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I am surprised that I haven't seen much, even in the thread about Belichick throwing the challenge flag, pointing out how badly the Patriots individually and as a team wanted to show Al Davis up. There is great animosity between the organizations and their fans.
Al Davis gave that press conference in September where he accused Kraft and Belichick of tampering with Randy Moss. It's no mistake that Belichick threw the challenge flag, he wanted Davis to stew a little longer. Randy Moss and Lamont Jordan were dumped by the Raiders after PR campaigns to make them look washed up, it's no surprise they were playing hard and did a little strutting. And add that to years of complaints about the Tuck Game...
I think the Cassel situation, plus the Patriots' playoff drive, distracted people from what was really happening. I think animosity towards the Raiders was a much bigger factor than the Favre-style "big game after personal loss" theme. The Patriots would never admit it, but I think they are saying to themselves that even if they miss the playoffs, they can at least feel very good about this game.
Al Davis gave that press conference in September where he accused Kraft and Belichick of tampering with Randy Moss. It's no mistake that Belichick threw the challenge flag, he wanted Davis to stew a little longer. Randy Moss and Lamont Jordan were dumped by the Raiders after PR campaigns to make them look washed up, it's no surprise they were playing hard and did a little strutting. And add that to years of complaints about the Tuck Game...
I think the Cassel situation, plus the Patriots' playoff drive, distracted people from what was really happening. I think animosity towards the Raiders was a much bigger factor than the Favre-style "big game after personal loss" theme. The Patriots would never admit it, but I think they are saying to themselves that even if they miss the playoffs, they can at least feel very good about this game.
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