By Zaki, PhillyGameday.com
The fierce, round-the-clock scrutiny by ESPN analysts over Bill Belichick’s 4th-and-2 call has finally prompted the network to launch an affiliated 24-hour Bill Belichick network and website so they can finally stop talking about this crap on Sportscenter.
ESPN Belichick and ESPNBelichick.com will feature vomit-inducing over-analysis of every decision made by the Patriots coach, from game calls to choosing between looking like a bum or a total bum on the sidelines.
“Bill Belichick is the premier head coach in the premier sports league in the premier country on the premier planet of our galaxy,” said Sportscenter anchor Robert Flores. “I’m pretty sure the most important person in our galaxy deserves at least one channel and a website, so this is the least we could do.”
Not everyone is pleased with the all-Belichick network and many have questioned why Belichick’s 4th-and-2 call was given so much attention in the first place.
“Belichick makes one questionable decision during a game and all the sudden he gets his own network,” Eagles head coach Andy Reid noted on Tuesday. “I consistently make at least three bad decisions before I even get out of bed in the morning and at least six dozen during the first quarter alone. That’s gotta be worth something, I think.”
Belichick was Wrong, 100% Wrong.
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I’m not so sure you can answer the question of whether the Colts would have won if Belichick opted to punk on statistics alone.
If the Colts averaged 155 seconds to score earlier in the game, that doesn’t take into account Peyton Manning’s ability to throw bombs down field to Reggie Wayne, which they don’t always do during the game.
I’m pretty confident in Manning’s ability to pull it out when it counts, and so was Belichick, which is why he did what he did. Would I have punted? Probably. But it comes down to having your offense get 2 yards, or your defense stopping Peyton Manning from driving down the field with 2:00 left or whatever they had left in the game and I don’t blame the guy for trusting his offense more.
@Zaki
Belichick’s s decision shows that he trusted his defense as much as he trusted his offense, perhaps more.
This claim stands opposite from what most have parroted, that he trusted his offense more.
Yet, if those who make such a claim, stopped and then started to think, they would come to see that by going for it on 4th down, Belichick had to know that if his offense failed to convert, the Colts would gain possession on a short field, thus putting the ball in the hands of QB great Peyton Manning.
In short, through his decision, Belichick said metaphorically, I trust my defense to prevent the Colts from scoring anywhere on the field, but especially from our 29 yard line with our backs to our goal line.
Gridiron Grotto: http://gridirongrotto.blogspot.com
I think the only person that knows who Belichick trusted or didn’t trust in that situation was Bill Belichick. From our perspective, it could go either way….that he made the call to go for it because he didn’t trust his defense to stop Peyton after a punt or that he trusted them so much that he knew they could stop him on the 29 yard line. It could go either way….from our perspective.
My only point is that I don’t think it’s fair to say he completely made the wrong decision. When you have the weapons you have on offense, that changes the whole game when you need to pick up 2 yards. Like I said, I would have probably punted myself, but I can’t blame the guy for trusting in Brady, Welker, Moss, etc. Maybe his biggest mistake was going to Faulk in that situation and not Welker.