MattM

Yet isn't it funny how so much more frequently it seemed to happen at brand spanking new Gillette than at other places as per at least 2 head coaches? Something's smelled bad in New England* for a long while now and it ain't just Belicheat's dirty hoodie. We haven't even brought up Rodney Harrison's HGH yet. Only caught because he was dumb enough to order it under his own name. Funny how that team was the place washed up old vets seemed to go to "regain a step"....

You do also realize that they were accused in the NFL Competition Committee of more than Spygate. Things like headsets going out at odd times (third downs on key drives being a favorite as per Jack Del Rio and Rod Marinelli) at Gillette or Ross Tucker's accusation that IRed players practiced with the team, for ex. As per a NYT article after Spygate citing several unnamed members of that Committee it was New England brought before them far and away more than anyone else for suspicion of rules infractions Personally, I agree with the poster above. Some teams are more willing to push the envelope than others and the Cheats* are way on one end of the barbell compared to the rest of the League. Some coaches (and owners) really believe in "winning at all costs" and are willing to push the line on that. I'm always amazed that some folks find that hard to believe. One doesn't get to where they are without taking risks....

No, they just moved on to some of their other alternatives, like the refereeing in last week's Bills game. Good to see that the check cleared this year....

Just give it to them....

I used to love his columns at SI. Too bad that ESPN pretty much buried his work on like page 12. I'd imagine that doing radio is a lot easier than doing a weekly column, but it's the print reader's loss....

Think of it as a win-win. Either the Cheats* go down, or the Bills' playoff chances go up.....

When is Anderson due back.

Who else forgot how that feels?

Kind of hard, though, isn't it to beat the other team and the referees? Look, I don't like it when folks continually winge about the officiating either, particularly in marginal cases that could have gone either way, or which average out over time, but over the years it's been one team over and over and over again that seems to have gotten the benefit of suspect calls against us (and others, I might add). Notice you don't see people here complaining, for ex., about losses to the Fins or Jets (or anyone else) due to poor officiating. When you see something like the Pats* "luck" with the referees on a consistent and predictable basis it should make you think, particularly in a case where said team has already been found to, how shall we say, "bend the rules".....

"Even after a slew of questionable calls that seemed to be stacking the deck in favor of the Patriots, the Bills still had a chance to win the game late." For those who think people who complain about the refs in Pats* games are all just sore losers/conspiracy theorists, that's the intro to Mike Florio's article on the game on PFT yesterday. He was going about as far as he's allowed here considering that he works for NBC, which has an agreement with the NFL....

My favorite was the no call hold on KW at about 5:50 in the 2nd. The guard hooks his arm around KW and grabs his jersey as he turns him upfield, all in plain view of a ref, but of course no flag. I just rewatched that 3 times along with the two garbage PI's on the same drive--incredible that these refs are allowed to work in the NFL. The League needs to investigate these guys and their bank accounts, but we all know that will never happen....

And you know why that is, don't you? Look no further than who he plays for....

Mike Florio noticed this on his site at least--something like "several questionable calls in the Pats* direction". I'm glad to see we're not the only ones seeing this. Today's refs really should be investigated. I mean, when you have so many atrocious calls all in the same direction it really gives one pause about the integrity of the game....

Wow--how did he not see McCourty there?

Amazing, isn't it considering it's 11 on at least 15 here....

Seriously--what do we do about this officiating? Send tapes/letters to the League? Start a boycott? I watch lots of Pats*games and this happens WAY too often for it to be coincidence. Today's just a spectacularly bad example of it....

More like crooked officiating. So many bad calls and no calls all in the same direction lead me to the conclusion that there's something very rotten in Denmark....

Now that made me laugh! (beats crying over the garbage on the field today.....)

We need a TD here, but with these refs we may really need a miracle of Biblical proportions to actually have a chance to win this game....

These refs are in the bag--at least 3 awful, awful calls all against us

Shouldn't the true measure of merit take into account the distance one has traveled? For instance I think most agree that it's more impressive for someone to rise to the top from a public housing project in Harlem or Southie than someone to make it to the top from Exeter or Andover (especially if not a scholarship student)? This Randian superman/job creator worship often ignores the real world reality that outcomes in our society are influenced heavily by starting point factors in one's background (see the recent Pew study on intergenerational mobility, for ex.). That's what I find galling about those arguments, which are usually supported by anecdotes rather than broad data sets (like said Pew study). In terms of policies, I'm in favor of those that seek to give the poor/working class a fighting chance rather than pull the ladder up behind me to cut millionaires' taxes (even my own).....

I'm at work, so will try to post more later, but personally I'd just like to see either party nominate someone for Pres. who went to a public HS. Clinton was the last one I believe. Amazing when you consider that less than 1 kid in 100 (more like 1 in 200 or 300 I'd wager) is educated at an Andover, Cranbrook, St Albans or Punahou that each of the last 7 candidates for Pres. have gone to such schools....

Interestingly, to some extent I agree with it as well, but what galls me (as a blue collar kid from a blue collar town who worked hard, got educated and spent 7 years in the Ivies among folks who were waaayyyy more privileged than those I grew up with and have spent the next twenty or so plus years living what most would call an UMC/rich lifestyle) is that many/most of those who are doing the preaching wouldn't know adversity if it bit them in the....welll....you can fill in that part. That would include both Romney and Ryan. I've found most of those who have truly grown up without and made it tend not to be the ones doing that preaching. That message, at least to me, goes down much better when delivered by someone who's done it all himself. For that reason, i found Marco Rubio's RNC speech to be a great speech, even if I disagree with him on a good number of issues. His background gave him "street cred" so to speak.....

I live in southern Westchester myself--we lost power for about a week, but got it back right after last week's Bills game (BTW, check out the White Wolf in White Plains on Bills Sunday if folks in the area need a place to watch the game). Can't complain too much, as many others have it much, much worse. In terms of the gas, I think the shortages have to do with a combination of no power to get gas up from the tanks, the storm disrupting the ability to resupply for tons of reasons and increased demands due to hoarding behavior (a natural human emotion in times of shortage, so I'm not making moral judgments here) and generators. It seems to have eased a bit in my area in the last 2-3 days, fortunately....

Comedy gold.....