Well, not exactly, but since everyone else has, what's the point of playing the game? And why not cede the title to the Patriots so long as Bill Belichick holds the head coaching job? Isn't that what everyone is saying?
That said, what if there's a freak play in the next several weeks, a clean play, but one where an offensive lineman is pushed backwards on a pass rush, falls down and right into one of Tom Brady's knees, causing a season-ending injury. What then? Are they that good that Matt Cassel can lead them to a Super Bowl victory? And will they feel silly if Brady gets hurt when the team is up 35 points?
The football gods are funny, aren't they? Just when you think you can put you team on cruise control you lose in OT to the Jets on the road and virtually let their sad-sack pass rush double their season's sack total -- in one game. A star runnnig back who just set the single-game rushing record hurts his knee. These things happen.
Even in New England.
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2 comments:
So what...
You're suggesting that Belichick should have benched Brady for the ENTIRE second half?
He pulled him after 3 quarters... is it the Patriots fault that they are so damn efficient?
You ask a good question. I don't know what the answer is, except that it's risky when the game isn't in doubt. If the NFL had larger rosters, you could have three active quarterbacks and put the back-up QBs in earlier.
That said, what happens when the Pats have clinched home-field advantage. Will they pursue the undefeated season and risk injuries to key players, or will they not care and keep on playing the regulars? If they do that, they risk injuries to key players.
The question is further complicated by the lack of transparency to the public about the health of NFL players. Most are pretty banged up by Week 13 or so, and many can use time off to heal nagging injuries (which, by the way, would probably have you and me limping to work for quite a while). Do you bench some regulars to get them fully healthy come playoff time, or do you go full throttle and derail the '72 Dolphins once and for all?
Or, is it simply a matter of letting everyone get more healthy during the bye week? These are tough questions that only Bill Belichick has the answers to, and it should get more interesting as the Pats continue to run roughshod over the entire NFL.
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