Yet another running up the score thread

[xmarkd400x]

I believe running up the score is poor sportsmanship. I believe what the Patriots are doing is in the gray area of running up the score. I do not believe the Patriots are running up the score. People will believe what they want to believe regardless of what I say.

Here is my argument about why I think the Patriots are not running up the score: the Patriots offense grinds the clock and finds the end zone through surgical precision. This is how the Patriots offense works. Typically their drives are long and sustained.

• The Patriots offense scores ~70% of the time they touch the ball - This means that after halftime (against almost every team) 70% of the time the Pats will be "running up the score"
  
  
• Many believe that anything other than the "3 yds and a cloud of dust" offense is running up the score. Guess what? I don't want Laurence Maroney running into a brick wall (8 or 9 in the box) for 15 minutes of every game. We will need him in the postseason, thank you very much.
  
  
• The offense is SUPPOSED to keep control of the ball to run out the clock. If you put 8 in the box, guess what? Tommy boy will throw a quick slant. We keep the ball. A short passing game can supplant a running game. This is the NFL not high school football.
  
  
• You are so bad we have to use the second half to practice. Would you want Brady, Moss, Welker et al heading into the postseason with just 12 games under their belt? Most games are decided long before the fourth quarter. If the starting O came out after the game was "decided", they would lose about 25% of the they get to play live-action football.
  
  
• Tom Brady really does come out in the 4th quarter. Due to NFL rules about 3rd string quarterbacks, it is less risky to bring in a QB in the 4th quarter than in the 3rd. Brady will not come out in the middle of a drive, and he will not come out in the third quarter. Guess what? Sometimes that drive lasts into the fourth quarter. Then Brady comes out.
  
  
• Most of the time you are still trying to score. If you are trying to score, then you believe you have a chance to win. If you believe you have a chance to win, the Patriots need to step on your neck a little more. Don't get in the kitchen if you can't handle the heat. If you concede defeat, the Patriots will concede victory. Until then, the Patriots will knock the tar out of you like they should.
  
  
• Most of the time, it is a special teams or defensive score that piles it on. If I recall correctly, roughly 10% of the Patriots points (35) are from D/ST. Also, Washington, if your secondary is so good why couldn't you handle Matt Cassel? Blaming the Patriots for scoring is like Newton blaming the Apple for falling. There is another force at work and its not bad sportsmanship.
  
  
• The Patriots aren't embarrassing anyone. You are embarrassing yourselves. Running a DLineman in for a TD would be insulting. Not covering Vrabel is your own fault.

/rantoff