Where there is smoke, there’s fire and the credibility and sportsmanship of the Patriots and their coach is worth nothing. Their loss in the Super Bowl and their failed attempt at perfection is punishment for hubris. I believe that their dynasty is predicated on cheating and they got what they deserved on Sunday. They tape practices to get an advantage by knowing what play the defense runs. It was true at the beginning of this season and it may very well be true since their first Super Bowl win over the Rams six years ago. When the playing field was equal and when Brady and Belichick couldn’t rely on their cheating ways, we saw how good they really were. I give all the credit to the Giant’s defense for showing that when the competition is fair, they were the better team. The Rams organization, the players, and the whole league has been damaged by a dishonest and proud organization and coach. I hope this begins a whole new curse on the Patriots and they never win again. I think they are the worst defense to ever be part of an 18 win season, and as we saw last night and will continue to see, when the offense can’t rely on tapes and knowledge of defensive plays, they too are far less than perfect.

Bernie:

Thanks for telling it “like it is”. Your comments about Super Bowl 32 in Sunday’s Post-Dispatch and today’s observations about Belichick’s behavior are right on the mark and very much appreciated. Yes, the Pats and Tom Brady are both outstanding; however, as someone once said: “On any given Sunday…..”. Thankfully, Belichick, the “over the top” New England fans and the arrogant idiots in Boston who planned the victory parade have received their “just” due this past Sunday. Thanks for all you do to keep us informed. Now, if you could only help MLB and its do-nothing commissioner drop the hammer on steriods and HGH, sports and its influence on our youth, would be much improved.

Thanks for a great write Bernie. You said it pretty good.
I read somewhere today that Belichick is a bad winner and
a poor loser, or something like that.
He lacks class and integrity in many ways.
He and his team may claim to be a dynasty, but look at how many
people hate them. It’s a shame and disgrace for the game.

Great job Bernie. That’s telling it like it is. Football will only be better when Belichick leaves the game.

How despised must the Patriots be that the entire country (minus Boston) is thrilled to see a New York team win a national title? I think it says a lot about how sick and tired people are of Boston teams, especially the Patriots.

The Boston newspapers are silent on Spygate today, by the way. It is pretty prominent on the NY Post. ESPN has it tucked away.

I feel if anything, a lot of people are savoring the Patriots loss because of their view on the whole Spygate issue. If anything, I think Saturday’s news is more worrisome than what was being told earlier in the season. But that doesn’t mean that you can start discounting Belichick as a cheater or that Patriots fan can’t feel the same because they cheated.

First of all, they didn’t cheat in Super Bowl 2001. There are rumors, but everyone says it is false, and there is no evidence to prove otherwise. It would be the equivalent of me telling your wife that you cheated on her, and then parading it as fact because I decided to say it is truth. It can’t be truth unless there is evidence, and a rumor isn’t justified as evidence.

2nd, Belichick may have been hands-deep in spygate, but all teams try to steal signs in the NFL. Parcells has talked about it, Gibbs has mentioned it. People try to steal signs all the time, and there were reports of multiple teams using cameras ( not just the Pats) to steal signs, which is one reason why the rule came into effect (circa 2005, which is very recent, and actually would consider Patriots Superbowls legitimate since the rule came into affect after their last SB win).

3rd: Belichick is a sore loser. People don’t like them. But they are still a dynasty. Tony G sasy look at how many people hate them. Dynasties are never loved. Knicks fans didn’t appreciate Jordan beating them year after year. A lot of old NFC teams in the 90’s hated the Cowboys and their superstar swagger. The Yankees? Ha, no one liked the Yankees continuously winning.
The Patriots are in the same boat. They are a dynasty because they have dominated and have 3 rings in 8 years, have been to four superbowls, have been in the playoffs all but one year, and still have a dominant team for next year.

My only question is how deep the videotaping goes. If it resolves that Belichick was caught then as the biggest Pats fan you will ever see I will personally set that those trophies were tainted. But I also contend that post spygate the Patriots are 18-1. They have no superbowls to show for it, but even now, the Patriots can probably do the same exact thing next year and show that they don’t need to cheat to win.

The superbowl loss was bad, and yes it is great to harp on the Patriots now. But remember that pretty much as long as Belichick, Pioli, and Brady are around, they are going to win. If anything, to have a guarantee of success just because of a coach and system, in itself is amazing. Giants win, and spoil the fun for goliath. But they will most likely win a superbowl in the next 2-3 years, and all of this nonsense about cheating will blow away as people find out that this system is great, and will produce great teams beyond the spygate era. Saying Bilichick is a cheater and doesn’t respect the game undermines the fact that he is an amazing coach and last time I checked, helped win the superbowl for the Giants in 1990, which might I add, the defense used in the game was placed in the Hall of Fame. He is an ass, but he is an amazing coach, and will probably show it by having another similar season next year.

Hopefully, a superbowl win would put these asinine articles to rest.

Good column, Bernie. This actually worked out perfect, since the 18-0 run made the Patriots look unstoppable and all the fans were as overconfident as is humanly possible. Add in the last minute comeback, and a better script really couldn’t have been written.

I will agree that Belichick is one heck of a coach, and yes they have a good organization to keep that team as such a high level over the past 8 years. However, they won’t win in the next three years for the same reason the Giants won’t: Their defense is old. Both teams have alot of veterans that can’t keep up the consistent great play that they have given over the years. The Pats are good at replacing talent, but they are heading for a rebuild on defense, and everyone knows defense wins championships. The following season record of teams that lost the Super Bowl the previous year doesn’t bode well either.

I also agree that a lot of teams have cheated in the past. But just like all the people that may have bet on baseball, Pete Rose got caught. And Belichick is that same obnoxius, high-profile kind of guy as Rose. In fact the similarities between the two are rather interesting.

At the end of the day Redsoxmaniac I will gladly say that this year’s Pats are one of the greatest teams in history, better than the 72 Dolphins and close if not even to the 84 Bears. I will also wait to see what else comes out of Spygate, because I think we have just ticlked the surface of this story.

Bernie, that was a great read for me. Anytime I can read something and feel myself get pumped up I know it was written well. Kudos.

Bern, nail on the head in your final paragraph. They’ll NEVER know.

My biggest question now is this: Now what? If there is a shred of evidence or the unnamed source is willing to testify, the Rams should absolutely pursue legal action against the Patriots.

They just can’t stay mum on this subject. It’s just too important to let slide.

Mr. Belichick proved yet again what he is. Despite his won-loss record with the Patriots, Bill Belichick is a classless loser.

Sore losers….now Brady and Moss have decided to skip the Pro Bowl. Does anyone believe (outside of New England) that those two wouldn’t have shown up in Hawaii if the Pats had won SB42?

LOL. That’s some real class there Bernie. I think we all know we would love to have a quality coach like Belichick here in STL. Since our last great coach, Dick Vermeil, we got the overhyped wunderkind Martz who can’t spell DEFENSE…and now the current crew of losers.

As a journalist for a city who fielded one of the worst teams in franchise history you’re getting pretty self righteous.

It’s all about winning baby. The Patriots had a great season and came up short to the better team on that night.

Congratulations to the Giants. They deserve the all the glory for playing a great game against a great team.

wow it’s really hard to believe that outside of Ram Nation how many people actually HATE the Patriots. In fact I think this has to be the most disliked team that I have ever come across. I’ve read blogs from different papers on the web and like here there are plenty of people that are glad New England lost. And now some of those people that called the Rams fans “whiners” back in 2002 are starting to question that we really may have had something to whine about. I too am glad to see the Patriots lose and I don’t care much for the Giants either but last night when Eli threw that TD pass with 35 secs left, you would have thought that the Rams were playing I was cheering so hard!

Re: #12

Since when is it classless to point out the classlessness of others? Bernie gets paid to comment on sports, pretty much what he’s doing in this article.

What the Patriots did at the end of the game was classless and Belichick is routinely a jerk. Pointing it out doesn’t make the other person one of the same.

Also, re: #12 I’m sure Bernie has a lot of pull in figuring out who the Rams hire as head coach? Also, because the Rams sucked this year and Bernie works in St. Louis he’s not allowed to comment on other teams? Sounds like you’re a sore Patriots fan to me. Again, lets point on that his job is to comment on Sports. The city from which he does so and how those teams fare has no barring on that job. Get a clue.

It sounds like the Sox Maniac is rationalizing. Right now we’re a bit past rumors for the 2001 Super Bowl. There is at least one person that could and possibly will come forward to the NFL or even Congress to testify that the Pats taped in their first Super Bowl “win”. The reason he isn’t on record now is because the Pats made him sign a non-disclosure agreement once they fired him. I wonder why the cover-up? Most analysts think that the new allegations (see, past rumors) should be considered a serious violation and do irrepairable harm to the legitimacy of the Pats victories.

As far as Belichick goes, winning doesn’t make it right. Thats not the culture of sport we’re supposed to have. He may be a very smart guy and a great planner, but if the cheating scandal goes further he is not a great head coach. He’s simply a smart guy that won by cheating. Then you add on the arrogance of being warned personally to stop the taping and to continue with the process. He runs up the scores on teams, he leaves the field and his players before a loss is over. He is a classless human being and a poor leader.

People disliked the Cowboys of the 90’s because they were cocky, not because they cheated. People dislike the Yanks because they win, true, not because they cheated. I found myself in the past few years appreciating and respecting the performance of Tom Brady despite the fact that he topped my home team for a title. I put him up with Joe Montana as my favorite player of all time. So it’s not the winning that I hate. Its the cheating that makes me happy Brady got destroyed last night.

People respect Bill Walsh and Don Shula and Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi. They all won. They can all be considered a genius when it comes to leading a football team. They will all live on in due to their respect and honor. Belichick will be considered nothing more than a Nixonian weasle. He is a guy that could have honorably lead a franchise to success, but maybe not as many titles. His greed and shamelessness however, tarnished the NFL. The Pats deserve, at most two rings, that we know so far.

The Patriots, like a number of other figures and teams, are destroying the respect of organized sports. The Pats are the Barry Bonds of football. 18-1 means nothing now. Their legacy will be tarnished throughout the NFL no matter what lies you Pats fans want to tell yourselves. No other team or fans can respect you.

I know this much. Instead of telling my future child about watching Montana as a little kid and Marino as a teen and Brady as a young adult, I’m going to tell him about Peyton and Eli Manning. I’m going to tell him the the Rams won one Super Bowl on the field and deserve to call themselves champs in a second. I’m going to tell him about three championships the Pats cheated their way into. I’m going to contrast Bill Walsh to Bill Belichick. I’m going to teach them to grow up to play and work hard and honest and not like the Patriots.

Your rationalizations disgust me Sox Nut.

Millions of people watched Belichick show himself to be the classless jerk that most everyone thought he was. Great article, Bernie.

How can you question the class of a millionaire that cuts up new sweatshirts and wears them the only time he’s in public?

Cheaters that disgrace the integrity of the sports championship should be banned for life. It happened to the Black Sox and it should happen to Belichek.

Why didn’t any NY Giant respond to the question of “How does this feel?” with “PERFECT!”?

My favourite NFL team is the RAMS.

My second favourite is whoever is playing the Patsieriots.

I was elated to see the Patsieriots go down yesterday.

Did I miss it, or did coach Belicheat really neglect to congratulate his opponent, like virtually every other coach in whole world does, during his post-game interview on TV yesterday?

I agree with much of what Bernie says.

Superbowl 36 was an upset, and the officiating very suspect. I don’t consider Superbowl 42 to be an upset; because I am so happy about the outcome.

[...] I think Bernie Miklasz may have gone a bit over the top… Belichick’s aging defense couldn’t stop <strong>Eli Manning</strong> [...]

I really do not understand how walking off the field with 0:01 left is classless?

do we know what Belichick said to Coughlin???
it seemed like he was conceding the game.
is that classless?

This article reeks of stupidity. How did you get this job?

Ok I’ll have to admit Bill Belichick took it like a little schoolgirl and Eli the poster child for dysfunctional quarterbacks sucked it up when he had to. BUT what’s this crap about the RAMS! There losers and always will be! It took a great coach like Dick Vermeil to get them to the big win. So to beat up the Patriots isn’t fair they are a dynasty and I believe everyone knows they will be back. Go Cowboys!

Thank You Bernie!

I hate the Patriots! It’s so funny how quickly they went from being “America’s Team” to cheating sore losers that everyone wanted to see lose. I still feel robbed on that Super Bowl as a Ram fan. Not only were they caught cheating but let us not forget the rule that was enforced after that game. Not touching the receivers after the 10 yard mark. They were mauling Holt and Bruce that whole game.

The Pats got what they deserved. And they really don’t know how we felt like after that game

Bernie, totally agree. Billichek also showed how classless he was in the post game interview offering up 2 word responses, and not congratulating the Giants on their win.

Well said Bernie. I hope more people, especially those inside the NFL, will realize winning isn’t glorious unless it’s done so honorably. “Everybody does it” is a pathetic excuse. Belichicks legacy could have been exceptional. Now it is forever tarnished, & rightly so. The Patriots have become one of Americas favorite teams to root against, & that’s all due to the arrogance and bush league behavior of their coach. The day he leaves the league will be a great day & I don’t see a rosey future for the Pats while he is there. I think he has caused a cancer to begin eating away at what was potentially the greatest dynasty ever. Now, every loss will be blamed on Super Bowl hangover & the scrutinizing of Belichicks relationship with his players will begin. Personally, I say let the unraveling begin!

Bernie, your article was so sobering and definitely no nonsense. No hyperbole, just the way it went down.

ESPECIALLY the “spare me” @ the end because the Giants’ D was even imposing during the Dallas game and the way they pounded Brady reminded me of their clobbering of Kurt Warner before Marc Bulger took over the reigns in the Meadowlands one fateful opening day.

:¬)

BM - disagree re your comment about the sluggish 3 qtrs. I thought it was a good to great game throughout. Needless to say, not much scorring but some good solid smacking and the 4th Q was dynomite!.

Couldn’t believe that NE didn’t run a draw or a screen at some poiint to keep NY on their heels a bit. genius-boy Belichek made essentially no adjustements.
He certainly should not have left the field with a tic left. And during his postgame, hallway interview the only decent thing he said about the Giants was that ‘they made more plays than we did’. He gave them no props at all. He may have later in the press mess but I didn’t catch it. he’s a petulent little man. and to think we all knew this about him but were ready to anoint him until Sunday. it’s a shame we idolize or even put up with people like this.

One more thing. thanks god they didn’t lose in week 17!
Or 1 - 16 for that matter.
This way, we had a chance to savor their demise on the biggest stage.

There is a great picture on the Boston Herald web site today. It shows Belichick sprinting off the field while his team in the bachground watched him.

Bernie,

Thanks for the insightful comments - I always look forward to reading your columns.

I agree with most of the article’s points, but I thought it was a pretty entertaining game. I was expecting the Pats to blow out the gints, and so seeing them blast through the o-line over and over was entertaining.

Seems the Rams loss to the Pats was due more to the reffing and the coaching than cheating. I don’t mind them trying to get to the bottom of it, but I don’t think it makes much difference in the result, how I feel about it, and why it happened.

Belichick has no clue what the word sportmanship means. During the regular season he was guilty of running up the score in games where his opponent had no chance of winning when he could have simply taken a knee. He proved his lack of sportsmanship on the biggest stage in the sports world by walking off the field on super Sunday. The NFL should fine him for his cowardly act. As we all know, what goes around comes around. What a fitting end to Belichick’s “perfect season”.

The author Bernie is desperate pathetic SPORTS COLUMNIST who writes sentences that he does not understand. He has no idea whethe the Patriots have ever cheated and only writes it because the Red Sox owned his beloved Cardinals in the most embarassing lopsidded World Series in recent memory. It’s a classic case of an unimportant corroding midwestern city’s deep self-loathing which manifests itself in biased erroneous comments about another city’s heroes. There is a reason no one with an education would ever consider living in St. Louis. Has anyone ever seen a bio or profile for Bernie? I can’t find one, and I assume it is because he never went to college. His writing indicates that is the case.

And now Tom Brady, Randy Moss will skip the Feb. 10 ProBowl game in Honolulu. Big surprise.

Bernie - Why are you so obese? Seriously, why do you eat far more than your body needs? It is disgusting to look at pictures of you, you fat midwesterners.

Great article, Bernie.

This is for our Red Sox friend. To say that the Patriots did not cheat in SB 36 is disingenuous on many levels. First, their game plan clearly was to cheat. The refs just let them get away with it. If you could look at the replay of that game with any objectivity (and I can based on the affirmation by people who couldn’t care less about the Rams here in Baltimore), you will notice numerous blatant non-calls (intentional grounding, hands to face, helmet to helmet, hits out of bounds, hits beyond 5 yards, holding etc). Give us just a few of those 15 yarders and the game is over despite Martz’s less than stellar game plan. Furthermore, the legend of Tom and the Pats becomes a little less dramatic and a bit shorter. You can argue that “all teams do it” and it is up to the refs to set the tone and it they “let them play” so be it. But when they stop enforcing football’s rules, it ceases being football.

As for the taping, you have to admit that it is pretty darn suspicious. Rams players are interviewed as not understanding how a team that has been known to illegally tape practices knew what they were going to run. And what they allegedly did was against the rules in 2002. Just because we can’t prove it doesn’t mean that they didn’t do it. Of course they should not be punished or reprimanded without proof, something the Rams may never have. But the evidence and circumstances go way beyond your wife cheating example unless you believe that the Boston and St. Louis newspapers are The Star in disguise.

I have watched every Super Bowl since 1974. The Steelers beat us fair and square. The Titans very well may have if not for Mike Jones. But no SB game came close to feeling, tasting, and smelling like a bad apple like SB 36. Only the Seahawks can come remotely close (although Charlie Waters might disagree) to having the same complaint (imagine if the Rams had a game called that tightly in 2002 - the Pats would have had 20 penalties).

This has nothing to do with some vendetta against NE or any other Boston sport team or era. I liked the Patriots when Grogan, Vataha, Stingley, Haynes and co. played for them. And clearly the present-day team is excellent. Brady is an impressive QB. The Rams could only wish to draft, coach, and make personnel decisions as well as the Pats presently do. Their run under the era of free agency and the cap has been quite impressive, spygate or not. However, that doesn’t change anything about 2002. Thanks to Belichick and his culture of win at any cost (ask the Colts), there were few fans as happy as I to see the Pats go down.

FawQ….now there is some class!! How long did it take you to think of that name genius??

You are just another sore-headed Boston loser spouting off your big fat mouth. Before the Red Sox inflated payroll and Belichek’s cheating teams you had nothing!! And now your cheating football team LOST on the biggest stage of all and all of America is reveling in that fact. Bostonians (i.e. FawQ the genius) are bandwagon fans that can’t win with class and can’t lose with class. Typical.

Bernie, you are a small town taco.

Belichick congratulated Coughlin, but you just figured you’d ignore that and keep the hate machine chugging along. I hope the Rams can get within 4 games of .500 next year!

Great observations on Belichik. The man is an oaf and an embarrassment to sport. None of his merits as a coach can camouflage his pure classlessness. Let’s hope he endures many sleepless nights over this one.

RICH,NOTORIOUS AND BLACK HOLE EMPTY: THE NEW ENGLAND SLAINTRIOTS

#36 Great points…Didn’t care about Seahawks vs. Pitt, but objectively Seahawks got shafted in that game…Fixed or not, it was sweet to see PATSIES go D
O
W
N

Great blog, Bernie. Patriots definitely do not know how Rams fans felt after SB 36, but as a Rams fan, that loss does now feel a little less bitter. Does anyone remember when Belichick coached the Browns? I don’t remember him being that great of a coach back then and then all of a sudden he becomes the next Vince Lombardi w/ the Patriots winning 3 SB’s and coming w/in 1 win of perfection? Seems supspicous to me.

I was listening to Gordo’s show on the way home from work tonight and a caller called in calling St. Louis fans hypocrites because we support LaRussa, but criticize Belichick when they are the same person. I do think that there are some similarities between Belichick and LaRussa, but I don’t think they are the same person. LaRussa has always seemed to have a lot of respect for the other team and usually the other team’s manager. He also seems like he is always willing to give credit to the other team when credit is due. Belichick seems to have no respect for the other team or other coach at any point. Not once in his interview did I hear him say that the Giants played a great game last night.

Bernie,

Great blog! Unfortunately being on the East Coast I get to see many of the Pats games. Belichick has always showed he has no class! From his insincere handshakes at the end of the games to his arrogant post game interviews. The man is hated by many, and the more information that comes out about his possible cheating the better. I always thought the penalty he and the team received did not fit the crime. It was great to see him get his come uppance.

Yeah, the Larussa-Belichick comparison is way off…Larussa is respectful to a fault when it comes to the other team (as he showed again this year by flying off the handle about that silly Cub’s article in the P-D last summer). Belichick has won 3 Super Bowls this decade so you would think he’d handle his one loss with a certain amount of grace. But I seriously believe Belichick thinks himself above the small matters of “decorum”, “sportsmanship” and “rules”. He completely ignored the referee trying to restore order, said a few words to Coughlin, and then was gone. What was really unsurprising the next day was ESPN doing their best to play down the whole incident.

The Boston media has been fairly complementary to the Giants so far, but just about every writer has qualified the win with a big nod towards “luck”. The Pats had their fair share of luck during that game (Manning’s missed hookup with Burress at 8:32 of the 4th which would have been at the least a very long completion, comes readily to mind), as well as their own previous Super Bowl wins. Every team needs some luck to get this far, but it’s up to them to capitalize on it…and the Giants did that big time.

I am NOT a Belichick fan at all; but, why didn’t you mention the fact that Belichick and Coughlin shook hands when everyone thought the clock had run out. Granted, Belichick should have stayed on the field but it’s not like the Mizzou Tigers who refused to shake hands after the game with the Hawks.

Ok, lets say that the Patriots didnt cheat in any super bowl they have ever played in, in fact lets say that spygate never happened. Lets just completely forget about all of that stuff, the bottom line is that the Giants won. They played better than the Patriots. The fact that Belichick ran off the field just shows that he is nothing more than a piece of human excrement who thinks he is better than everybody else. Its funny that you mention Bill Simmons. He is, in my opinion, the worst sports journalist in the world. Its amazing to me how fast a group of fans can go form noble and die hard to spoiled little female dogs. I guess birds of a feather really do flock together.

Speaking of Super Bowl 36, any word on what happened to those 2 or 3 seconds that were left after Vinateri kicked the field goal? Nobody ever talks about that for some reason, but with this year’s Super Bowl being ended with everyone on the field prematurely and then being forced to play that one last second, it just highlighted the insanity for me all over again.

Go back and watch the tape. There were clearly 2 or 3 ticks remaining AFTER Vinateri’s kick sailed through. Just one more way the Rams got screwed.

1.what is a small brown taco?
2. to fawq there was NO CURSE of the Bambino, the Boston RedSox were just a terrible team, belonging to a terrible organization, located in a terrible city.
The Cardinals may have gotten swept by the RedSox but add up the totals Mr. Math…..

Hi, just a word of thanks concerning your comments. I agree. Who am I to root for the Giants, but that was true Sunday. Maybe it was more rooting against the Patriots. How did they so quickly go from America’s team in 2001, to the world of cheaters today? Serves them right, I say.

Go Cardinals

Cardinals all-steroid/drug/alcohol team?

(It looks like we are heading down the same path the Cardinals took during the 70’s before Whitey showed up and cleaned house). And these are just the ding bats who got caught.

1B McGuire (Steroids); Hernandez (Cocaine)
2B Vina (Steroids)
SS Templeton (Cocaine)
3B Glaus (Steroids); Spezio (Drugs/alcohol)
CF Ankiel (Steroids)
RF Gonzalez (Growth Hormone); Green (Alcohol)
LF L. Smith (Cocaine)
C Simmons (Cocaine); Porter (Alcohol)
P Josh Hancock (Alcohol died)
Relief P Ryan Franklin (Steroids)

Manager: Tony LaRussa (DUI—asleep at the wheel)

By “caught” of course I am referring to how these players, past and present, caught the attention of fans with bigger than life style of play. Please note that the chemical listed to each player’s name is not intended to imply use of said chemical, but is rather intended to stimulate (no pun intended) conversation regarding the direction the Cardinals are taking in rebuilding their team. As Mr. McGuire made clear (okay, that pun was intended), we are not here to talk about the past.

And following their coach’s example, Brady and Moss drop out of the Pro Bowl. Does anyone really believe they would have missed it if they had won the Super Bowl. Pass up all the interviews and pictures and fawning? Right.
This is the end of the Pat’s dynasty. There’s going to be lots of finger pointing, coaches fired to cover Bellichick, free agents bailing and of course spygate (for awhile anyway).

mike jones tackle on the 1 is the best play in superbowl history

#47 Excellent point…I’ve been making that point for years.As improbable as it would have been for the Rams to run it back,they were purposely denied that chance.

Hey Bernie.. Funny how you and Randy were ripping on Eli just a couple months ago on your radio program. If you recall you guys said he was only drafted so high because of his name blah blah blah…now you compare him to Broadway Joe…oh brother.

And one more thing…Perhaps you could learn from the Tom Coughlin saga too. Looking at your track record here, you rip on coaches when they lose and give them over the top praise when they win..If it were up to you, Dickie V never would have been around in 2000, and although I’m not a huge Linnehan fan, you gotta give him third year. 2007 was all about the injuries, especially to the O line. In 2006 Linnehan coached a .500 team to a .500 record. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Here’s my prediction for the upcoming year.. the Rams will make the playoffs after getting healthy and you’ll jump on the bandwagon and praise Linnehan for changing.. oh brother.

I live in NE (In VT.) and in 2001-2002, I was living just out side of and working in downtown Boston. As a Lifelong Rams fan, that loss was very hard to swallow….especially being surrounded by the “classy” NE fans that just loved to yap it up in my face. Monday following that game, I took the Commuter Rail into the city, sporting the same Rams hat I proudly wore all year long. ANd I took the abuse like a man. It sucked, but what can you do? I STILL loved that 2001 Rams Team. Top to bottom.

And logic be damned, I STILL consider them to be a better squad than the 1999 Rams team that won the SB and the Patriots team that beat them in SB 36. You know Patriots fans want to argue that this 18-1 Team STILL deserves to be mentioned as one of the greatest teams ever despite losing in the big game. I argue that if THAT logic is accepted, than Mine, re Martz’s squad in 2001 is also acceptable.

Guess we don’t have to hear the following agian:

“You can’t give Bill Belicheck two weeks to prepare for a game.” Classy move by Bill walking towards the tunnel prior to Eli taking the final kneel down. What a sport.

Mike Martz was supposedly an idiot for getting “out coached” by Belicheck in the Rams 3 point loss won on a game ending field goal (*cough* Spaygate! *cough*). What does that make Uncle Bill? “The Greatest Team EVER”, lost to a 10-6 regular season wildcard team? Wow. Greatness.

BTW, I believe this is the first 6 loss Super Bowl champion. Way to put an exclamation point on the Season New England!

And Is the Boston Globe still honoring those advanced purchase sales for the book they made avaialble on Amazon.com Last week?

“19-0: The Historic Championship Season of New England’s Unbeatable Patriots: Books: The Boston Globe”

http://ballhype.com/story/19_0_the_h…w_engla nd_s/

Cart before the horse, much?

Schaedenfreud. I’m Living it Baby!

Go Arlen Specter!

Oh, And Kurt Warner STILL is the Only QB to throw for 40 or more Touchdowns in the regular season AND win the Superbowl, in the same season!

Marino, Manning, Brady…..Nope!

Way to go Kurt!

Teams that scored 500 or more points in the regular season and win the SB? Population: 1!

Way to go 1999 Rams!

I wonder, Does this mean the end of those obnoxious tools at Cold Hard Facts Football? $20.00 says they fold thier site within a year.

Re Bernies points on spygate and the SB Patriots SB agianst the Rams, I haven’t commented too much on this becuase as of right now, there isn’t a whole lot to weed through as far as evidence or proof. So far it’s simply a nameless source.

And while I agree that Washington has enough to do rather than worry about the taping habits of Bill Belichick, I also think it was necessary for Arlen Specter to open his mouth or Goodell simply was going to let things slide.

I mean honestly, did you hear the response from the Commish’s office about the accusations of Fliming the Rams final walk through prior to the SB with the Patriots?

“The NFL responded to the AP on Saturday saying that they investigated a rumor of such recording and were satisfied it had not occurred. “We were aware of the rumor months ago and looked into it,” spokesman Greg Aiello told the AP. “There was no evidence of it on the tapes or in the notes produced by the Patriots, and the Patriots told us it was not true.”

The Patriots told you it wasn’t true?!?!?!?!? Cool. “No need to look into the matter any further. Bill said he didn’t do it and the notes and tapes he gave us didn’t show anything. No sense in wasting any more time on this!”

You know I was watching Law and Order last night, and that was how Farina and Orbach handled their investigations.

Ask the suspect if he did it and if he said no, they moved on.

Detectiving 101.

I also loved Dick Vermiel’s response to the whole matter:

“Personally, I don’t think it had any effect on the game,” Vermeil said. “That stuff’s been going on forever and I don’t think you gain from it. It’s more of an integrity issue than anything else.”

Apparently “integrity” is not all that important now is it Dick? Wonder what your reaction would be if this was levied in a game you happened to have been coaching? What if say in 2002, questions came up that Bill supposedly taped the Sidelines of your coaches in the Patriots game with KC, in whihc NE won 41-38? Is it still “just” integrity, Dick? ANd what the hell is intergrity worth anywho?

Anyone recall Goodell’s response to questions about Cowboys Assitant coach Wade Wilson being suspended for 5 Games for “substance abuse” violations? Instead of 4 games which is what would have been given to a Player for the same infraction?

Goodell: “We hold the league’s coaches to a higher standard than the players.”

Yeah, I see that with how you made an example out of Belichick. For the allegations made by Jets Coach Mangini, that your office determined to be TRUE. And how when the “rumor” or allegation is brought up AGAIN, and this time for a Super Bowl, your investigation into the matter began with an ended with asking the Patriots organization if it was true or not. Brilliant.

Not suggesting that Billionaire Bob Kraft has you in his back pocket, commish, but if someone else were to see that…….

Sheesh.

Hawk

This is the biggest upset in the history of the NFL. It is because of Spygate, because of the way the Patriots wore 19-0 on their smug faces all season, because of the way Belichick has always treated the opposing team and their coaches. It was for that stupid bit during pre-game where the Patriot’s word that defined their season was Teamwork. There was no teamwork on the last 2 plays that Brady tried to force the ball to Moss. There was no teamwork when Belichick went for in on 4th and 13. Anyone that believes that he didn’t have faith in Gotskowski is an idiot. He went for it for the same reason he did it all season. He wanted to show the world that he was unstoppable. What a jerk.
The scramble by Manning wasn’t just to get away from the rush, it was to silence not only his critics but all of those in love with the Patriot’s perfection. Tyree’s catch was for everyone that had the Pats as champs in week 13, heck even before then. This was a win for everyone that had been pushed around by the Patriots for years. And maybe, because I’m a Rams fan, this win was for us. Because they played dirty in Superbowl 36. The Rams might be a bad team, but at least they have their integrity.

And for all the reasons I stated above, that is why the manning-tyree play are the greatest ever, and this superbowl the greatest upset ever. Sorry Mike Jones, “The Tackle” comes in second, although being a rams fan, i do have that picture as my wallpaper.

Love ya,nehville/Hawk5ins….Couldn’t have said it better myself

Ya gotta love it. In the pre-game interview BM described Belichick as a sort of frumpy guy who intentionally gave boring answers to reporters and made it sound like maybe he wasn’t as bad as everyone thought. Sort of weird but hey, he belongs to that group of geniuses so he’s a bit eccentric. Then post-game Belichick is a known cheater and sore loser. An ogre who leaves the field with one second remaining on the clock, leaving those poor “old guys” to fend for themselves. He abused those poor “old guys” all season long running up the score on opponenets by leaving them in the game too long. That’s a pretty quick turn around but hey there’s a witch hunt going on. And now we have our very own Rams Spygate, even though Dick Vermeil says that type of thing has been going on forever and he doesn’t think that’s the reason the Pats beat the Rams in 02. But what does DV know, he’s retired and out of the game now.

Bernie,

Again you have hit the nail on the head. What a classless creep Bill Belicheat is. Can’t even stay on the field for the last second with his team. Bill, Bobby and Tony. The cheat, the bully and King of the Roids. What a group!

Keep up the good work in letting sports fans see Belicheat and the Pats for what they really are, cheaters and poor losers.

Tim

Probably both the least PC and the most accurate article I have read about Belicheat and the Patriots. Nice as well to see some credit given to the Giants for their win, rather than just going on about how the Patriots lost.

Agreed, Linehan could learn a lot from Coughlin’s changed approach. Can’t see it happening though!

Well it was nice to watch the Pro Bowl yesterday and not hear any hype about the Patsies.
Brady and Moss are like dry, old leaves……now forgotten and blown away with the other
earthly debris.
Of course, in the event that “Mr. Class” Billicheat’s team would have won the SB, both
Brady and Moss would have been strutting around Hawaii.
Hmmmm. Poor losers and lousy winners.
I don’t usually get into the Pro Bowl very much, but yesterday’s game was very refreshing.

Don’t be so quick to judge the Patriots. Take a look at this Boston Globe article from 2/2/02. The Rams may have cheated as well. Who would be spying on the Pats before the superbowl other than the Rams. Hmmmm….. It should at least make you realize that your team could have been doing the same thing. So, take the loss like men and move on.
Here is the article:
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/superbowl/globe_stories/020202/they_re_primed_for_their_time+.shtml

Post 64-
I find it strange that a NE fan can say something like “take the loss like men”.
The coach never has a compliment or good word for anyone, and their
“star” players don’t attend the Pro Bowl.
The Rams have had a few lousy seasons, but at least they
don’t run and hide. Losing is part of the game, even for NE.

Typical Bernie wannabe sportwriter response, the very reason the patriots are where they are is because they are sore losers………show me some good losers and I will show you a team led by Mark Bulger

Hey 64–

There was nothing in the article that said it was the Rams. I believe that the stuff coming up now has specifically mentioned the Patriots. You are just being a sore loser. Your team completed the most amazing regular season ever. Take it like a man and move on.

[...] FROM THE PHOENIX AIRPORT — Some final comments on Super Bowl 42: — No surprise that Bill Belichick walked off the field with one second remaining in the game. Belichick is a known cheater, which means he doesn’t respect the game or… BIRD LAND RSS FEED [...]

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