Crybabies

This looks like it's going to be fun.

Not that all teams can be beaten by a little co-channel interference and a shift on the defensive line.

Some pigskin pundits and bobbleheads have argued the outcome in Steelers v. Patriots had more to do with the fact the Pittsburgh defensive game plan failed to account for Rob Gronkowski (perhaps they only studied preseason film). Or perhaps the Steelers' coaches were hoping to shock and confuse Tom Brady, he would think it was a trap, he would be left speechless and the end result would be a delay of game penalty or maybe they were afraid of the psychological damage that might be done to any of their players (fragile egos may have been involved) if they'd been asked to cover Gronk.

I love small data samples: Rob Gronkowski is on pace for 48 TD receptions which I'm pretty sure would be a record. Brady is on pace for 64 TD passes. Again, I think that would be a record. Julian Edelman is on pace to (wait, I'm going to need a calculator for this one) catch 176 passes. I checked. That would be a record, too.

 

Is there anyone outside of Asgard who can cover Gronk? If you double (or triple) Gronkowski it's going to leave other options open, of course, but if you were the opposing team's defensive coordinator, wouldn't you consider it? Given the way Josh McDaniels moved Gronk all over the field, it's not going to be easy.

But I digress.

This is about crybabies. Those people who always have an excuse for their failures. It was the nefarious plot of some presumed villain, twirling his mustache while he warms the visiting team's Gatorade well above room temperature. Or maybe it was, as Dylan put it, a simple twist of fate. It's always someone else. They broke an unwritten rule. They pulled a Popsicle stick from their tights and jammed it in my eye while the referee was distracted. Not fair! It's never that you got outcoached and outplayed. (Oh, wait. That's what Bill Belichick says when the Patriots lose. So, never minus 1.) Quick show of hands. If Mike Tomlin's headset had been working for the entire game, who thinks he would've outcoached Bill Belichick?

Anyone?

Okay, probably an unfair question right after the "Let's not cover Rob Gronkowski" strategy failed so miserably. Still. Outside the box? Check. Element of surprise? Check. (I'm giving the check mark here even though Brady wasn't so much surprised as delighted.) Its clear Mike Tomlin isn't afraid to innovate, even if that innovation is so far outside the box it's actually in another box marked "Danger! Seriously Crazy Shit Inside! Do Not Open! How Did You Get Here, Anyway?"

I'm pretty sure the last guy to open that box was Pete Carroll.

It's funny what happens when Bill Belichick is in your head.