Poll: What kind of Belichick fan are you?

[Jackson 2]

The 4th and 2 play in Indy was the dumbest move I've ever seen him make. It was actually multi-dumbentional, because he passed the ball on both 3rd and 4th and 2, which left the clock barely over 2 minutes for the 4th down play, and because we had wasted a timeout earlier we couldn't ask for a replay and there was no automatic replay on the 4th down pass to Faulk. Dumb, dumber, dumbest.

Charles Barkley was right on the money. When Brady goes it will be a huge loss, but by God, wait until BB is gone and some overrated dimwit like Jeff Fisher or Lovie Smith ends up here. Just as an aside, Faulk made that first down regardless of the incorrect call. The timing of your post would have been much more appropriate on Monday morning (quarterbacking) than Sunday morning.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

This poll is above all else, the, ...... never mind.

Just ask yourself this question: Who else do you want coaching your team?

This is a brutal off season.

 

[Danger Zone]

This poll is above all else, the, ...... never mind.

Just ask yourself this question: Who else do you want coaching your team?

This is a brutal off season.

I made the poll after listening to a few posters rail against the overwhelming homerism of Patsfan.om

Like with politics it might simply be a matter of Selective Memory in that we remember those opinions more when they are diametrically opposite ours. Still, in my experience there are many, many posters here who fall in the Objective to Subjective Critic range.

I think its telling that noone will admit to being such a poster. I think if they were willing to be honest and participate in a little idle amusement we would find that all spectrums are relatively balanced.

Though of course it wouldnt surprise me if the homers won out by a fair margin.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Charles Barkley was right on the money. When Brady goes it will be a huge loss, but by God, wait until BB is gone and some overrated dimwit like Jeff Fisher or Lovie Smith ends up here.

Is McPherson still around ...

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I think you more "brag" about being objective, and "admit to" being a homer.

Why don't I just say I'm super-objective: Given what I know of his performance and the unusually high number of unorthodox moves he makes, it is objectively correct to drink the koolaid, ask for seconds, and otherwise pay homage to the greatest football mind in multiple generations - by the time all is said and done, perhaps the greatest ever.

The Isaac Sopoaga trade was a set-up, in order to convince Philly that it is possible to get the best of Bill Belichick. For the mere cost of a compensatory pick he will oh never mind, that was just bad.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

The perfection that is patsfans.com is beyond reproach. We are always right, anticipate everything, have a depth of football knowledge that can't be questioned. BB is human, doing the best job he can, and you may or may not agree with his positions and approaches, but you can never, ever say he isn't doing the very best he can given the imperfect science professional football is. I'm appalled at the lack of support and understanding there is in the football viewer. I won't refer to you as a fan as your constant harping and criticism is all you have to bring to the table.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I love the oxymoron that is "Objective Homer"

(No insult to the many Patsfans morons intended)

 

[mikey m]

Hardcore Homer checking in. As far as I'm concerned we just drafted 9 future HOFrs. 19-0 here we come!!

 

[FirstAndGoal]

BB doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. If he hasn't proven it to you by now, then you have unrealistic expectations. He doesn't need to win another Super Bowl. That's just nonsense for people who are insecure. He's won 3 and bee to 5 in an era that does not make it easy to stay on top. Some people are never happy.

 

[IllegalContact]

average fan....but when it comes to the bottom line, credit is most certainly due....

can't argue with the results on the field and as an organization

stability and consistency is what its called....

in 15 years:
3 superbowl wins
5 superbowl appearances
8 AFCC appearances
12 playoff appearances
2 years where they were in it until the last week of the season
1 rebuilding year

we are the only fans who have had a legitimate reason to watch their team until new years every single year

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Yeah but what has he done for me lately?

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Just found a picture for another poll option:

"Used to think he had divine powers but his halo slipped off"

I have no idea what this picture depicts, but it went with a story about the Pats being interested in Andre Johnson from the main page... just tickled by whatever that thang is

 

[BTTA]

I'm working now with a brilliant chemist, top1% in his field, to help him bring an invention to market, with Nobel quality potential. The guy is absurdly smart, designing changes to molecular structure in his head and then finding out in the lab that most of the time, he was right.

Most of what I know about chemistry and its impact on human health, I've learned from hanging out with him over the past few months. I really enjoy listening him talk about science. I could dedicated the rest of my life, 24x7, to studying chemistry and never get to the point where I could question anything he said about this topic with any legitimacy or authority.

It's the same basic relationship for us fans and the coaching staff of the Patriots. Any one of us on this board could spend every waking hour studying tape, learning about football, and still only have 5% of the knowledge that BB and his crew have about any player, prospect, strategy, or tactical decision faced by the Patriots. The difference between my situation with the chemist, and the our situation with BB, is that the difference in intelligence isn't so wide, but the difference in knowledge and inside information is just as great.

And it is in this context that so many pretend otherwise, make strong, sometimes even absolute, evaluative statements about the decisions at Patriots HQ. Then, to top it off, some call BB "arrogant" because he sticks to his guns on his thinking and decisions.

I appreciate this poll, but in some way it perpetuates the myth that anyone, standing on the outside looking in, would have anywhere near enough knowledge to make a legitimate criticism of a decision made inside. For every one "fact" we have about a player, prospect, strategy, or tactical situation, there are 99 facts of which we are ignorant. This has nothing to do with our talent or intelligence or effort; it is just the way the thing is structured.

 

[Seacoast Fan]

First, Faulk made the first down and the refs screwed NE on the spot. So in a very real sense the play actually worked.

That said, if BB was planning on going for it on 4th down all along (and IMHO he should have been), they should have played it that way for the whole series -- i.e. realize you have three downs before the do-or-die down rather than just two downs before do-or-die, and I don't think the playcalling in the series reflected that. So that's what I fault him on, not the fact that he went for it.

Not sure if Faulk made the spot but it was very very close.
But I posted at the time, the mistake was not going for it on 4th down, the mistake was the third down call if there was a chance we would be going for it on 4th.

Which makes me an objective homer.

 

[Seacoast Fan]

I voted "objective homer" but the description of "homer" should be for "objective homer"



Just look at that statement, it's so true! How on earth does anyone on here including myself think they know more than him. Last season Belichick took a dig at the media for saying whose mistake a particular play was on when even he admitted you can't know who was at fault since he's not on that team.

So as quoted above... "You and I are not capable of judging him without the same level of inside knowledge." That statement is so true and not a "homer" attitude.

Not so fast......by this same standard we could not criticize Fat Rex, or any other figure in "power" simply because that person has streams of information crossing his or her desk every day that most people aren't privy to.

 

[Danger Zone]

I'm working now with a brilliant chemist, top1% in his field, to help him bring an invention to market, with Nobel quality potential. The guy is absurdly smart, designing changes to molecular structure in his head and then finding out in the lab that most of the time, he was right.

Most of what I know about chemistry and its impact on human health, I've learned from hanging out with him over the past few months. I really enjoy listening him talk about science. I could dedicated the rest of my life, 24x7, to studying chemistry and never get to the point where I could question anything he said about this topic with any legitimacy or authority.

It's the same basic relationship for us fans and the coaching staff of the Patriots. Any one of us on this board could spend every waking hour studying tape, learning about football, and still only have 5% of the knowledge that BB and his crew have about any player, prospect, strategy, or tactical decision faced by the Patriots. The difference between my situation with the chemist, and the our situation with BB, is that the difference in intelligence isn't so wide, but the difference in knowledge and inside information is just as great.

And it is in this context that so many pretend otherwise, make strong, sometimes even absolute, evaluative statements about the decisions at Patriots HQ. Then, to top it off, some call BB "arrogant" because he sticks to his guns on his thinking and decisions.

I appreciate this poll, but in some way it perpetuates the myth that anyone, standing on the outside looking in, would have anywhere near enough knowledge to make a legitimate criticism of a decision made inside. For every one "fact" we have about a player, prospect, strategy, or tactical situation, there are 99 facts of which we are ignorant. This has nothing to do with our talent or intelligence or effort; it is just the way the thing is structured.

I agree. Unfortunately Belichick is a lot like an American president. There is not a single poster among us that is capable of doing that job (assumption), but everyone of us as that constitutional right to criticize each and every move he makes and we do so based on absolutely no inside information or knowledge.

I consider myself to be a homer, I trust in Belichick's judgement. He might make mistakes but he's making those mistakes with 1000% more intimate knowledge the game than anyone here.

That said, I don't begrudge people's constitutional right (heh) to criticize Belichick, though using as you mentioned, rigid and absolute statements to do so irritates me to no end.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Great essay about the chemist and the central premise about intrinsic expertise and extensive body of information is true. However no person is (EDIT) infallible. Football is strongly different from science as science at its best is congruent with objective reality whereas football decisions and strategies have a large subjective component.

For example, BB's hubris that cause this franchise to forever be besmirched in the Spygate camera placement fiasco should be criticized, and Kraft's meek acquiescence to the subsequent punishment where he did not openly seek to more correctly characterize the specific offense to the public is also subject to critical discussion. Yet another criticism could be the lack of professional forethought in not having any viable personal misconduct clause in The Prisoner's new huge contract.

And since BB's selection of players to be drafted can demonstrably be shown to be fallible, why should not draftniks be able to opine with cogent, well reasoned criticism?

Argument by authority should not prohibit thoughtful criticism.

I just hope this does not jeopardize my Homer status.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

For every one "fact" we have about a player, prospect, strategy, or tactical situation, there are 99 facts of which we are ignorant. This has nothing to do with our talent or intelligence or effort; it is just the way the thing is structured.

We got 99 problems but the facts ain't one.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

However no person is fallible.

Um, I think you missed half your double-negative there. "infallible"?

 

[Brady6]

I am an objective homer. I generally agree with what Belichick does but I do not think he is flawless and I do not agree with everything he does, I will voice my disagreement or displeasure. What makes me a homer is that even if I disagree or have displeasure in his decisions I still stand behind Belichick and consider him the greatest coach to ever coach in the NFL.