Patriots and Running Up the Score

[Melanie]

Weren't the Patriots last two offensive touchdowns made on 4th down?

[WDWfanatic742]

Alright, but still college and even high school are different then the NFL. In College you run up the score to try and get a better ranking and you are playing for bowl games and money to your school. NFL has no ranking system and is all about record's to make the playoff's. There is no playoff system in college and until they come up with one, teams have to run up the score and play all out all the time because they need to in order to make the Chamionship. There is no reason to beat a team by 40 points and still have your starters out on the field with 8 minutes left in a 40 point blow out. A win is a win in the NFL and it doesn't matter if you win by a point or 40 points. When you win by that much it disgraces the NFL, and makes a horrible and boring game to watch. I'd much rather watch a Baltimore - Browns type game or a Jets - Pittsburgh game then a blowout like that.

[JPL]

. There is no reason to beat a team by 40 points and still have your starters out on the field with 8 minutes left in a 40 point blow out. A win is a win in the NFL and it doesn't matter if you win by a point or 40 points.

Exactly and if I was a Patriots Fan I would be screaming at my TV to take them out so there is no chance of injury. Also they should be resting them so they don't burn out after a long grinding a season.

How many times do you see a team up in a game with the ball in scoring position and they take a knee to run out the clock? When they could easily try and score a touchdown or atleast kick a field goal.

The Patriots are a classless organization and I don't hold fans responsible for that.

[Epc0tphr34k]

I'm still going to pull for the 0-14 Dolphins to pull the ultimate upset and beat the 14-0 Pats in Week 16

funny david i have been preaching the same thing. The fish have yet to fail in defending their crown. I am pretty sure the 85 superbowl champion bears were supposed to run all over miami too and yet they lost at home.

[Scar]

Has anyone seen the point spread for the Patriots / Eagles game?

23 points... TWENTY-THREE POINTS!

Now even the bookies are taking “running up the score” into consideration when making the line.

If that isn’t proof enough, I don’t know what is.

[JPL]

There was also an article about why Vegas Hates the Patriots

[Scar]

There was also an article about why Vegas Hates the Patriots

Could you please post it? I would like to read it.

[JPL]

Funny they changed the title of it Yesterday it was titled why Vegas Hates the Patriots or something similar to that.


Pat's Article

[Scar]

So disregard coaches and players who say it's not personal. It's very personal, and none more so than the Patriots' date with the Jets Dec. 16 in Foxborough. The line is already 22, a number owing much to the fact that the Spygate whistle-blower was Jets coach Eric Mangini, a former Belichick protege.

"We definitely factor that in," said Van Patten, "Belichick wants to kill these guys. He'll put up 100 if he can."

This is funny. I was listening to an interview with Belichick by a New York talk radio host, and huge Jets fan. Three times he begged him to “keep the score under 80.” Belichick was just silent and never answered.

On a side note, I thought he was very nice and answered all the other questions. Definitely not the jerk everyone makes him out to be.

[discjoker]

It is funny to read all of the venom toward the Patriots. They are the hated team right now. Jealousy causes hatred. They are an unstoppable force. If someone was able to stop them they would not have such wide margins of victory. It's just that they are that darn good. Trust me if the team of your choice were scoring as many points as the Pats there would be a major change in attitude.

There is nothing wrong with scoring lots of points. You are out on the field to play and score. Unfortunately as a society we have become very soft. Little leagues not keeping score for fear of hurting feelings, high school football coaches being punished because their team scored too many points, schools no longer publishing honor roll lists in the newspaper for fear of causing competition and hurt feelings, etc. It scares me to think of what our society will be like in 20 years. Very scary stuff.

Oh, and this is all from someone is a casual football watcher. Not a huge Pats fan either (even though I am from the Boston area). If it were any other team my feelings would remain the same.

[Ian]

I have to laugh at what seems to be an ongoing debate over whether or not the Pats are, in fact, running up the score, and if they are whether or not it is acceptable to run up the score in the NFL.

There are definitive answers to both those questions ... yes and no. They've basically admitted they're trying to prove a point by running up the score and it's well-known, to anyone who's followed the NFL even remotely, that running up the score is a huge no-no.

The fact that the opposing coaches aren't ripping Belichek for it is merely an indicator that they have a whole heckuva lot more class than he does.

[battlefield2freak]

There are definitive answers to both those questions ... yes and no. They've basically admitted they're trying to prove a point by running up the score and it's well-known, to anyone who's followed the NFL even remotely, that running up the score is a huge no-no.

if its a no no then where are the fines against them and the rules in the NFL rulebook about it then? also they never said they was trying to prove a point

[goofhook]

I think they mean it is a unwritten no-no, like if someone finds a parking space in a crowded parking lot, and they are half way in, and you zoom around the corner and beat them to it at the last second, that is not too nice is it? Its just like the Patriots having a 40-point lead and then putting up more scores late in the 4th quarter.

[SBETigg]

It's not something I like to watch, because it does take some of the fun out of the game-- but as other teams have said, it is up to them to stop it. I wonder if there has ever been a team who could dominate to this extent, whether or not it's a polite practice? Yes, other teams may have had the class not to run up the score, but could they have? To this extent? Week after week? At this point, I think it's interesting to see if they can be stopped and who will stop them. The Colts came so close.

The running up the score debate seems to be a moot point by now. Obviously, the Pats plan to do it as often as they can, right or wrong. It will be a matter of time now for other teams to start doing it, too. The Patriots may have changed the way the game is played, and I'm not saying I'm for that or it's a good thing. But the point now seems to be how far it will go and who will end it? I wouldn't mind the Dolphins getting a crack at it. Wouldn't that be a game to watch? Can the Eagles do it today?

[goofhook]

Well, my Eagles could do it but that would only be if they have McNabb, who just happens to be injured. I think that Westbrook will have a huge day, he will make a lot of mismatches the whole game.

[kakn7294]

It is funny to read all of the venom toward the Patriots. They are the hated team right now. Jealousy causes hatred.

It's not always a case of jealousy and it's not definately not for me. There are some teams you just hate and the Patriots are one of them for me - I always have since I started watching football. I also hate the Browns, Bengals, and Ravens - just a Steelers fan thing, no jealousy involved there either.

[SBETigg]

Oh, look at your Eagles go, Goofhook! Looking good out there. Good game!

[PirateLover]

so close.......so close.........

[kakn7294]

What a great game! Too bad Feely threw that pick at the end - the Eagles had them where they wanted them and were so close to tying or winning!

[Epc0tphr34k]

The Eagles had them beat and Feeley threw to the clear out route, and a bad ball at that. if he had just just thrown the ball to LJ Smith who was coming across the field wide open i could have actually slept last night.