October 30, 2007
Bob Kravitz
It's becoming easier to hate the Pats more every week
This news flash comes to us from Foxborough, Mass:
The undefeated and unchallenged New England Patriots added 12 more touchdowns and a two-point conversion, taking advantage of the fact the Washington Redskins had departed on their charter, nudging out a closer-than-it-looked 136-7 victory.
When asked later about the accusations of piling on, Patriots head coach and team videographer Bill Belichick said, "No lead is safe in this league. What do you want me to do? Kick a field goal?"
By now, it should be quite apparent the Patriots have chosen to make a statement this regular season. And that statement is this:
Bite me.
Well, bite us.
That's why it's incumbent upon the Indianapolis Colts -- those Beacons of Purity in heavenly conflict with the Forces of Pure Evil -- to not only beat the favored Patriots, but humble them, humiliate them and take their camcorder from them.
What? You don't think Jets coach Eric Mangini and every other right-thinking NFL employee and fan isn't rooting for the demise of the Belichickeans? Believe me, the Colts will have a lot more fans beyond the 57,000-plus loonies who will populate the RCA Dome on Sunday.
The Patriots, the least lovable former champs since Sonny Liston, have positioned themselves as the New Age Oakland Raiders. The difference being that the Raiders were dirty on the field, and the Patriots are dirty off it.
Sure, I hear the New England fans now: "OK, Belichick got caught red-handed in the videotaping scandal. But we've heard that Colts coach Tony Dungy once failed to rewind his 'Sound of Music' tape from Blockbuster.''
No sale.
There's so much to admire and respect about the Patriots, who, like the Colts, have sustained excellence during a salary-cap era designed to promote parity. And yet Belichick, who needs to cheat as much as Peyton Manning needs TV exposure, not only cheats, but shows absolutely no contrition about having cheated.
A misinterpretation of the rule? I'd hate to see what he does with the Ten Commandments.
The Patriots, in effect, have rallied around the fact that their now-beloved coach was caught engaging in devious practices. It's as if they've decided to show the world, "Look, we won all those Super Bowls because we were better than the other team."
It's not exactly "Win one for the Gipper," is it?
Now, if you're wondering if the Colts are concerned about dirty tricks, Dungy said Monday his team would take the usual precautions regarding industrial espionage. That probably shoots down the rumor that team president Bill Polian has hired Oliver North and G. Gordon Liddy for the week.
"You take precautions all the time, not just for them (the Patriots) but everybody you play," Dungy said. "I've never thought we lost a game to them because they were videotaping something."
Faking an injury, yes. Videotaping, no.
In the last three weeks, New England has scored 48, 49 and 52 points, inspiring inquiring minds to wonder, "Did the Patriots pile on?"
And every week, the obvious answer is, "Duh."
Even the New England media -- a group notorious for its pompom waving -- saw fit to grill the Dear Leader the past two days.
"A number of the Redskins players were upset yesterday at what they thought was piling on," a reporter said Monday.
Belichick: "I don't know exactly what you're referring to there, but we're just going to . . . "
Reporter: "Well, (Washington's) Randall Godfrey . . . "
Belichick. "Well, Randall is entitled to his opinion. You can talk to him about that. I'm sure he'll give it to you."
Reporter: "I was just wondering how you feel when you look back on it. Is there anything you would have done differently?"
Belichick: "Again, I don't know what you're referring to.''
When Dungy was asked about the issue of piling on, he took the high road, which really gets annoying after a while. In fairness, it should be noted that quarterback Peyton Manning is often still in late in one-sided games. That said, he's almost always handing off.
"In the NFL, you don't try to coach other people's teams," Dungy said. "How they play, that's up to them. I've never been offended by whatever anybody else does because you don't know what they're trying to work on."
That's plausible.
What coach doesn't want to see how Tom Brady will handle crucial fourth-down situations late in a game that's 38-0?
Yeah, this is going to be fun. As much as these teams say they respect each other, let's understand, they despise each other, especially at the top of the organizational chart. The Colts think Willie McGinest faked an injury. The Patriots think the Colts pressured the league's competition committee to change certain rules interpretations. The Colts think the Patriots let their home field turn to frozen mud. The Patriots think the Colts turned up the heat at the Dome during last year's title game.
This isn't a football game.
It's a morality play.
With beer.
Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or e-mail bob.kravitz@indystar.com.
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