RELAX NAYSAYERS, BELICHICK KNOWS BEST

Relax Naysayers, Belichick Knows Best
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 5:39PM
"Pete"
by Paul "Pete" Connor, TheSportsHatch.com writer

To all the sports writers, fans, commentators, ex-NFLers, bloggers, etc. who are still out there at the moment talking about Bill Belichick’s “questionable” call made Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts, I have one favor to ask; shut up (Sorry to be blunt, but I feel it's necessary to stand by my man Bill here). Truth be told, the aforementioned critics generally hate the Patriots and loathe Belichick. With the exception of the true Patriots fans, everyone's as giddy as if it was the day after Spygate broke. To the naysayers I say ease up! This ain’t Grady Little or John McNamara we’re talking about. The Patriots will win the AFC East and will go far in the playoffs. As upsetting as the game’s outcome was for every Patriots fan to watch or wake up to, I say relax, stop questioning the past, and wait for the Jets to hit town.

Why take this stance? I've had the pleasure of watching this man take the Patriots to the top more times than I thought possible in my lifetime circa 1999. I have more than enough reasons. Do I owe him my undying loyalty? No. Do I receive a check every time the Patriots are victorious? I certainly wish I did. Three years ago I would have told you when Tom Brady is no longer playing with New England, the run is over and done with. But after last season, watching what Belichick did to salvage the season (others helped I know) and putting together a competitive team that narrowly missed the playoffs without its best player, that inevitable day scares me a lot less.

The day that scares me more is the day Bill Belichick steps down as Patriots coach. Players get injured, sign with new teams or just peak and then fade away with some low rent club. Coaches often burn out, and since Coach Belichick does things his way (like he did on Sunday) I see him lasting that much longer than the rest. Plus, could you really picture him sitting between Shannon Sharp and Boomer Esiason or even worse, next to Terry Bradshaw or Jimmy Johnson? Somehow even the mental picture cheapens Belichick’s legacy. I cannot picture it because it will never happen.

But I digress with my verbal accolades for the “Messiah of New England.” Let's get back to “The Call.” Was it the right decision? Maybe, maybe not, but one thing is for sure, I trust this man. I think every single Patriots player trusts this man and even the Patriots fans who are still griping about the infamous call trust this man. Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, you can have your opinions. You’re no longer suiting up for Bill Belichick on Sundays, so feel with talk about this ad nauseum with the other pundits. Believe me, I’m not saying Belichick is infallible. The man makes mistakes, just ask Joey Porter.

What I’m saying to the people at my office, at my gym, and to all my friends on Facebook is, GET OVER IT! I can deal with all the other so-called "experts" by just shutting them out and not reading their pretentious columns or changing the channel when the issue is being discussed for the hundreth time. It’s the beer-bellied, chair-huggin, Facebook wall-posting opinionaters that I’ve become extremely irritated with over the last 48 hours. The Patriots will be in the playoffs and thanks to Coach Belichick and for however long he chooses to stay in Foxboro the Patriots will live to fight another day. No matter how many people try to dissect the call from last Sunday, the bottom line is this: Cows make milk Coach Bill Belichick makes great football teams. Live with it...