Genius is Often Misunderstood

Before I began my rant, let me start off by saying Bill Belichick is a Hall of Fame coach, and will forever be in my heart for winning 3 Superbowls in 4 years.

I am guessing you were watching the game Sunday night between the Colts and Patriots. I sat down with my buddies, broke out the chips and salsa and watched Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriots do work against the Colts, leading by 17 at one point in the 4th quarter. I was estatic because I have waited for this game all season long, and it couldn't have gone any better then I imagined...until Bill Belchick made one of the worst coaching moves in recent history.

The Pats are up 6, with the ball on there own 29 yard line, and 3 minutes remaining in the game. One first down and the game is over, the Patriots can run out the clock, I can dance around Founders celebrating how much better my team is then everyone elses, life would be grand. Well, it didn't work that way because of one man, and one decision to go for it on 4th and 2. I realize this is supposed to be a "gutzy" move and would just add to Bill's legacy if converted, but sometimes in football you have to check your ego at the door and play by the numbers. Giving Peyton Manning a 30 yard field to score a touchdown is like letting Michael Jackson babysit your kid...you just wouldn't do it. You MUST punt the ball in that situation and let your defense win the game for you, just like they have always done in the past. Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi, whom both played under Belichick last season, went on air and ripped their former head coach publicly, and in my opinion deservingly so. So why go for it? Was Bill that cocky where he thought there was no way Brady would ever be stopped? Or does he have zero faith in his defense? It is probably a combination of both, but on Sunday night that combination resulted in a losing formula.