Haiku isn’t my favorite form of expression, but it does seem to
fit when talking about the NFL’s best team. A simple exterior of
excellence seems to be hiding something more complex going on
underneath the surface.
New England is great
They can’t be defeated, but
Were tapes deleted?
Haiku isn’t my favorite form of expression, but it does seem to fit when talking about the NFL’s best team. A simple exterior of excellence seems to be hiding something more complex going on underneath the surface.
Undefeated after seven games, the New England Patriots are being hailed as the ’72 Dolphins 2.0. The team is unstoppable on offense, fierce and intimidating on defense, and as usual, a step ahead of the competition when it comes to playcalling.
But when one of the biggest NFL cheating violations in league history occurs during week one of the season – when the New York Jets tattled to league offices that the Patriots were recording (i.e. stealing) signals – and then they play like world-beaters, doesn’t it seem a little suspect?
Sure, New England could be performing this well to prove their three Super Bowl titles are legitimate – Coach Bill Belichick is the master at using the “no respect” card to motivate his players – but considering the spying issue was promptly swept under the rug by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and investigators, with no mention of when the spying started, how long the spying went on, and how many teams were subject to “Patriot Games,” it makes TBP wonder if Belichick has a library of film that looks more like instructional videos for sign language than football footage.
The Patriots were supposed to turn over any and all tapes. But what about DVD copies?
Always a step ahead, Belichick made it impossible to say he is hiding something up his sleeves by cutting them off.
After watching San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trent Dilfer in the first preseason game against Denver, I wrote these exact words in a column the next day: “Alex Smith took every offensive snap last season, and judging by how bad Trent Dilfer looked in the second quarter of last night’s game – think Jim Druckenmiller bad – Smith will need to be under center for every snap this year as well.”
‘Nuff said.
Some Bay Area writers are calling for No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell to see some playing time at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders. This is about as dumb as it gets. (Even dumber than the Raiders not drafting receiver Calvin Johnson.)
Neither Josh McCown nor Daunte Culpepper are the answer for the long-term future, but let’s give the kid a few more weeks to learn the offense before he gets thrown to the wolves. He signed a contract just a month ago and nothing so far this season has shown that Russell – who can heave the ball 80 yards downfield – would be a better fit to dink and dunk behind a shaky O-line. He would probably be as poor of a fit as Culpepper, the player Russell was compared to in college. And Culpepper didn’t even start to begin the season because he didn’t know the playbook well enough.
Greg Knapp is the Raiders’ offensive coordinator – you might remember him as Terrell Owen’s whipping boy during a sideline rant in San Francisco – and he won’t be able to stretch the field until they get a No. 1-caliber receiver. Culpepper to Johnson would have been quite a combination, but that is hindsight.
And no, Ronald Curry wouldn’t qualify as a No. 1 even if he did make the routine catches as often as he snags the spectacular ones.
Watching my Detroit Lions defeat Jeff Garcia was nice, but left me feeling cold in the way it was achieved. Tampa Bay should have won the game if not for two untimely fumbles – which were very uncharacteristic for Garcia because he hadn’t turned the ball over in the first six games of the season.
For a guy that was returning to a city that nearly rail-roaded his career (you’re guilty too, Cleveland), I would have liked to see Garcia play at the top of his game … but still in a loss. I told him as much in our last interview.
Each time I speak with Garcia, I like and respect him more. But even his hometown paper won’t turn me into a sports bigamist.
