Patriot shame

Yesterday's 52-7 destruction of the Washington Redskins showed the entire footballing world once again that the New England Patriots will be the team to beat in 2007. They also solidified their spot as perennial Super Bowl favorite. They are playing the best they ever have under Bill Belicheck and are playing perhaps the most dominating brand of football we've seen in the NFL in the last 10 years. So why is it that while today we should be talking about Tom Brady throwing for another 300 yards and 3 Touchdowns (not to mention 2 rushing scores) we are instead talking about the Patriots running up the score yet again?

Make no mistake about it; the New England Patriots deserve all the credit in the world for what they are doing. No team has gotten off to such a dominant start in NFL history. They appear to have no weaknesses and the gambles they took on Randy Moss and Donte' Stallworth appear to have paid off. The problem is not in how they achieve their dominance but rather in the fact that they don't seem to know when enough is enough.

The questions are these...Did the New England Patriots need to score 52 points on Sunday? Did they need to win by 45 points? Did Tom Brady need to play in the fourth quarter? Did the Patriots need to go for a fourth and one when they were already 40 plus points ahead? Perhaps it's best to look at each question individually.

Did the Patriots need to score 52 points on Sunday? Why not. There are certainly no rules against scoring points in the NFL. They are certainly not the first team to score that many points, nor will they be the last. The fact is that the Patriots have a dominant enough team that they could put up that many points on a weekly basis. Maybe they will. Randy Moss seems unstoppable and Tom Brady is looking more and more like Joe Montana every day. The scary thing is that Laurence Maroney has missed much of the season with a groin injury and the Patriots have still been this dominant. Just imagine what they will be able to do when he is healthy.

Did they need to win by 45 points? No. Well that is to say that it doesn't make the 1 in the win column any bigger. The fact is this, if the Patriots would have one by 5 or 45 the result remains the same, a win. In this league all that matters is getting the W at the end of the day. While my time playing pickup football has taught me that scoring touchdowns can be fun I have also learned that you never want to upset your opponents too much. They may never play with you again. Or in NFL terms, teams may begin to let their frustrations boil over. The last thing the Patriots would want is to upset a team so much that they begin to resort to violent play as a retaliation. While the Patriots certainly have the muscle to play that game, it isn't worth risking the health of your stars to embarras the competition.

had something to do with that as well). Perhaps the Patriots need to implement a new half-time rule. If they are up by three or more touchdowns take Brady out and run the damn ball! You may not have to worry about Matt Did Tom Brady need to play in the fourth quarter? Certainly not! This to me is the big problem with the new Patriot way. Tom Brady is statistically at least, the best quarterback in the National Football League this year. He is also undoubtedly the league's MVP through 8 games. Why the Patriots would even risk Brady going down with an injury is beyond me. They know first hand that Matt Cassell is not going to take them to Arizona in February, I dare say if they trust him to pick up the teams dry cleaning at this point. In the limited action he has seen Cassell has been a sub par performer(one interception and a 19.7 passer rating) and has shown why he was never able to solidify a starting spot at USC (of course maybe Palmer and LeinartCassell if Maroney can get you 100 second half yards, it's not like he doesn't have the talent to do it.

Did the Patriots need to go for a fourth and one when they were already 40 plus points ahead? Just look at the answer above. Again, my problem is not that they went for it, in so much that they executed a quarterback sneak with Tom Brady. Are you insane? GET HIM OFF THE FIELD!! While I still think that kicking the field goal was probably the best option, going for it on a quarterback sneak was just plain stupid.

Ultimately the Patriots are setting themselves up for two things. One is a Superbowl run, and the other is a big disappointment. Being this dominant and doing it in the way that the Patriots are doing it is a very dangerous thing. Being the hunted is never an easy task. The Patriots are not just on the radar of the Colts, but on the radar of every NFL team. The Patriots will be in tough the rest of the way and teams will begin to show less and less respect to the Patriots as they continue to show less and less respect for their opponents and the entire NFL. The Patriots are a dominant team, perhaps the most dominant team in NFL history. Unfortunately, they may be the most hated team too...but something tells me that Bill and his boys don't care too much about the latter.