Beli-Check Yourself!- 10/29/07
by Stevo

      Bill Belichick is a man with a mission.  That mission (from
what I can tell) is to be hailed as the greatest NFL coach ever.  
Why else would he commit the taboo of running up the score?  
That's right, I say the Patriots are running up the score, and
quite shamelessly I might add.  But therein lies a problem:  In
professional sports, and in today's salary-cap-controlled NFL
especially, the morality of running up the score should be a
moot issue because, well, it just plain shouldn't happen.  There
should rarely be such a disparity between two teams that
running up the score even enters the equation.  
     Some would say almost never can a team run up the score
because NFL teams are on such equal footing.  Or does it just
seem that way because coaches always chose not to?  How
many times could Peyton have put +50 points on the board as
the Pats did Sunday against the Redskins?  Probably many
times, including the victory over New Orleans to kick off this
season.  But like any dignified coach, Tony Dungy lets up on
the gas after he secures a win.  As we can see now, Bill
Belichick and Tom Brady have entered the stratosphere where
simply winning isn't enough.  They need to prove that they are
far far far better than any other team in the league.  Of course,
anyone who knows a pylon from a pompom already
understands this, but what about the people who don't know
football?  What about your average drama geek who flips
open the newspaper and lands on football scores?  If the
Patriots don't run up the score, then how will he know they're
the best team?  Belichick has obviously pondered this
scenario.  He wants everyone to think, nay, KNOW that he is
the all-time Greatest, and what better way than to humiliate a
coach already in the Hall of Fame?
      The meeting of Belichick vs. Gibbs this week was quite
historic: two head coaches with 3 rings apiece.  By my count,
that does not happen very often, and the opportunity to make a
statement was not lost on Belichick.  For the record, I maintain
that Gibbs is the better coach, on the basis that he won
Superbowls with a rotating cast.  He didn't need a Tom Brady
or Peyton Manning to win the big game.  He had a winning
formula, implemented it year after year with different players
and got the same results: 3 different quarterbacks, 3 different
running backs, 3 Superbowl rings.  That's a more impressive
feat than what any NFL head coach has done in my opinion.  
Where would Belichick be if he hadn't won the Tom Brady
lottery?  Probably in the gutter as a bum, he's already dressed
for the part.  But I digress.  
      As we see, the Patriots are making a habit of
embarrassing teams.  Running up the score on Joe Gibbs had
some implications involved that beating, say, Wade Phillips
(who?) did not.  If anyone should be exempt from these weekly
humiliations at the hands of the Patriots, it's Joe Gibbs.  The
definition of class and success in the National Football
League, Gibbs is a relic from a bygone era who, in a sense, is
merely doing the Redskins a big favor in gracing them with his
return.  I'm sure head coaches around the league look forward
to the Redskins on their schedule only for the opportunity to
shake hands with Joe Gibbs, a living legend.  Bill Belichick on
the other hand, looked forward to that handshake for a different
reason.  Maybe he thought of the moment, and how sweet it
would be to beat Joe Gibbs as no one ever has.  Well he did
just that, but his message of "I'm the Greatest Coach of All
Time" was drowned out by the other message he inadvertently
sent to us all, the one that went something like "I'm so
shameless I'll go out of my way to embarrass not only a legend,
but a class act who would never dream of doing the same to
me".  Joe Gibbs loves the game.  Bill Belichick loves to put
motherfuckers in their place.  Is that wrong? Ah how the debate
goes on...
   So we come to the final dilemma: Is running up the score
even an offense at all?  If your team is that badly outmatched,
aren't you just asking for it?  Oh, maybe my favorite justification
is "there's no rule against it!".  Well that is exactly the point.  
There are only rules against things that have consequences,
and running up the score has zero consequence.  That is why
it's never done, it is utterly pointless.  Frankly, what the Patriots
are doing is one of the most self-serving, ego-boosting stunts I
have ever seen pulled by a professional coach.  Belichick
might as well pull his pants down, cockslap the opposing
coach, and scream "KISS THA RIIINGS BIAAAAATCH!",
because he clearly wants to.  He did everything BUT on
Sunday afternoon.  In the long-term, that game will be a very
small blemish on the Hall of Fame career Gibbs has put
together.  For Belichick, it will be another in a long string of
lopsided victories.  If he does in fact win his 4th ring, Belichick
may indeed get the "Best Coach Ever" title he covets.  What
he may not realize (or maybe he does realize it and doesn't
care) is that he is accumulating another reputation this season.
 In doing his utmost to destroy the dignity of his opponents, he
is harming his own.  What he fails to understand is that this is
an entirely different issue than winning a football game.  This is
about respecting your colleagues.  Do one, then the other.  
Win the game, then respect your opponent.  Somewhere
between winning three Superbowls and acquiring a plethora of
play-makers this off-season, Belichick must have deemed the
second part optional.




Redskins Notes (Opinions):

Jason Campbell:  I think I speak for everyone when I say I am
more than willing to stick it out with this kid for quite a while.

Ladell Betts:  ...strikes me as the type of runner who needs to
develop a rhythm before we'll see positive production.  He's
been given the ball sporadically at best.  Give him the bulk of
the load in a game, we may see a return to last year's form.

Sean Taylor:  Finally having that breakout season we've been
dreaming of since we drafted him.

London-Fletcher: The only player who can beat out Taylor as
the defensive MVP (but credit is due all around the D)

Santana Moss:  Deep to Moss, deep to Moss, deep to Moss.  
One of the best deep-threats in the league is being sadly
un-utilized.  If he's injured, then that's another story.

O-Line:  Honestly, doing OK considering they're the equivalent
of a truck held together with duct tape.

Clinton Portis:  I'm not sure what to think.  Maybe it's because
of the O-Line, but Portis is having a sorry year.

Keenan Mcardell: A good pick-up.  Exactly the kind of WR that
we need.

Laron Landry/Andre Carter: Please see my "Christmas in
April" article for confirmation that I can see the future.  Ditto for
Sean Taylor's play as well.
Hurricane Stevo
The Staff
Zak