Belicheck Hypocrasy

[Heatmiser]

Belicheck, who has made a lot of hay by running semi-legal pick plays for years, even before the rest of the NFL caught on, and who did it many, many times per game with Welker, opened his presser by condemning 'the receiver' for intentionally injuring Aqib Talib on Sunday. It was Welker who did it. It was an obvious pick play, and the whole point was to get Talib out of the way and out of the play. I guess now a days, they call them rub plays and if it 'looks like' the receiver is really running a route, the officials eat their flags. All part of opening up the offense. And the rest of the NFL, Chargers, too, are now doing what the Patriots have done for years. Bill Walsh 49er teams did it a lot. I guess Bill is mad that he is not getting special treatment.

I don't know which team I dislike more, Denver or New England. But stuff like this (and the years of cheating) sort of tip the balance to the Patriots. And I am sick of hearing about how much character and grace Belicheck and Brady have. How many times do we have to see those two babies crying after losses before people recognize them for what they are. Belicheck opened the presser with this crap. Without being asked.

Go Seahawks!

TG

[blueman]

I was really hoping both teams would lose.

[Fleet]

Id love to sign Talib. But he will cost 8-10 per.

[Yubaking]

Id love to sign Talib. But he will cost 8-10 per.

I agree that he would be a great signing. Maybe the market on him is just a tick lower than the range you have stated due to prior off the field issues, but maybe not as the guy can play.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Injury prone...

[Yubaking]

Belicheck, who has made a lot of hay by running semi-legal pick plays for years, even before the rest of the NFL caught on, and who did it many, many times per game with Welker, opened his presser by condemning 'the receiver' for intentionally injuring Aqib Talib on Sunday. It was Welker who did it. It was an obvious pick play, and the whole point was to get Talib out of the way and out of the play. I guess now a days, they call them rub plays and if it 'looks like' the receiver is really running a route, the officials eat their flags. All part of opening up the offense. And the rest of the NFL, Chargers, too, are now doing what the Patriots have done for years. Bill Walsh 49er teams did it a lot. I guess Bill is mad that he is not getting special treatment.

I don't know which team I dislike more, Denver or New England. But stuff like this (and the years of cheating) sort of tip the balance to the Patriots. And I am sick of hearing about how much character and grace Belicheck and Brady have. How many times do we have to see those two babies crying after losses before people recognize them for what they are. Belicheck opened the presser with this crap. Without being asked.

Go Seahawks!

TG

Nobody runs more flagrant pick plays than Peyton Manning's teams (the Colts and now the Broncos). The crap never gets called against Manning's teams. But boy, when Vincent Brown runs a pick pattern, out comes the flag. I just wish it would be called evenly and a bit more aggressively by the officials. I have always loved the passing game ever since the days of Air Coryell, but now the game is (and I NEVER thought I would be saying this) too open and the passing game is too protected. The game is still great to watch, but not quite as great as it was a few years ago when I think they had the balance of the rules just right, so that there could be a good amount of passing versus running, but the passing game was not made into the shooting fish in a barrel game that it is now.

[Heatmiser]

This is from the Boston Globe. From the angry boston fan column. Nice to read some honesty.

TG



We've seen many faces of Bill Belichick.

There's Dead-pan Bill. He of the "we were outplayed and outcoached in all phases of the game."

There's Bill the Spy.

There's Bill the Master of the Dark Side.

There's Bill the Genius.

There's Bill the Motivator.

There's Bill the Manipulator.

There's Bill the Grump.

We even got Bill the Truly Contrite after the arrest of Aaron Hernandez.

They're all so lovable.

Monday, we got something new. Bill the Angry Crybaby.

Not very pretty.

That's not to say Belichick was incorrect when labeled Wes Welker crossing route/pick on Aqib Talib as "a deliberate play by the receiver to take out Aqib."

There is little question that was the case, despite denials by Welker to the contrary.

Belichick accented his assessment by calling the hit "one of the worst plays I've seen."

Really? Here's a guy who coached Lawrence Taylor when he was defensive coordinator with the Giants, and led character stalwarts like Brandon Spikes, Brandon Meriweather and Rodney Harrison with the Patriots.

Belichick has to be hurting today. Another AFC title game ending in defeat, frustration and tepid offensive performance. His defensive secondary - minus Talib - was helpless against Peyton Manning, who flat-out played the game of his life Sunday. Belichick's defense yielded a season-high 507 total yards. It's pretty hard not to be ornery the day after that happens.

"I feel badly for Aqib, the way that play turned out," Belichick said at the start of his season-ending press debriefing Monday. "I went back and watched it, which I didn't have a chance to [Sunday], it was a deliberate play by the receiver to take out Aqib."

Ouch.

I guess we know who won and lost the "Wes Welker for Danny Amendola" trade. As we noted in our post-mortem Sunday, this hit was truly Belichickian. An innocuous-looking technically-clean hit off the ball that's likely not to be called with the aggressor not going for the victim's [Talib's] head or knees, but rather up into his ribs and shoulder.

Ex-Patriots' wide receiver Donte Stallworth, he of multiple similar plays over the years, failed to back his former coach on this one:


I have nothing but love and respect for Bill Belichick, but he's absolutely wrong about Wes Welker's hit on Aqib Talib... and he knows it.
— Donte' Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) January 20, 2014
That tweet drew - as expected - lots of criticism.


I wish I could do a film session to explain to the people who have NOT seen a rub play 1,000 times over on film, practices and games...
— Donte' Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) January 20, 2014
Again, spoke like a true two-time ex-Patriot.

Fox officiating guru Mike Pereira also weighed in via Twitter:


People asking about the hit on Talib. That is not a foul. Ball was touched by 88 about the same time as contact, Can't be OPI.
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) January 19, 2014
So the hit wasn't illegal, just plain dirty and nasty.

That doesn't sit well with Belichick. Only he, apparently, is allowed to stretch and tweak the rules, let his receivers set picks, or encourage his corners to chip as far off the line as possible before a flag is thrown.

Belichick is clearly angry at Welker on a personal level. It's sort of sad to see him come out of the gate today and complain about a technically-clean hit less than 24 hours after his team mustered only 192 feet rushing, one passing touchdown and 16 points in the AFC title game. True to Patriots' form, no one ever said what actually happened to Talib injury wise, beyond the fact that he was injured early for the second straight time in an AFC title game. CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson said Talib had a "rib and knee" injury. Belichick defended Talib's grit Sunday and again on Monday. Sort of in the same way John Farrell often defended Clay Buchholz's toughness during his eternal recovery from that bad night's sleep.

Belichick's partner in greatness, Tom Brady, will be 37 when the 2014 season begins. Brady's biological clock is not getting any slower. "For me there's only one goal [now] and that's to win a championship," Brady said during his weekly sponsored appearance on WEEI's "Dennis and Callahan."

"Brady, The Lost Years," has to be another factor in Belichick's anger surfacing Monday.

Of course, none of this would have happened had the Patriots been straight with Welker this time a year ago and figured out a way to keep him in the fold. He infamously joked on the Comcast Sports New England Patriots post-game show last year about it being "nice to stick it in Bill's face." That remark, and that Rex Ryan foot joke from back in the day, didn't help the relation between Welker and Belichick. But, as was demonstrated Sunday, Welker proved too good a talent to let walk over personal differences and a few million bucks.

Pride and the Patriot Way goeth before the fall.

Clean, dirty, nasty, vicious, illegal and/or legal, Welker certainly stuck it in Bill's face on Sunday and is now headed to the Super Bowl.

That's something that you just don't do.

Just ask Bill the Angry Crybaby.

[Heatmiser]

Id love to sign Talib. But he will cost 8-10 per.

He has off the field baggage, though, right Fleet? I thought that is why the Buccaneers let him go.

TG

[Fleet]

I agree that he would be a great signing. Maybe the market on him is just a tick lower than the range you have stated due to prior off the field issues, but maybe not as the guy can play.

Hes a couple years removed from that. Had back to back amazing years. Hes a top 5 cb and will get overpaid. They always do. lol I love big physical CBs. He'll get Aso money.

[richpjr]

Nobody runs more flagrant pick plays than Peyton Manning's teams (the Colts and now the Broncos). The crap never gets called against Manning's teams. But boy, when Vincent Brown runs a pick pattern, out comes the flag. I just wish it would be called evenly and a bit more aggressively by the officials. I have always loved the passing game ever since the days of Air Coryell, but now the game is (and I NEVER thought I would be saying this) too open and the passing game is too protected. The game is still great to watch, but not quite as great as it was a few years ago when I think they had the balance of the rules just right, so that there could be a good amount of passing versus running, but the passing game was not made into the shooting fish in a barrel game that it is now.

That pick was REALLY blatant and I can't believe it wasn't called. No way that was a rub - Welker lowered his shoulder pad as he got near Talib. I actually agree with Belichick in this case (I feel dirty saying that).

[Fleet]

He has off the field baggage, though, right Fleet? I thought that is why the Buccaneers let him go.

TG

He does yes. Anger issues that he looks to have matured from. Id be more concerned with him taking one adderral and getting suspended. Pretty sure another slip up with a PED and the suspension is longer. I just think players wake up for the most part when they get busted. VJ was on thin ice and got paid. I think Talib wont lose money but could have some team protection baked into the cake when he signs with a team.

[richpjr]

I'm not so sure his anger issues are behind him. I can't remember which game it was, but a month of so ago he was having temper tantrums on the field and was flagged for it. The guy is a stud corner but there is just too much baggage to give that guy a lot of money.