This and That (The Long and Winding Road)

[Zeus]

1. The Very Fast Start - After months of forced withdrawal from professional football, it was a bit of a shock to see the New England Patriots play fully one-eighth of their 2013 season in a five day period. I watched the first game on television and attended the second game in person. Now, I confess to getting on a bit in years and some people who are in a position to know the truth might regard me as dangerously insane (for what turns out to be very good reasons that, in the interests of time and decorum, I will not get into here). Nevertheless, I could have sworn that the Patriots beat both the Bills and the pathetic (Embarrassment to Mankind) jets. And yet, the voices on the television/radio and the sentiments expressed on The Intertoobz unequivocally suggest otherwise. Long, long ago, in The Pigskin Dark Ages (pre 2001 A.D.), a win was a win was a win. A win did not need to be aesthetically pleasing nor a work of art to count. In the Age of Enlightenment, things are differrent.

2. Jumping to Conclusions (Part 7,234,214) – The usual breathless rush to Crown the Champion and demean the losers began about halfway through the first quarter of the very first game as The Sporting Press began to pogo from one Super Bowl favorite to another.

On opening night, it quickly became apparent that the Broncos would finish undefeated and shatter every scoring record of all four major sports by Halloween.

Later in Week the First, defending NFC champion San Francisco looked invincible against a good Green Bay team. Emerging (tattooed, bicep-kissing but somewhat surprisingly fully clothed) star Colin Kaepernick threw for 412 yards in leading the 49ers to victory. Never mind the Broncos. The 49ers, sayeth the short attention span pundits, are the best team in the NFL.

Come Week the Second, the 49ers are humiliated by the rampaging Seahawks, 29-3. Yet another best team in the league? Now Seattle is the odds on favorite to win Super Bowl XLVIII.

[Ed. Note - Those who might be tempted to believe this have conveniently forgotten that only a week before, the lowly Carolina Panthers gave the Seahawks all they could handle. But, as it turns out, there’s an explanation for Seattle’s poor showing against such a weak opponent. It seems that the mighty Seahawks were very nearly derailed by having to take a charter flight from the Pacific Northwest all the way to North Carolina and then (horror of unimaginable horrors) having to play football at 10:00 am PDT on Sunday morning. Such adversity is of course unparalleled in the long-storied history of human undertaking, never mind professional sports. It’s a miracle the Seahawks managed to show up for the game at all. Whew!]​

Still, the jaundiced observer may wonder if any of these teams has the mental fortitude to persevere throughout the long haul of the regular season and then the physical and emotional meat grinder that is the NFL playoffs. Just maybe we should continue to pay attention after all.

3. He’s Mr. Know-It-All – Every fan in Boston grows up thinking he can manage the Red Sox or fill out the Patriots draft board. Many fans sincerely believe that they know better than the guys in charge. These fans intrepidly forge ahead, arriving undaunted at passionate conclusions without the benefit of access to all of the pertinent facts. Such beliefs are most often heavily tinged with 20-20 hindsight, a luxury not afforded to the real decision-makers. It is truly our good fortune to live in The Age of the Internet where the resulting unfounded opinions, idle speculation and outright fabrications can quickly be disseminated to millions. The enhancement to the public discourse of such matters has been incalculable. (Ed. Note – oblivious though I may be, I do recognize the irony of what is being communicated here.)

4. An Axe to Grind? - It’s a drumbeat that started back in June and hasn’t abated since. The Sporting Press continues to claim that Bill Belichick is arrogant, stupid and criminally negligent for not constructing his roster in prescient anticipation of innumerable surgeries, murderous rampages, persistent festering infections, assorted legal entanglements, tainted urine samples and various sprains, broken bones, muscle/tendon/ligament tears and other unforeseen medical complications. Armed with the damning facts and bound by the stringent ethics of their most honorable profession, the local media had little choice but to outright ignore the poll conducted by SI.com of twelve NFL general managers, nine of whom asserted that Coach Belichick is the very best in the business. Nary a mention of this by the Local Chroniclers of The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth who frequently and correctly remind us that under Belichick’s longstanding reign of terror and continued malfeasance, the team has struggled to win a paltry 39 regular season games and three playoff games over the last three seasons. Hell, even the lowly Houston Astros have won 51 games this season alone.

As an interesting sidelight to the aforementioned poll NFL GM Poll: Bill Belichick top coach, Ozzie Newsome best GM - NFL - Dennis Dillon - SI.com . Other vote getters were John Harbaugh, Tom Coughlin and Jeff Fisher. Harbaugh coached last year’s Super Bowl winner, so okay. Coughlin has coached two Super Bowl winners (so far, so good) but his team, only an occasional playoff participant, has written the book on uneven and indifferent play even in its championship seasons. As for Jeff Fisher? Imagine that you are the owner of an NFL team and one day you find out that your very own general manager, the person to whom you’ve entrusted your franchise and its $125 million payroll, thinks that Jeff Fisher is the best coach in the NFL. Pass the hemlock.

5. Intergalactic Manning Sycophancy Festival – Thank God this hideous media slobberfest is over. Okay, I get it – Archie’s a great guy, Peyton’s a great guy, Eli’s a great guy, even Cooper’s a great guy. Jesus. Give me a ******* break. It’s would be a superhuman undertaking to sandblast the veneer off the Manning myth to reveal the unpleasant reality of Archie’s megalomania, Peyton’s appalling money-grubbing greed and the fact that Eli (despite his two rings) is a clueless human turnover machine. (Okay, Cooper probably really is a great guy and deserves a pass from this invective). This was a disgusting spectacle to which decent people (i.e., non-jet fans) should never be subjected. Let’s hope it never happens again.

6. O Come, O Come Emmanuel - The Patriots have taken a bit of criticism for not going harder after Steelers WR Emmanuel Sanders, A slightly higher contract offer than $2.5 million might have forced the cap-strapped Steelers to say goodbye to Sanders and take the compensatory 3rd round draft pick from NE. But looking at the Steelers, you have to wonder WTF they were thinking. The team is clearly going nowhere this year and Sanders is almost certainly headed elsewhere next year. Bad choice. Might Pittsburgh consider dealing the receiver as the trade deadline approaches?

7. The Long and Winding Road – Two games do not a season make. Those who are taking delight in the imminent demise of the 2-0 New England Patriots do so at their own peril. Injuries will heal, young players will learn, coaches will adjust. The lessons learned from early season adversity may well reap dividends when the weather turns colder and the stakes are higher. The challenges the team will face this year are great. The intriguing part of the 2013 season will be seeing whether this young football team can indeed rise to the occasion. I have no idea if they are up to it, but that, after all, is why we watch.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I love these posts. Busy socializing with humans in real time to respond.

 

[PatsDeb]

"5. Intergalactic Manning Sycophancy Festival – Thank God this hideous media slobberfest is over. Okay, I get it – Archie’s a great guy, Peyton’s a great guy, Eli’s a great guy, even Cooper’s a great guy. Jesus. Give me a ******* break. It’s would be a superhuman undertaking to sandblast the veneer off the Manning myth to reveal the unpleasant reality of Archie’s megalomania, Peyton’s appalling money-grubbing greed and the fact that Eli (despite his two rings) is a clueless human turnover machine. (Okay, Cooper probably really is a great guy and deserves a pass from this invective). This was a disgusting spectacle to which decent people (i.e., non-jet fans) should never be subjected. Let’s hope it never happens again. "

Thanks for the great read! On the above point, however, you obviously missed the ad nauseum advertisements on NFL Network for "The Book of Manning" coming soon to a TV near you!

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The one star bandito strikes again!

 

[Ozymandias]

Great post, Zeus.

This board needs a little more perspective every now and then.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

But but but the Super Bowl team is already decided the 1st week and manning is the best ever...

It's amazing to see all the knee jerk reactions of these posters. And apparently when you pull a groin your injury prone (I must be then).

 

[Efstratios]

Do I think BB made miscalculations this season? Quite honestly, yes. I think he put his eggs in the Amendolda and Gronkowski baskets, both of which have been plagued by injuries (be it bad luck or durability, I dunno). Granted, he didn't expect Hernandez to go out and kill a guy.

However, I frankly find it moronic that some people on this board have basically written off DA as being utterly useless (there's a difference between unreliable and a bust), and are expecting Gronk's skill level to have declined to the point that he's a non factor. I'd rather we wait till at least week 7 until we start making judgments on this team.

 

[Efstratios]

But but but the Super Bowl team is already decided the 1st week and manning is the best ever...

It's amazing to see all the knee jerk reactions of these posters. And apparently when you pull a groin your injury prone (I must be then).

I do think Amendola's past injuries are a cause for concern (I'm doubtful he's ever going to have more than a 13 game regular season), and the Pats have to be VERY careful in how they handle the recovery process for DA's groin injury..

That being said, all the vitriol (nicknames, complaints about him being an embarrassment, whatever) being aimed at Amendola is juvenile, and accomplishes nothing. Do I think he can carry the load Welker did? No, he's not durable enough for that. But is he a subpar player? Not at all. I'd love to see some of the more vocal detractors on here do what he did at the end of game 1.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Please post each week!

 

[supafly]

But looking at the Steelers, you have to wonder WTF they were thinking. The team is clearly going nowhere this year and Sanders is almost certainly headed elsewhere next year. Bad choice. Might Pittsburgh consider dealing the receiver as the trade deadline approaches?

I think it's a little too late for that to go down at this point in the game, Zeus.

I agree that they should have upped the offer another 500,000 to 3 million even, which would have likely gotten it done, but more importantly--it would have allowed Sanders the opportunity to actually learn the playbook and participate in OTA's and training camp.

Bringing him, or any outsider in at this point isn't going to work too well for this particular season, so they may as well save the draft pick and wait until February when they can make a run at him for nothing (if that is the route they so choose).

In our offense, those WR's need to be extremely knowledgeable about every single option route, timing/chemistry with Brady, and most importantly--all of the other skill players' responsibilities. It isn't just trying to get a weekly game plan down, it'd be learning an entirely brand new system, and I highly doubt that Belichick would expect much success.

 

[DarrylS]

4. An Axe to Grind? - It’s a drumbeat that started back in June and hasn’t abated since. The Sporting Press continues to claim that Bill Belichick is arrogant, stupid and criminally negligent for not constructing his roster in prescient anticipation of innumerable surgeries, murderous rampages, persistent festering infections, assorted legal entanglements, tainted urine samples and various sprains, broken bones, muscle/tendon/ligament tears and other unforeseen medical complications. Armed with the damning facts and bound by the stringent ethics of their most honorable profession, the local media had little choice but to outright ignore the poll conducted by SI.com of twelve NFL general managers, nine of whom asserted that Coach Belichick is the very best in the business. Nary a mention of this by the Local Chroniclers of The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth who frequently and correctly remind us that under Belichick’s longstanding reign of terror and continued malfeasance, the team has struggled to win a paltry 39 regular season games and three playoff games over the last three seasons. Hell, even the lowly Houston Astros have won 51 games this season alone.

Brilliant, yesterday the 98.5 incessantly bombastic mid day show show was in a very roundabout way making this assertion, they did a lousy job. Unfortunately there are those who are more willing to listen to the ad infinitum tales of woe perpetuated by Shaughessy, Borges, Reynolds, Felger, Callahan and the rest of the contrarians.. and secretly hope he fails, for the sole reason of I told you so. Tom's window is starting to close folks, get closer to the edge.

These aforementioned scribes/mediots, get confused with the success or this team, and fail to recognize that we have been winning for a while now, even though BB does not know what he is doing.. they get confused with BB's disdain for the press and call it arrogance, they get upset as BB does not answer the same questions he has refused to ask even though he has never answered them since coming here and continue to twist and fabricate more Welker stories, while ignoring the truth...

Their criteria for success is facebook likes or twitter followers, not that the truth really matters all that much....

 

[BlitzFritz]

Nice rhetoric, Zeus. A wonderful complement to the more serious handwringing and debate of micro-issues.

Please keep it up!

-- FRITZ

 

[shmessy]

Love your post game analysis posts, Zeus!

To be honest, this one was a bit stylistic - - like A Bud Collins column (you said you're "a bit on in years" so I think you'll get the reference). Personally, I enjoy it more when you are succinct.

So, I give it an A instead of your usual A+ this week!

 

[mgteich]

Style is always fun.

Making fun of the Manning's has always been silly (IMHO).

Unabashed homerism is often entertaining.

Blaming the media for being so stupid as to have their own opinions is plain silly, but that's just my view. To believe that that media is all anti-patriots is most laughable, no matter how many times it is repeated.

The patriots had one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL last year. We added Kelly and some rooks that will help around the edges. Belichick decided to rebuild the offensive passing attack, depending on the performance of rookies, after almost continuous failure with that approach since 2002.

Sure, there are those media who just cannot see what we see, and the schedule. They see a 9-7 or 10-6 team who may or may not make the playoffs. They do not understand that Brady and Belichick win independent of what players are actually on the field.

HOWEVER, the vast majority of media made us overwhelming favorites to win the division. The beginning power ratings for the power ratings for the patriots were for the most part between 3 and 8. And yes, they actually change their views from week to week, based on performance. The power ratings re a snapshot in time, the power of the teams TODAY. The top three have shifted. Most now have the patriots in the 4-7 range. Do we really think that the patriots would be favored in a playoffs started today? Are we really a top 8 team as of RIGHT NOW. Most of the media has no doubts. Forgive the few nay sayers. And yes, we may very well be one of the top teams after we are 5-1 after Game Six, or not. There is a lot of football to be played between now and then. And if we are 3-3, will we be a top 12 team. It is likely that we would be. So much is the media favoritism towards the patriots (there I've said it.

Make no mistake, I am very encouraged by the play of much of the team and how we project to the playoffs. However the ifs are many. We lost a couple of seasons because of the health of Gronkowski. Now we seem at great risk with the losses of many of our starters. It is said that all teams risk this isituation. Now we need the health of Gronkowsi AND Edelman AND Amedndola AND Vereen. Rather than cutting Hooman, he is a starter. We may very well have the same record as last year. We may go into the playoffs as a healthy team, one of the strongest going into the playoffs. THAT IS WHAT the media predicts, after all. Almost all have an AFC playoff between Denver and New England. The season need not be played, or the first couple of rounds of the playoffs.

We notice the ball-washing of Peyton Manning, an old man who came back from surgeries that could have ended his career. No one, other than patriot fans, has anything but respect for his achievements, and his comeback. We fail to notice the ball washing of Belichick by Mayock and so many others. Brady is considered one of the very best quarterbacks of all time, and in the game today. And yet, the media are patriot haters when they think that Rodgers in a better quarterback today.
========

So sure, we all appreciate the style of homerism, Manning criticism, and media criticism. I enjoys your posts. Each one is a journey into Alice In Wonderland, where words mean whatever we choose them to mean. After all, we all construct our own reality. And yes, I appreciate the musings of a man who has watched the team for decades.

 

[Zeus]

Love your post game analysis posts, Zeus!

To be honest, this one was a bit stylistic - - like A Bud Collins column (you said you're "a bit on in years" so I think you'll get the reference). Personally, I enjoy it more when you are succinct.

Hi Shmessy -

Thanks for the feedback. The keyboard must have gotten away from me. That's what happens when you don't have a plan and stream of consciousness takes over ...

 

[resdubwhite]

Zeus.


Fantastic.
You don't have to agree with it all, but I enjoyed it immensely.
The Jeff Fisher comment had me picking pieces of rice from my keyboard.

Well done sir.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

I had to stop midway through section , scroll down, and hit the like button.

Can we get a love button for this? I haven't read such a Boston fan-centric/great article since early Bill Simmons articles.

 

[SVN]

1. The Very Fast Start - After months of forced withdrawal from professional football, it was a bit of a shock to see the New England Patriots play fully one-eighth of their 2013 season in a five day period. I watched the first game on television and attended the second game in person. Now, I confess to getting on a bit in years and some people who are in a position to know the truth might regard me as dangerously insane (for what turns out to be very good reasons that, in the interests of time and decorum, I will not get into here). Nevertheless, I could have sworn that the Patriots beat both the Bills and the pathetic (Embarrassment to Mankind) jets. And yet, the voices on the television/radio and the sentiments expressed on The Intertoobz unequivocally suggest otherwise. Long, long ago, in The Pigskin Dark Ages (pre 2001 A.D.), a win was a win was a win. A win did not need to be aesthetically pleasing nor a work of art to count. In the Age of Enlightenment, things are differrent.

2. Jumping to Conclusions (Part 7,234,214) – The usual breathless rush to Crown the Champion and demean the losers began about halfway through the first quarter of the very first game as The Sporting Press began to pogo from one Super Bowl favorite to another.

On opening night, it quickly became apparent that the Broncos would finish undefeated and shatter every scoring record of all four major sports by Halloween.

Later in Week the First, defending NFC champion San Francisco looked invincible against a good Green Bay team. Emerging (tattooed, bicep-kissing but somewhat surprisingly fully clothed) star Colin Kaepernick threw for 412 yards in leading the 49ers to victory. Never mind the Broncos. The 49ers, sayeth the short attention span pundits, are the best team in the NFL.

Come Week the Second, the 49ers are humiliated by the rampaging Seahawks, 29-3. Yet another best team in the league? Now Seattle is the odds on favorite to win Super Bowl XLVIII.

[Ed. Note - Those who might be tempted to believe this have conveniently forgotten that only a week before, the lowly Carolina Panthers gave the Seahawks all they could handle. But, as it turns out, there’s an explanation for Seattle’s poor showing against such a weak opponent. It seems that the mighty Seahawks were very nearly derailed by having to take a charter flight from the Pacific Northwest all the way to North Carolina and then (horror of unimaginable horrors) having to play football at 10:00 am PDT on Sunday morning. Such adversity is of course unparalleled in the long-storied history of human undertaking, never mind professional sports. It’s a miracle the Seahawks managed to show up for the game at all. Whew!]​

Still, the jaundiced observer may wonder if any of these teams has the mental fortitude to persevere throughout the long haul of the regular season and then the physical and emotional meat grinder that is the NFL playoffs. Just maybe we should continue to pay attention after all.

3. He’s Mr. Know-It-All – Every fan in Boston grows up thinking he can manage the Red Sox or fill out the Patriots draft board. Many fans sincerely believe that they know better than the guys in charge. These fans intrepidly forge ahead, arriving undaunted at passionate conclusions without the benefit of access to all of the pertinent facts. Such beliefs are most often heavily tinged with 20-20 hindsight, a luxury not afforded to the real decision-makers. It is truly our good fortune to live in The Age of the Internet where the resulting unfounded opinions, idle speculation and outright fabrications can quickly be disseminated to millions. The enhancement to the public discourse of such matters has been incalculable. (Ed. Note – oblivious though I may be, I do recognize the irony of what is being communicated here.)

4. An Axe to Grind? - It’s a drumbeat that started back in June and hasn’t abated since. The Sporting Press continues to claim that Bill Belichick is arrogant, stupid and criminally negligent for not constructing his roster in prescient anticipation of innumerable surgeries, murderous rampages, persistent festering infections, assorted legal entanglements, tainted urine samples and various sprains, broken bones, muscle/tendon/ligament tears and other unforeseen medical complications. Armed with the damning facts and bound by the stringent ethics of their most honorable profession, the local media had little choice but to outright ignore the poll conducted by SI.com of twelve NFL general managers, nine of whom asserted that Coach Belichick is the very best in the business. Nary a mention of this by the Local Chroniclers of The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth who frequently and correctly remind us that under Belichick’s longstanding reign of terror and continued malfeasance, the team has struggled to win a paltry 39 regular season games and three playoff games over the last three seasons. Hell, even the lowly Houston Astros have won 51 games this season alone.

As an interesting sidelight to the aforementioned poll NFL GM Poll: Bill Belichick top coach, Ozzie Newsome best GM - NFL - Dennis Dillon - SI.com . Other vote getters were John Harbaugh, Tom Coughlin and Jeff Fisher. Harbaugh coached last year’s Super Bowl winner, so okay. Coughlin has coached two Super Bowl winners (so far, so good) but his team, only an occasional playoff participant, has written the book on uneven and indifferent play even in its championship seasons. As for Jeff Fisher? Imagine that you are the owner of an NFL team and one day you find out that your very own general manager, the person to whom you’ve entrusted your franchise and its $125 million payroll, thinks that Jeff Fisher is the best coach in the NFL. Pass the hemlock.

5. Intergalactic Manning Sycophancy Festival – Thank God this hideous media slobberfest is over. Okay, I get it – Archie’s a great guy, Peyton’s a great guy, Eli’s a great guy, even Cooper’s a great guy. Jesus. Give me a ******* break. It’s would be a superhuman undertaking to sandblast the veneer off the Manning myth to reveal the unpleasant reality of Archie’s megalomania, Peyton’s appalling money-grubbing greed and the fact that Eli (despite his two rings) is a clueless human turnover machine. (Okay, Cooper probably really is a great guy and deserves a pass from this invective). This was a disgusting spectacle to which decent people (i.e., non-jet fans) should never be subjected. Let’s hope it never happens again.

6. O Come, O Come Emmanuel - The Patriots have taken a bit of criticism for not going harder after Steelers WR Emmanuel Sanders, A slightly higher contract offer than $2.5 million might have forced the cap-strapped Steelers to say goodbye to Sanders and take the compensatory 3rd round draft pick from NE. But looking at the Steelers, you have to wonder WTF they were thinking. The team is clearly going nowhere this year and Sanders is almost certainly headed elsewhere next year. Bad choice. Might Pittsburgh consider dealing the receiver as the trade deadline approaches?

7. The Long and Winding Road – Two games do not a season make. Those who are taking delight in the imminent demise of the 2-0 New England Patriots do so at their own peril. Injuries will heal, young players will learn, coaches will adjust. The lessons learned from early season adversity may well reap dividends when the weather turns colder and the stakes are higher. The challenges the team will face this year are great. The intriguing part of the 2013 season will be seeing whether this young football team can indeed rise to the occasion. I have no idea if they are up to it, but that, after all, is why we watch.

Wait till next monday night - Raiders @Broncos on the Peyton Manning Network.:bricks:

 

[Zeus]

Style is always fun.

Making fun of the Manning's has always been silly (IMHO).

Unabashed homerism is often entertaining.

Blaming the media for being so stupid as to have their own opinions is plain silly, but that's just my view. To believe that that media is all anti-patriots is most laughable, no matter how many times it is repeated.

The patriots had one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL last year. We added Kelly and some rooks that will help around the edges. Belichick decided to rebuild the offensive passing attack, depending on the performance of rookies, after almost continuous failure with that approach since 2002.

Sure, there are those media who just cannot see what we see, and the schedule. They see a 9-7 or 10-6 team who may or may not make the playoffs. They do not understand that Brady and Belichick win independent of what players are actually on the field.

HOWEVER, the vast majority of media made us overwhelming favorites to win the division. The beginning power ratings for the power ratings for the patriots were for the most part between 3 and 8. And yes, they actually change their views from week to week, based on performance. The power ratings re a snapshot in time, the power of the teams TODAY. The top three have shifted. Most now have the patriots in the 4-7 range. Do we really think that the patriots would be favored in a playoffs started today? Are we really a top 8 team as of RIGHT NOW. Most of the media has no doubts. Forgive the few nay sayers. And yes, we may very well be one of the top teams after we are 5-1 after Game Six, or not. There is a lot of football to be played between now and then. And if we are 3-3, will we be a top 12 team. It is likely that we would be. So much is the media favoritism towards the patriots (there I've said it.

Make no mistake, I am very encouraged by the play of much of the team and how we project to the playoffs. However the ifs are many. We lost a couple of seasons because of the health of Gronkowski. Now we seem at great risk with the losses of many of our starters. It is said that all teams risk this isituation. Now we need the health of Gronkowsi AND Edelman AND Amedndola AND Vereen. Rather than cutting Hooman, he is a starter. We may very well have the same record as last year. We may go into the playoffs as a healthy team, one of the strongest going into the playoffs. THAT IS WHAT the media predicts, after all. Almost all have an AFC playoff between Denver and New England. The season need not be played, or the first couple of rounds of the playoffs.

We notice the ball-washing of Peyton Manning, an old man who came back from surgeries that could have ended his career. No one, other than patriot fans, has anything but respect for his achievements, and his comeback. We fail to notice the ball washing of Belichick by Mayock and so many others. Brady is considered one of the very best quarterbacks of all time, and in the game today. And yet, the media are patriot haters when they think that Rodgers in a better quarterback today.
========

So sure, we all appreciate the style of homerism, Manning criticism, and media criticism. I enjoys your posts. Each one is a journey into Alice In Wonderland, where words mean whatever we choose them to mean. After all, we all construct our own reality. And yes, I appreciate the musings of a man who has watched the team for decades.

1. I don't regard myself as a homer, but I am reluctant to criticize others who are experts in their field of endeavor. If they do something I disagree with, I must allow for the possibility that their decision may be soundly based on facts and knowledge that I do not possess.

2. Of course not all of the media are anti-Patriot or anti-Belichick. But there are some who lost their objectivity a long time ago. It's true that if you keep predicting the same thing over and over again, sooner or later you are bound to be right, so I guess they have that to look forward to. In the meantime, the purest measure of BB's effectiveness is the won-lost record. That speaks for itself.

3. Ah, the Mannings. Where do I start? A topic for another day, perhaps. But I will say that not everyone in Indianapolis and probably very few in San Diego hold the family in such high regard. Perhaps more on this in a future post?

4. I bolded the portion of your reponse that I absolutely loved. There's a bit of trepidation on my part every time I hit the "submit" button on one of these threads. I'm not a good enough communicator that I should expect everyone to get what I'm trying to say. I've had to make my peace with that. Your perspective is the best I could hope for. It's all in good fun.

Thanks for your thoughful response.