Before the Patriots went for it on fourth-and-less-than-2-yards, NBC's Cris Collinsworth said he was "absolutely stunned ... (but) I should never be stunned by Bill Belichick."
Only after the Patriots came up inches short, giving the ball to Peyton Manning's Colts with 2 minutes left inside the New England 30, and only after Manning won the game by throwing a TD pass to Reggie Wayne with 13 seconds left, did Collinsworth call Belichick's decision "outrageous."
I'm a Collinsworth fan, but this was a classic second-guess in what should have been a classic first-guess situation.
In this respect, Collinsworth was no better than the doorman at my apartment building. When I arrived home after covering the Blackhawks game for AP, John The Doorman confronted me with: "Can you believe what Belichick did? You don't bet everything on one play!"
I had listened to the game's finish on the radio on the way home from the hockey game and then watched the replay at home. And, yes, I CAN believe what Belichick did.
Belichick's 4th-down call: Hardly outrageous
This man has made educated gambles many, many, many times over the
years - including at the end of the first of three Super Bowls he and Tom Brady won together.
Consistently, Belichick's credo has been: Play to win instead of playing not to lose.
So he asked himself: Would I rather punt the ball away to the Colts with 2 minutes to go and hope Peyton Manning doesn't beat us with a 70-yard drive? Or would I rather trust Tom Brady and my offense to gain a yard and a half to win the game?
I probably would have punted, but I understand why Belichick went for it. And in a league full of coaches who are afraid to try to win, I am loathe to criticize a proven, championship coach who refuses to play not to lose.
"Coach being aggressive," Brady said later, "and I love that about him."
Brady also pointed out that Manning had just marched the Colts downfield quickly to make it a 6-point game. And there was no reason to think Peyton couldn't do it again, especially with the Patriots' defense gassed.
Look, if Brady & Co. pick up the 4 1/2 feet, Manning never sees the field again, the Patriots win, the Colts are no longer undefeated and Belichick is bold, aggressive and courageous.
Because the play falls short, Belichick is the village idiot? Please.
Cocky, condescending and secretive, Belichick isn't my cup of tea. And I hated what he had to say about the decision afterward, when he used the occasion to criticize where the officials spotted the ball.
That simply underscored Belichick's real screwup: He wasted his final two time-outs just before the play, leaving himself no chance to stop the clock or to challenge an officiating call.
Had he used better time-out and clock management, he'd have been able to throw his little red flag - though I think he would have lost the challenge.
Belichick should have taken responsibility and explained himself without pointing fingers at others.
His decision wasn't outrageous - or at least it shouldn't have been to anybody with more football knowledge than John The Doorman.
Nor was it particularly stunning.
It's what Belichick does, and it's worked pretty well to this point.
Consistently, Belichick's credo has been: Play to win instead of playing not to lose.
So he asked himself: Would I rather punt the ball away to the Colts with 2 minutes to go and hope Peyton Manning doesn't beat us with a 70-yard drive? Or would I rather trust Tom Brady and my offense to gain a yard and a half to win the game?
I probably would have punted, but I understand why Belichick went for it. And in a league full of coaches who are afraid to try to win, I am loathe to criticize a proven, championship coach who refuses to play not to lose.
"Coach being aggressive," Brady said later, "and I love that about him."
Brady also pointed out that Manning had just marched the Colts downfield quickly to make it a 6-point game. And there was no reason to think Peyton couldn't do it again, especially with the Patriots' defense gassed.
Look, if Brady & Co. pick up the 4 1/2 feet, Manning never sees the field again, the Patriots win, the Colts are no longer undefeated and Belichick is bold, aggressive and courageous.
Because the play falls short, Belichick is the village idiot? Please.
Cocky, condescending and secretive, Belichick isn't my cup of tea. And I hated what he had to say about the decision afterward, when he used the occasion to criticize where the officials spotted the ball.
That simply underscored Belichick's real screwup: He wasted his final two time-outs just before the play, leaving himself no chance to stop the clock or to challenge an officiating call.
Had he used better time-out and clock management, he'd have been able to throw his little red flag - though I think he would have lost the challenge.
Belichick should have taken responsibility and explained himself without pointing fingers at others.
His decision wasn't outrageous - or at least it shouldn't have been to anybody with more football knowledge than John The Doorman.
Nor was it particularly stunning.
It's what Belichick does, and it's worked pretty well to this point.
4 Comments
doug nicodemus said:
i DIGGED yah again because every other article they posted said belichick was an idiot and because yAavfm
Mike Nadel said:
Well, it's nice to be dugg. (Or is it dugged?) Joe Posnanski, the highly respected Sports Illustrated columnist, not only agreed with me but used math to back it up. For what it's worth.
IrishSweetness said:
Used math to back it up ? Dumb as a box of rocks if you can't figure out that what Belichek did was stupid. He's not on the 50-yard line, he's deep in his own territory. If you can't see he was an idiot then you just like to argue the toss for the sake of it ...
Mike Nadel said:
I invite you to read Posnanski's post: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/11/16/belichick/index.html. Doesn't mean he's right or I'm right. In fact, using hindsight, we know Belichick proved to be wrong. I even said I would have punted. All I said was that I understand why Belichick did what he did. And by the way, I never just take a side and argue it. I believe every word I write every time. I'm cute that way.
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