<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Why Bill Belichick is a Pigskin Genius
We know something about post-game handshakes here in New England.
After the Dallas game, I noted that Tom Brady – who ran straight to the locker room following the Jets game – sought out and shook Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s hand following the game. Ryan, of course, is an essential supporting player in the complex Belichick-Ryan saga, twin of Rex and former assistant to Belichick. The Brady-Ryan handshake seemed like the simple gesture of respect, trust and equality it’s intended to be. We do it all the time in real life. We know it when we see it. That wasn’t the gesture we saw when Jim Harbaugh shook Jim Schwartz’s hand. That handshake seemed not so much about respect to me.
Apparently quite sensitive to breaches of etiquette, Jim Schwartz chased after the ill-mannered Harbaugh like a dog nipping at the hubcaps of a strange car driving through the neighborhood. Schwartz probably could’ve handled that better. (I suppose that goes without saying.) Harbaugh, of course, has his own history of not playing well with others. It was a perfect storm of obsessive, overachieving Type A douchebags lacking basic social skills colliding on an emotionally charged, nationally broadcast stage.
That’s good TV.
Best moment? Jim Schwartz’s feigned offense at bad language on a football field, saying he “didn’t expect an obscenity at that point.”
An obscenity? On the football field? I feel faint!
I can only hope these teams meet in the playoffs.
Oh, and by the way, thanks for ruining the best Thanksgiving Day game ever, Jim Harbaugh! I guess I'll have to settle for 10-0-0 vs. 9-1-0.
Dick.
Dick.
Halloween is coming up…
So, for the next Lions game, we’d like to see Jim Schwartz wheeled out on a two-wheel cart, Hannibal Lecter-style, straight jacket, and full restraints including that weird hockey demi-mask.
It dawned on me this weekend. Aaron Rodgers is Jesus. Hairy, dark complexion, strong facial features and same piercing blue eyes in every single picture of Jesus I saw when I was a kid. It explains a lot.
A.J. Hawk doesn’t seem quite so jesusy as Rodgers, despite the haircut. He is also apparently unfamiliar with how TV works.
Perspective…
The Patriots have the worst defense in the NFL when ranked by yards allowed. When it comes to points allowed, the Patriots defense ranks 13th at 22.5. In their last three games they have given up less than their season average, with a season-best 16 points allowed against the Top 10 offense of the Dallas Cowboys. I think they’re getting better. I think Jerod Mayo is coming back after the bye. I think the defense is going to be okay.
That’s a good thing. Like it or not (I have several friends who do not) the Patriots are a fast-break team. They want to score early and often. And late, too, for that matter. If you score 34 points you only need to hold the opponent to 33.
I like it when the math is simple like that.
I like it when the Patriots win like that. I like the way they won last Sunday, too. It promises much.
Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones questioned Dallas Head Coach Jason Garrett’s conservative play-calling at the end of the game, electing to run the ball three consecutive times (including a false start) when they were leading 16-13 and had a chance to end the game with the W. Let’s note that two weeks ago, the Patriots ran the ball to seal their win against the Jets. The Jets knew the Patriots were running and they ran it anyway. They ran it all the way down the field to a clinching field goal. The Cowboys, on the other hand, were stoned by the New England defense three and out. The Patriots were able to use their timeouts effectively because they stuffed the run on consecutive plays before the false start put the Cowboys in third and long.
The stop.
Brady with 2:30 to go.
Bank.
This was an ugly game. Plenty of penalties. Turnovers. You see those things as the intensity level rises in NFL games. The Cowboys were coming off the bye week sporting a disappointing 2-2-0 record. They got healthy on their bye week and had all their weapons on offense. Must win? No, not really. But a game the Cowboys needed. Pigskin Pundits and Bobbleheads agreed the Cowboys would hang with the Patriots on offense and smack them in the mouth on defense.
And they did. The Patriots stood toe-to-toe with the Cowboys and traded body blows from the opening drive to the final gun. This was not a finesse game. For 57½ minutes Brady did not play well but unlike other games where Brady has not had a good game, this time the Patriots won.
That’s why this win feels so good.
This was vintage Brady. Let’s not get used to this. Let’s roll around in it like a golden retriever rolling around on a dead carp. Let’s not care why. Let’s just give ourselves up to it.
Very few sporting events end like a movie. (Sorry, Cowboys. You get to play the villain in this one. Chill. You’ll be played by Clive Owen.) Brady and the Patriots had self-destructed all game long and yet – just like a movie – they were still inexplicably within a single score of winning the game. There was enough time to win – just like a movie – but only just. It’s clear that it’s win now or go home losers. (Okay, the Pats could’ve scored a game-tying FG and gone to overtime, but I like my movies to win in regulation.) Brady then accounts for all 80 yards on Patriots final drive (78 yards passing and 2 yards rushing on a QB sneak), checking down from Gronkowski to Hernandez on the game-winning TD pass.
Point to Giselle in the owner’s box!
Roll credits!
Okay, he didn’t point at Giselle but that will definitely be in the movie. There will be lots of Giselle in the movie. And no, it will not end like “The Deer Hunter.”
All things being equal, I’d much rather watch the Patriots protect a 14-point fourth quarter lead than win a game in the last two minutes but it is good knowing they can do it when they need it.
I love this planet…
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