I was asked in a recent post to defend Belichick’s diva tantrum at the end of the Superbowl. I can’t. All I can say is I think Bill was outcoached bigtime and he knew it and he wanted off that field as fast as possible.
Because, let’s face it, this Pats loss was a breakdown in coaching. You have two weeks to practice, and you know two things for sure: One, the Giants are going to try to take Randy Moss off the board, and two, they are going to be rushing and blitzing Brady like crazy.
Knowing that, the offensive line should have been ready for the blitz packages. And they weren’t. Guys were coming straight up the middle at Brady. He had no time whatsoever. And while you can blame it on the offensive line, true, that offensive line has held before and it should have been at least ready for that pressure in some SMALL way. Blocks were just totally missed. And a lot of that comes from coaching.
Again, I think Belichick knew he had simply been outcoached and he wanted off that damn field as fast as possible.
As for no shots of the Pats crying or anything — I think, more than anything else, the Pats were stunned. Even though they came out flat (and there’s no debating that). Stunned rather than depressed, I think. Although I’m sure they’re also depressed. But I do give them credit for all of them freely admitting they were outplayed (and outcoached) in that Superbowl.
Ah well, there’s next year, and for those who be hatin’, remember, New England lost a #1 draft pick over Spygate — so it’s not like they’ve gone unpunished. And none of you have to worry about asterisks next to their perfect season, because — they lost.
I also happen to agree that the “greatest team ever” stuff was WAY over the top.
There, there, happy now? 🙂
And I thank you, GC, for not rubbing the loss in, especially given what I assume is a great affinity for the Giants (do you really like Coughlin, though?). You know the Perfect Season is the Holy Grail of football, and I thought I might get a chance to see it — and that’s a chance that literally comes around once in a lifetime.
I’m getting over it, though…and God, what an awful game the Patriots played. Awful. Although New York played a great game, I’m not taking anything away from that. Especially up front, blocking for Eli, which is where it really counted.