Here we go again: The Patriots are great.
Flawless. Undefeated. Perfect.
Oh really?
Then why is it that Bill Belichick had to resort to espionage and point stacking to prove his team's dominance? And why did the stigma that should have followed them through the "greatest season ever" disappear?
I will admit that they played well this season, but so did Shoeless Joe Jackson in the 1919 World Series. Rules are rules.
Drug scandals, personal behavior issues, and criminal activities are tainting the world of professional sports. Young children idolize professional athletes, and lately, there have been way too many negative influences in sports.
There are two ways the bad juju in the NFL can be temporarily repaired: The first is a Chargers victory.
What a great story. Back-up quarterback Billy Volek leads the underdog Chargers to the Super Bowl (perhaps to face the quarterback who might have been?) That would be an upset for the ages, and one I would love to witness. Watching Bill Belichick sulk off to the locker room would almost make his weekly (slight exaggeration) appearances on the cover of Sports Illustrated tolerable.
But fear not. If the Chargers have no rabbit in their helmets, the season can still be saved. How, you may ask?
There are two types of players in the NFL: The first type forgot how much they loved the game when they received their college scholarships; football just became their ticket to fame and fortune. They play well and succeed, but it's all about the show. They hop from team to team, searching for the most money or the best record. The Pats have quite a few of these players.
The second type, however, just love to play. They give it their all, every practice, every down. They usually make a career in one town, on one team. They're the players who stay late at training camp signing autographs, and they'll probably come to your banquet to speak if they're available.
For those of us who love the whole "good versus evil" story line, there is a good chance that Mr. Type Two could be in the Super Bowl this year. Who is this hero on a white steed? (Really? You don't know?)
Two words: Brett Favre. Yeah, baby.
Nothing says wholesome Americana like a thirty-eight year old professional athlete running around in circles, hopping, skipping, laughing, and crying. He's had his own struggles, but he's been honest about them. He is the positive role model you want for your budding NFL star.
This guy loves football. Because it's a game. If you love the game, you can't help loving Brett Favre. How fitting that it could rest on his shoulders to right the negative images suffered by the league this season. He's had a good year, and he plays best under pressure.
Superman always beats the forces of evil. So, we just need him to beat the Giants. He MUST beat the Giants. He deserves another ring. We deserve loyalty, hard work, and good old-fashioned love of the game to persevere.
The NFL needs this season to finish with the picture of Brett Favre–tears in his eyes, arms raised over his head in victory, running amok all over University of Phoenix Stadium–imbedded in our memories.
Then, all will be right with the world.
28 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Thomas Guertin about 1 year ago
I love people who try to write an article on personal feelings. We do not care what you think , or what you would like to see . You are just another laud mouth ,The patriots did not play great , come on
they are the first team in the history of the N.F.L to win 16 regular season games. Win by a lot or a little they still are the only team to do it. But you must be right because going 16-0 is as common as a cold ,right. Oh that is right it has never been done before. Like them or not the are great , and you can not take what they did this year away.
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paul mason about 1 year ago
not to detract from Pats accomplishment but Dolphins went 17-0 in '72 so it has been done before.
Shari unlike Thomas I liked your article. I am torn it would be cool in NFL history if Pats do expected and win superbowl. YET it would be awesome to see Favre whose passion for the game is contagious and is a good role model of athletes overcoming their demons hoist the super bowl again.
I am NOT a Pats fan aside from Spygate their team is stacked with the weapons Brady has a non superbpowl should be an embarassment to the franchise.
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Sebastian about 1 year ago
Thomas, does your statement that "I love people who try to write an article on personal feelings. We do not care what you think, or what you would like to see" apply to comments as well?
Namely yours?
The best (and worst) thing about Bleacher Report is that people get to apply their own perspective and thoughts to their articles and comments. Sometimes the end result is well-written and complete, and other times the result is without evidence or basis and better left on the cutting room floor.
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John Fennelly about 1 year ago
Don't count on them losing...for a while
That includes next year too
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Shari Toomey about 1 year ago
I take nothing from the Patriots season record; I give them credit for going undefeated. The undeniable point, however, is that they employed some shady measures- and nobody knows for how long. I think that deserves to be noted in the record book right beside their record. As for greatness- if it is measured in black and white, or wins and losses- then they indeed had a great season (I guess Barry Bonds is unquestionably the greatest baseball player to ever swing a bat, as well). To many, the journey is as important as the destination.
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Sean Crowe about 1 year ago
Are you kidding me?
If you want to put a mark next to their record last year, or the year before, or the year before...fine. But they were caught doing what they did (what everyone else does in one form or another, as admitted to by Jimmy Johnson among others) 10 minutes into the first game of the season.
The tape was confiscated. It could not have been used.
Other teams knew they may have tapes, so unless they were incredibly stupid, they changed up their signals.
This year has nothing to do with the spygate thing....
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
19-0 stick that in your hat buddy!You don't like the Pats because it is the "in thing"deep down inside you love the Pats and everything they do=FACT
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Shari Toomey about 1 year ago
Deep down in places I don't talk about...I kinda still like George W. Bush, I'm not concerned about global warming, the environment, or the endangered species list, and I just don't see why America needs to feed other starving nations...yet I still can't say I have even the tiniest like, regard, or respect for the beloved Pats.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
You are clueless=FACT
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
This guy is gonna have some Rug burn on his knee's after a day at the Favre house on Saturday......
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
I'm a Charger fan and hope we pull it off Sunday. I wouldn't put money on the game because I don't bet with my heart.
On the article....The players on the field still have to make plays with or without some extra video. So if they were still doing the video would they have won more games....wait that's impossible because they've won them all so far.
GET A LIFE = FACT
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
As the OP has stated quite a few times. No one is saying they didn't go undefeated. The fact of the matter is, THEY CHEATED. I don't care how much that issue gets distorted in the media, at the end of the day, the Patriots organization are CHEATERS. It doesn't matter HOW many records Bonds breaks, he CHEATED.....and he also doesn't deserve to have the recognition that breaking those records would otherwise bring.
You must have some inside information as to just how much information the organization really obtained from other teams eh John? I mean really, "don't count on them losing for a while" Well I guess we shouldn't count on that with how much footage Bill Buttcheek has stored away in some dusty locker?
Regardless of the outcome of this years season, my view of professional sports writing will forever be jaded because of the total lack of reporting on what SHOULD have been front page news.....a professional sports ORGANIZATION (not single player) BLATANTLY cheating....and pretty much getting away with it. (500,000 dollar fine? Ya, that's really a big slap on the wrist........)
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Fahad Zaidi about 1 year ago
"...but it's all about the show. They hop from team to team, searching for the most money or the best record. The Pats have quite a few of these players."
which players are you taking about here?
-Tom Brady, who makes less money than Peyton and has 2 more rings?
-T.Bruschi, who had a stroke during an off season and still came back to play the following year?
-J.Gaffney, who could be a #1 reciever anywhere other than N.E but keeps his mouth shut and makes big play after play after play?
-Vinateri, who LEFT to go play for the Colts because he was not getting paid enough in N.E?
I could keep going but i think you get my point. So who are these Patriots you speak off that hop from team to team just for money or?
Not to take anything away from Brett Favre and the Packers, but it is pretty clear that the Patriots will win their fourth Championship in seven years this February. It would be a great upset if the Packers win it all this year, but realistically I don't think it is going to happen.
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Sean Crowe about 1 year ago
Whoa there champ. Gaffney is a nice player, but he isn't a #1 receiver ANYWHERE. He was cut by the Texans and had no job. The Patriots signed him off the street.
He's a #3 at best...
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Paul Salman about 1 year ago
i love favre and hate the pats..im a bills fan so i gota hate the pats...HOWEVER...the chargers are what you call the EVIL TEAM too...they talk and talk..have steroids and character issues too BUT THEY DONT WIN like the pats...at least the pats back it up...i must say that i am actually rooting fo rhte pats cuz i think that sd team needs to grow up..shut up and find a leader before they can win...i want pack vs pats adn then i agree with ur second half of the article...GO FAVRE
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paul pliml about 1 year ago
This article= completely objective.
I saw no reasoning behind that other than what you gathered from the media and proabably people you know who share the same views. Basically you stated your opinions and told us how much you love Brett Favre and hate the spawns of the devil. So, EVERYONE on the Patriots is selfish and just seeking fame, glory and a large paycheck?
Why don't you talk about Shawn Merriman, who is a known steriod user and how he doesn't deserve to play or go to the pro bowl. Billy Volek replaced a trash talking bum in Phillip Rivers to narrowly defeat the mirror image of last years Super Bowl Champions. Isn't Norv Turner doing or at least trying to do same thing as Gruden? They won't beat the Patriots, end of story.
No argument on Favre, but at least stick to the topic at hand when you title an article as "absolute" as
"Why Someone Must Upset The New England Patriots".
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Paul Salman about 1 year ago
u meant to say SUBJECTIVE
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paul pliml about 1 year ago
I was being sarcastic.
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John 'Fatty'-Fatland about 1 year ago
Even Brady said they were 0-0 to start the playoffs. 16-0 is awesome, even tho it took a little luck, a bad call here or their, and a cheating coach to get them to legendary status. (Imagine if the League made them forfeit those games? How that would look, oh my!)
Lose one game now and they make history in another undesirable way.
Its nice this year that both teams. Packers and Pats, will have an extra week to prepare for the 'Dual in the Desert'
Oh cmon. you don't think the Giants and Chargers have a chance do you?
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Jesus, can't people think of anything else to write about this year? Did everyone really feel personally violated by spygate? Did all the patriots haters really think that cheating hasn't happened anywhere else in football/pro sports?
Here's a bomb waiting to explode: Professional athletes and organizations cheat (gasp!) If people were looking for role models in sports athletes then I have a bridge in new york that I would love to sell to each of them.
Paycheck players are obviously only playing for the pats, good god. Everyone else has already ripped on the author, and good for them.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Every team in sports cheats in some way. Most don't say anything because they don't want to get caught themselves. The best super bowl would be the Pats against the Packers because that would possibly the best ratings the NFL has ever had. Chargers are okay but not great and the g-men are too injured on defense to stop the Packers. The Patriots keep players that fit there team and get players that know how to play and win. Most of their core group of players have been there for at least a few years.
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John McClory about 1 year ago
Come on, man, don't you want to witness history? You'll be bouncing your grandkids on your knee and telling them about the 07-08 Pats and how they will never see anything like it in their lifetime. What do you want? A boring Packers-Chargers or Giants-Chargers? You're willing to accept that snoozer of a match-up all because you were somehow offended by Spygate? You should feel dirty.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
What "stigma"?
The so-called "spygate" rule infraction is the biggest non-event in NFL history.
NFL coaches and players pay no attention to it, because they understand how little it actually means.
Its just armchair quarterbacks / editors that are so riled up over this supposed cheating.
The rule the Patriots violated was originally intended to make it against the rules for teams to place hidden cameras and that sort of equipment in places like the other team's locker room.
If the Patriots employee had been recording the signals with a pen and notepad, it would have been fine.
If the Patriots employee was 20 feet away from where he was, video taping from the front row of the stands, it would have been fine.
There is no rule that says you cannot videotape another teams signals. You just can't in specific areas. That is why it was called a "mis-interpretation of the rules".
All teams record signals: Ever wonder why every coach and offense coordinator is covering their face with a clip board as they speak into the headset?
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Thomas Guertin about 1 year ago
I have been saying this since the beginning . But everyone disagrees. Miami did it to the Pat's last year
and admitted it on T.V. actually bragged about it on T.V.
Then it turns out the jet's did it last year to . Why does nobody say anything about that.
I will tell you why, because the commish had to set an example to prove his strength. And the pats where the perfect target. They are the best in the league , so that is why the pats are the only team you hear about
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Hey 'anonymous' (as you should be) ... what team do you follow that the Patriots have repeatedly beaten? Booo Hooo. Maybe you follow the Jags, you know... the team with 7 players arrested in the last year...and 14 total under DelRio. I guess that's why there was no Good vs Evil storyline last week. Where was the media coverage of the criminal Jags? Under Belichick, one Patriots player ran afoul with the law and was cut before the next game. Maybe it's the Colts, you know... the team that MOST CERTAINLY DOES pipe in crowd noise as repeatedly confirmed by MANY who have sat near the PA speakers (in case you can't understand-that's cheating...and they did it right up and through their ridiculous loss to SanDiego.) And Bill Polian likes to physically attack staff members of other teams, resulting in him being restrained by security. And Bill Polian has been recorded in the press box screaming for his players to "break the legs" of opposing QBs. And why do teams that use the visitors locker room in Indy all become deathly ill while the Colts themselves never do? Nothing going on there right? AND...why do you not feel it's 'cheating' when the Jets and Packers were also caught with cameras filming the opposite sideline this season and last? Goodell stated that the Patriots did not "cheat" and that the 7 min tape from game 1 was never viewed. Brett Favre admitted on NFLN friday that he snuck Eli Manning into a bar when we was underage to get alcohol. That's ok also right? Do us all a favor...take yourself and this worthless 'author' and go watch ice dancing... where the feelings and opinions of the femanist judges decide the winners instead of facts and actual performance. WE DON'T WANT EITHER OF YOU NEAR OUR BELOVED NFL. PERIOD .............SHOVELPASS.........
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Michael Bolding about 1 year ago
I want farve to win too but the pats are every bit as deseriving as if any of the other 31 teams that play to get to their respective coference championship. It takes alot of love for the game to make it as far as the four teams we are going to watch play this weekend did. this article is stupid. If you win the games you earn the chance to play longer. The pats have done just that.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Why stop there? I think we should revisit all teams' final standings in all sports and from every year, and if there was any cheating (you know; drugs, tampering, gambling, etc.) they should all have cheating asterisks . No excuses; no qualifying remarks, and no favoritism. You cheated or you didn't.
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Dark Helmet about 1 year ago
Get the facts straight before exposing your shallow feelings to a lot of people who do not care. Chew on this cookie (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2857214).
After swallowing that you can wash it down with this; no sports team is affiliated with sainthood. From little league on up they all cheat on some level. The Patriot organization got caught, did not complain or point fingers, and took their punishment. To reinforce how much 'cheating' helped them, they demolished every team after that.
It was funny to watch as the scandal spotlight got dim, you folks turned on another light; "they're running up the score!" Blame the Patriots because the other team did not show up to play. When the coach is asked a stupid question he answers with a question, "What do you want us to do, kick a field goal?"
Summary:
1. Patriot players prove to be honorable role models by making sacrifices to benefit the organization.
2. The only people 'Spygate' mattered to, the NFL, investigated, imposed punishment, and closed the case.
3. The Patriots have the talent and know-how to beat the other team.
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