Scott Cordischi On Sports: Stop The Madness Pats Fans!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
If I hear one more person question or criticize the benching of Wes Welker to start Sunday’s game against the Jets, my head is going to explode!
What’s the problem? Bill Belichick has rules by which his players must abide. When there is a violation of those rules, there are consequences.
Unlike Rex Ryan, Belichick prefers that his players NOT criticize the opposition or engage in a war of words. And while Welker’s not so subtle foot references were more humorous than they were mean-spirited, they still crossed a line that the Patriots head coach prefers his players not cross. Thus, the punishment to bench Welker for the first offensive series of the game.
Some have questioned Belichick’s ego by making such a move. Others have said that if they were Welker, that they would have been furious. And some have questioned why Welker was allowed to return a punt BEFORE being benched for the first offensive series for the Patriots.
The bottom line is that Welker’s benching had absolutely no impact on the outcome of the game. None, zilch, zero! Was Welker pissed off by the benching? Maybe so. But I’m sure he understands why his head coach did it and he’ll get over it if he already hasn’t.
So let’s stop making a mountain out of a mole hill. Let’s focus on the reasons why the Patriots lost to the Jets and why they have lost their last 3 playoff games. That’s what really matters.
-Like it or not Pats fans, our team has become the Indianapolis Colts and the San Diego Chargers all rolled up into one – dominant in the regular season but not in the playoffs.
-If someone told you that 4 of the 8 quarterbacks would have a QB rating of over 100 in the Divisional Playoff games and Tom Brady wouldn’t be 1 of the 4 would you have taken that bet?
-Think what you want about Rex Ryan but the man has led the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship games in his first two years as head coach which is pretty damn good.
-And he’s 4-1 in the postseason with all of those playoff games being played on the road.
-We keep hearing that the Patriots aren’t the most talented team which is one of the main reasons the Jets beat them on Sunday. How, then, were they able to finish with an NFL-best (14-2) record this season?
-More than anything, Tom Brady’s lack of emotion bothered me in Sunday’s loss to the Jets. Whether he’s winning or losing, playing well or playing poorly, Brady needs to show lots of emotion, passion and fire during games and he inexplicably decided to leave that part of his game at home last weekend.
-There is no question that we have become spoiled by the Patriots success of last decade which is why we are disappointed by anything less than a fourth Super Bowl title. What we need to realize is that winning a championship is an extremely difficult thing to do.
-Tom Brady said that the Jets used their dime package (6 defensive backs) most of the day trying to clog the middle of the field with 4 of them and having Revis and Cromartie take away the outside portion of the field.
-Which is why the Patriots tried to run the ball often.
-Still, this Patriots offense was built to throw the football which is why they should have tried to implement the no-huddle at some point in the game.
-Like the Colts with Peyton Manning, we here in New England have to wonder how much longer the window of opportunity to win it all with Tom Brady will remain open.
-Part of me wants to see the Steelers win on Sunday to zip the lips of the loud mouth Jets.
-Another part of me would like to see the Jets win the AFC Championship because it would make the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl a hell of a lot more interesting.
-Okay, I think I just threw up in my mouth! What self-respecting Patriots fan could root for either team in Sunday’s game?
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