-gate issue! That'll prove my points!!!'

[Vagos]

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And to people saying 'They will be considered the same if they grinded out a bunch of 14-10 wins rather than running up the score' - you are wrong. What is wrong in wanting glory and a disgustingly good legacy? I am sure as hell enjoying watching them do just this.

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There's nothing wrong with wanting to leave a great legacy. It's obviously too soon to tell, but I'm not sure getting caught cheating and then using that as a catalyst to blow your opponents out of the sky when the game is well over is going to be conducive to a great legacy. But I could be wrong, time will tell.

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'Hey, I hate the Patriots so whenever I get into an argument about them I'm going to bring up the spy-gate issue! That'll prove my points!!!'

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If you think this whole deal with the Pats purposefully blowing teams away (after the game is well within hand) isn't related to spy-gate, you're being naive.

[mvoss]

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What is up with this whole "stop playing" canard? No one is saying they should stop playing. Why do 31 other teams in the NFL run the clock down when they have a massive 5 TD lead sewn up? How is trying to expire the game clock with a huge lead considered "not playing"?

I at least have respect for the Pats fans who admit that this is Belichick saying "F U NFL" and trying to make a statement. Everyone who tries to rationalize it with "you never stop playing in sports" and "no lead is safe" is just being obtuse.

And if you don't know any other sport where running up the score is frowned upon, see what happens in an MLB game if someone starts stealing bases late in the game with a 10 run lead. And basically, with a 38-0 lead in the 4th quarter, getting back in the shotgun and bombing downfield is the NFL equivalent of stealing bases up 12-0.

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First of all I'm in no way a Pats fan, I hope they lose every game they play.

Second of all, I'm European and don't consider baseball a sport, but rather a stupid waste of time.

I really do not care why the Pats are "running up the score" they have every right to keep executing whatever plays they want and if the other teams can't stop them that's their own fault, suck it up.

[mvoss]

Oh and btw this whole issue is as retarded as the fuss last season when Jon Gruden elected to kick a FG to avoid a shutout (I hope I recall correctly).

[prohornblower]

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Oh and btw this whole issue is as retarded as the fuss last season when Jon Gruden elected to kick a FG to avoid a shutout (I hope I recall correctly).

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Well, if he's playing FF, and his FF opponent has the other teams D, or if he has his own kicker, then this is perfectly reasonable. There is an exemption for atypical play-calling as a means to facilitate your FF win.