Bill Belichick isn’t very likeable. The coach of the New England Patriots has a subtle arrogance about him and he seems to have a disdain for the media.
If there was ever a time to point an accusing finger at him, today would be the day.
His decision to go for a first down on fourth-and-two at the Indianapolis 28-yard line with 2:08 left and a six-point lead proved to be the turning point in their 35-34 loss. When the pass play failed because Kevin Faulk juggled the ball, thus losing a favorable forward-progress spotting of the ball, Peyton Manning moved the Colts down the field and threw the winning TD pass with 13 seconds left.
I didn’t mind the gamble.
Belichick had to decide between trusting a revamped and fatigued defense against a future Hall of Fame quarterback who has engineered many last-minute game-winning drives or putting his faith in one of the best offenses in the game with future Hall of Famer Tom Brady at the helm. The Patriots had moved the ball effectively virtually the entire game.
If the Patriots had punted, the Colts still had one timeout and plenty of time to march down the field and win it.
Belichick knew it and wasn’t afraid to make a daring call.
If the Patriots picked up the first down, it was game over.
The Pats had third-and-two and failed to convert right before that.
A Laurence Maroney fumble in the Indy end zone and a Brady interception deep in Colts territory also contributed to the loss.
The Pats still have a two-game lead in the AFC East and control their own destiny. Even if they had won, they’d still be one game behind Indianapolis, and the Colts have an easier schedule, facing teams that are 30-32 while the Pats face teams that are 34-29.
So the road to the Super Bowl would probably have gone through Indianapolis anyway.
Now it’s up to the Pats to avoid letting this loss dive-bomb their season, build on the many positives, and earn a rematch with Indy.
— Larry Mahoney
Manning holds upper hand vs. Belichick now
When this decade began, Bill Belichick was in Peyton Manning’s head, devising myriad defensive schemes that confused the Indianapolis Colts’ wunderkind of the time.
But as this decade approaches its end, it’s clear the relationship is now the other way around.
How else to explain Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-two from the Patriots’ 28-yard line with barely two minutes left in Sunday night’s NFL game and New England clinging to a 34-28 lead?
Belichick apparently was so afraid that Manning might drive 70 yards for the winning touchdown that he instead took the risk of allowing him to drive 29 yards for the winning touchdown.
And that’s what Manning and the Colts did after Tom Brady’s fourth-and-two pass to Kevin Faulk in the right flat gained just 1 yard, leaving the Patriots a yard — and really no more than a foot or so — from a first down that would have helped them run down the clock.
A review of the play might have revealed that Faulk actually made enough forward progress for the first down, but the Patriots had no timeouts left to issue a challenge. And the play began with more than two minutes left, so replays weren’t yet in the hands of the game officials.
The suddenly humbled Belichick offered little explanation for the gamble, other than he was trying to win the game.
It was a stunning turn of events to watch, and the only thought here was that perhaps the Patriots were trying to call the Colts offsides.
That wasn’t the case.
It was a risk that likely no other coach in the league would take, and its failure is fraught with significant consequences, such as revealing Belichick’s lack of trust in his own defense and leaving the Patriots out of the running for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Even mild-mannered Tony Dungy, the former Colts head coach now working for NBC, said after the game that no matter Belichick’s level of respect for Manning, the Patriots had to punt in that situation — and Dungy is not one to criticize anyone in such a public format.
Perhaps Belichick was just trying to earn a game ball — from the Colts.
— Ernie Clark
Too many jobs block Belichick’s genius
It has become the unofficial mantra for New England Patriots fans the last 10 years: In Bill We Trust.
That trust was put to the ultimate test Sunday night, and Bill earned an “F.”
Head coach Bill Belichick defied “the book,” conventional wisdom and common sense in general by eschewing a punt and going for it on fourth-and-two at New England’s own 28-yard line with a six-point lead and just more than two minutes to play.
Whether it was lack of faith in his defense, a sense that his defensive unit was dead tired, his gambling nature, or perhaps even a belief in his own infallibility, Belichick called for a pass and the Patriots wound up about 7 inches short.
I am one of many who believe three Super Bowl titles over a four-year period and a 19-1 season have earned Belichick carte blanche status for at least 10 years, but I’d already started to think maybe acting as head coach, offensive coordinator and unofficial general manager might be more than even a gridiron genius like Beli-chick can handle.
There have been hairline cracks forming even in the bedrock monument to Bill’s pigskin propensity for the last four years due to questionable draft picks (Laurence Maroney instead of DeAngelo Williams, Joseph Addai, or Maurice Jones-Drew), free-agent mistakes (Joey Galloway, Tank Williams) and controversial trades or releases (Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Larry Izzo, Asante Samuel).
Maybe it’s time to add another cook so chief, cook and bottle washer Bill won’t continue to spread himself too thin. Whether it’s by hiring an offensive coordinator or giving someone (former vice-president of player personnel and talent guru Scott) Pioli powers, it’s becoming apparent something needs to be done to free up more of coach Belichick’s coaching genius.
— Andrew Neff