Belichick’s infamous call

It is now Thursday and the media and the fans have driven this topic into the ground. It is almost annoying how much SportsCenter has dwelled on this play call, but last night I had an epiphany. This might be the worst play call by a coach… ever.  Forget about Spygate (when Belichick illegally filmed the Jet’s practice). It seems almost miniscule to me at this point.

Let’s go back to the scenario. The  Colts have made a treacherous comeback in the 4th quarter. Their defense has stopped the Patriots on three straight downs, leaving Bill Belichick with a decision. Punt… Or go for it on 4th and 2 on their own 29. The realistic thing to do is punt. Anyone who pays any attention to football knows that. This is not the playoffs. This is not the Super bowl. This is a regular season game.

Granted, it is not just any regular season game. It is against the undefeated Colts that have the only quarterback that is better than Tom Brady in Peyton Manning. Without any hesitation, Belichick went for it and the Patriots came up short. It is a play that will haunt him for the rest of the year and maybe his career. If the Pats would have made the 1st down, he would have been a genius, but instead, he is a martyr.  He failed. End of story. 

Now back to my point…. This might be the worst play call by a coach I have ever seen. I have never seen anything like it. Some questions came to mind when thinking about this. Has Belichick’s ego risen to an all-time high? Did he not trust his defense at all? Or did he fear Peyton Manning and the Colt’s offense that much? However you want to answer these questions, the call was awful. It goes against all ethics and morality in football. The vast majority of coaches shake their heads at this. His call blew it for his team. I understand the players did not execute it, but why that play? A two yard pass to Kevin Faulk? You have one of the best slot receivers, the best big play receiver and an offensive line that is in the upper tier of the NFL. 

It just makes no sense to me. Maybe someone can explain it to me at some point. But until then, I am standing behind my statement. There have been players that have made dumb decisions that have costs games. Chris Webber calling timeout in the National Championship game comes to mind. K-State’s Pervis Pasco ran with the ball at the end of the game that cost the Wildcats a win in the Big 12 Tournament in 2003. Players make mistakes all the time that cost them victories. It’s a fact of life. People drop wide open passes in football. But it’s the players… not the coach. The coach is supposed to be the wise dictator that makes all the ethical decisions. Not someone with a phobia of another team or lack of trust in his defense. 

Obviously, I am appalled that Belichick made that call. I feel sorry for his team. The Patriots players all have to bite their tongue and prepare for the Jets on Sunday. All we can do is wonder why this happened. We will never know the answer. But I do know that there is no place in football for stupidity such as this.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 12:06 pm and is filed under Blog It. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.