October 15, 2007
NO WONDER EVERY WOMAN WANTS TO HAVE HIS BABY:
Patriots easily pass the test against the Cowboys (Judy Battista, October 15, 2007, IHT)
Patriots receiver Donte' Stallworth gave a little wave to the crowd at Texas Stadium as he scored New England's fifth touchdown of the day, but he might as well have been saying see you later to most of the NFLPosted by Orrin Judd at October 15, 2007 7:34 AMWith their 48-27 victory over the previously undefeated Dallas Cowboys, the Patriots cemented what had become clear in the first month of the season: they and the Colts are in a class by themselves and everybody else is playing catch-up. The Patriots (6-0) and Colts (5-0, with a bye this week) are the only undefeated teams remaining in the NFL and their Nov. 4 game in Indianapolis figures to give early shape to the American Football Conference playoff race. With this victory, the Patriots already have a five-game lead in the AFC East. At this rate, they might be able to clinch the division before the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone.
This game was by far the most difficult for the Patriots, even though quarterback Tom Brady tied a career high with five touchdown passes, two of them to Randy Moss and two to Wes Welker. But the Patriots also trailed in the second half for the first time all season, needing a 17-point fourth quarter to bury the Cowboys.
After the game was out of reach for Dallas, the Pats kept passing and ran up the score. That is poor sportsmanship, for which the Football Gods will extract divine retribution--as they did last year.
O ye mortals, trifle not with the Football Gods!
Posted by: Mike Morley at October 15, 2007 8:09 AMWell, he is a Yankee fan . . .
Meanwhile, did anyone else see the performance Adrian Peterson put on against the Bears? Unreal. And 6 guys were picked ahead of the dude in the draft. It's Sam Bowie over Jordan multiplied.
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at October 15, 2007 8:35 AMMike M.:
To be fair, at that point the Patriots' top two running backs were out of action on the sidelines, leaving 3rd-down specialist K. Faulk, fullback Evans, and a late-round rookie from Navy. None of those are appealing choices for killing the clock...
Posted by: Mike Earl at October 15, 2007 11:49 AMUgh, least liked championship football team in the nation based on:
Bellichek's cheating ways; Moss's overinflated crybaby ego; Bellichek's crybaby complaining about the ac at the Colts' dome last year (lamest excuse for losing, ever); Brady's contribution to the "whose my daddy?" problem; and Bellichek always looking like he forgot he had a team to coach and so he rolled off the couch, brushed the cheetos off and barely showed up in time in his dirty sweats. Doesn't the preceding explain why baseball is more popular in New England? Only the Ravens, with thug-like Lewis, are held in lower esteem.
If Dallas wanted to run out the clock why did they call a timeout?
Posted by: oj at October 15, 2007 12:22 PMThe comments button was only pushed once, so I don't know how it double posted, but please forgive.
Posted by: Buttercup at October 15, 2007 12:25 PMMike E: true enough, but the rookie seemed to be running all right, and they could've killed the clock by taking a knee in the red zone on that last drive.
Posted by: Mike Morley at October 15, 2007 4:56 PMHow would they have stopped Dallas from calling another timeout?
Posted by: oj at October 15, 2007 7:25 PMIt wouldn't, but you could have run the clock down to under a minute, and turned the ball over inside the Dallas five yard line with the score 41-27. The Pats didn't need those last 7 points.
Posted by: Mike Morley at October 16, 2007 7:05 AMMike M.:
No, they didn't. Dallas' D-line was understandably exhausted, having been on the field so long; I could have gotten 3 yards a carry by the late fourth quarter (well, once, anyway). I suspect the last touchdown was Belichek wanting to give an NFL touchdown to a rookie Navy fullback who may never see another even if he does beat the odds to hang around in the league.
Posted by: Mike Earl at October 16, 2007 9:55 AMJim ... Pederson was on fire. He was almost as good against Green Bay but Childress didn't give him enough touches. Maybe during the bye week he figured out that a running back's job is *running the football*, not blocking.
Posted by: Chris B at October 16, 2007 10:35 AMThe Cowboys could have just forfeited and then the Pats wouldn't have needed any points. It's pro sports, not a knitting circle.
Posted by: oj at October 16, 2007 10:58 AM