Sorry if this has been posted already. Good read.
" From Ryan C. in Charlotte, N.C.: "I noticed Brady threw a TD bomb to Moss in the fourth quarter with a 24-point lead on the Bills. Was he running up the score or padding his stats? You were all about criticizing these moves by Peyton Manning in 2004 when he broke the TD record, so I am just wondering if we can expect these same comments now about Brady?"
My answer: In case you didn't notice, the Patriots have been in Screws-You Mode ever since the Mangini thing happened. In Week 2, they went for it on fourth-and-goal in the last few minutes of the Chargers game, leading by 17 (and scored). In Week 3, they threw the bomb to Moss (and scored). Those are two plays that NEVER would have happened with this team in any other Belichick season. Manning was running up the score to break the TD record; the Pats are running up the score because it's the most effective way to wave both middle fingers at the rest of the league and prove that they didn't need to cheat to win three Super Bowls. I don't support either tactic, but as a Pats fan, it's been strangely enjoyable to watch them embrace a more villainous role. They have a nasty edge to them that they've never had before. It's like watching David Hasselhoff's evil twin brother show up on an old episode of "Knight Rider" or something.
So yeah, it's wrong to run up the score. I'd be the first one to admit it. But it's a natural reaction to the way they were vilified for two straight weeks. The rest of the nation turned them into a mutant cross between Cobra Kai and the Yankees, so screw it, they're acting like the Cobra Kai Yankees. Can you blame them? I can't answer that one objectively, so I won't try. But if you don't think they'll be running up the score in Cincinnati on Monday night, you're crazy. "
[Mod edit: Please identify the author and provide a link back to the source! I searched ESPN.com and cannot find the piece. If it stays as a random unattributed quote, it may be deleted. Thanks!]
" From Ryan C. in Charlotte, N.C.: "I noticed Brady threw a TD bomb to Moss in the fourth quarter with a 24-point lead on the Bills. Was he running up the score or padding his stats? You were all about criticizing these moves by Peyton Manning in 2004 when he broke the TD record, so I am just wondering if we can expect these same comments now about Brady?"
My answer: In case you didn't notice, the Patriots have been in Screws-You Mode ever since the Mangini thing happened. In Week 2, they went for it on fourth-and-goal in the last few minutes of the Chargers game, leading by 17 (and scored). In Week 3, they threw the bomb to Moss (and scored). Those are two plays that NEVER would have happened with this team in any other Belichick season. Manning was running up the score to break the TD record; the Pats are running up the score because it's the most effective way to wave both middle fingers at the rest of the league and prove that they didn't need to cheat to win three Super Bowls. I don't support either tactic, but as a Pats fan, it's been strangely enjoyable to watch them embrace a more villainous role. They have a nasty edge to them that they've never had before. It's like watching David Hasselhoff's evil twin brother show up on an old episode of "Knight Rider" or something.
So yeah, it's wrong to run up the score. I'd be the first one to admit it. But it's a natural reaction to the way they were vilified for two straight weeks. The rest of the nation turned them into a mutant cross between Cobra Kai and the Yankees, so screw it, they're acting like the Cobra Kai Yankees. Can you blame them? I can't answer that one objectively, so I won't try. But if you don't think they'll be running up the score in Cincinnati on Monday night, you're crazy. "
[Mod edit: Please identify the author and provide a link back to the source! I searched ESPN.com and cannot find the piece. If it stays as a random unattributed quote, it may be deleted. Thanks!]