A Circle-the-Wagons Night for the Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.--When it was over, linebacker Tedy Bruschi and quarterback Tom Brady hugged Coach Bill Belichick on the New England Patriots' sideline. The fans at Gillette Stadium cheered Belichick wildly as he exited the field. Patriots owner Robert Kraft gave Belichick a game ball and players offered testimonials to their coach in what they described as an emotional scene in the postgame locker room.
It was a circle-the-wagons kind of night for the Patriots, who followed a week of being called cheaters by overwhelming the San Diego Chargers, 38-14.
"I care about what people say," Bruschi said in the Patriots' locker room once the doors were opened to reporters. "This last week was tough. Did we use what was going on as extra motivation? We didn't. But I was aware of what was going on. It raised the importance of the game. What we did tonight speaks volumes. I think it starts with the head coach. The focus this week was on the San Diego Chargers, like he said about 20,000 times this week. We follow his lead."
Bruschi spoke at length about what the Patriots and their coach had been through during the week.
"The way he prepared us this week and the way he put his head down even when he was in the middle of all of that, he led by example," the linebacker said. "The affection [the fans] showed him is the affection we tried to show him after the game. Mr. Kraft gave him the game ball and some of us said some things.... It was up there with a lot of victories we had. You better look at us and see a bunch of winners."
He continued: "I think of past victories and past championships and people. We had to take it upon ourselves to go out and win this game. You guys say what you want to say and call us names. We'll block you out. We trust our preparation. We trust the people in here. That's what we do. He's our head coach and we stand behind him.... Something happens like that and people think it can mess a team up. After all the accusations and after all the name-calling, what did you see out there tonight? That's what we are."
He also offered a challenge to the Patriots' detractors on other NFL teams.
"Let's get all the players we had and you get back all the players you had," Bruschi said. "And we would win again."
Brady said he was proud of the way the Patriots handled the situation.
"I'm proud of the way our guys prepared this week," he said. "Over the years we've had a lot of distractions, and this team has always done a great job getting focused.... We've won quite a few big games around here. If we were going to listen to everything people said and respond, that's just too long a fight.... You just can't go out and respond to everything people say. There aren't enough hours in the day."
The weekly responses by Belichick and the Patriots will come on game days, Brady said.
"We're all fortunate to play for him because he's the best," he said. "I hope our fans realize how lucky they are because there aren't a lot of teams like this. I don't say that in an arrogant way. This is about a team.... I know the truth, and I know what I believe.... There's been proof for seven years. We're not changing what we do."
Belichick, in his typically understated way, praised his players' focus, but acknowledged that he'd felt the fans' support on a personal level as well.
Chargers tailback LaDainian Tomlinson realized what his club faced on this night.
"It was a trap for us, really," Tomlinson said. "They were saying, 'Everybody thinks we're cheaters. Let's go show we're not cheaters against one of the best teams in the league.' I'm not surprised at all that they played well."
By Mark Maske |
September 17, 2007; 1:04 AM ET
| Category:
Patriots
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Posted by: Chris | September 17, 2007 7:14 AM
I'm enjoying this win, but also chalking down that Bolts performance to week 2 with a new coaching staff. They have to be better than that. The first two weeks of the NFl are bizzaro football often with weird things happening. It really looks like it'll be tough to stop this Pats offense though. This was the third week of throwing to Moss and Stallworth and Welker is just going to get better. When the Pats are in a 3 wide, with Kyle Brady (or Watson) at TE, teams are faced with bad choices. Go nickel and watch the Pats run Maroney or Morris for 7 yards or stay in the base and get picked apart by Brady. A healthy Rodney Harrison in week 5 and a hopefully healthy Richard Seymour by the break and we could be in good shape for December and January when the games really matter.
Posted by: Pats Fan | September 17, 2007 8:38 AM
I watched the game, but the whole time I was wondering whether the score was a genuine reflection of the two teams, or just that the Patriots cheat.
Posted by: Suspend Belichick | September 17, 2007 9:23 AM
yes, I'm sure they would be up to something... (sarcasm). Realistically, in the midst of this investigation and the allegations against them, I don't think so.
Posted by: rararaerae | September 17, 2007 10:47 AM
The Patriots and Coach Belicheck responded the RIGHT WAY. The best thing about Belicheck is he doesn't care what anybody says about him, and its easy for guys to want to play for him.
I'm sure when Harrison and Seymour get back coach Man-genius will claim somebody else is SPYING on him. I watched the Jets yeserday, there's not much there to worry about.
Posted by: caphcky | September 17, 2007 11:07 AM
The coach made it hard for his team by cheating. I find it ironic that people say the team prepares hard. So why did the coach cheat. Also why wasn't he suspended. Players who use steriods are suspended but the coach isn't. What's fair for players should be fair for the coach.
Posted by: rj | September 17, 2007 12:03 PM
I find it ironic that you think Bill Belicheck and the New England Patriots are the only ones in the NFL that cheat.
It was a rough week and the commish sent a statement to the ENTIRE league, and the Pats answered all the critics last night, just like they should have.
Posted by: caphcky | September 17, 2007 12:07 PM
Just wanted to point out that NBC's game coverage Sunday night was despicable. What, did their sideline reporter get a scoop midway through the fourth quarter from one of the Chargers? Her breathless announcement about more unsibstantiated allegations against the Patriots was the most disgraceful thing I saw all night. This smear was all planned out by NBC before the game ever started, and it is just beneath contempt.
Also, as Roger Goodell himself pointed out, purchasing HGH is ILLEGAL, which is why it merits suspension (as Rodney Harrison can attest to). Having a camera on your sideline is a violation of NFL rules, not the law -- no matter how many times NBC referred to it as "illegal."
The saddest part of this story is all of the losing whiners who are looking for excuses, because they just can't accept the fact that they were beaten by a better team. This attitude is based on the NFL's cult of personality, and goes all the way back to the "greatest show on turf." Those poor Rams had convinced themselves they were unbeatable, so when they lost, they weren't men enough to take a look in the mirror.
How about Mr. Righteous, Tony Dungy? Wasn't it just last year that he got caught playing crowd noise through the speakers to drown out the opposing teams' signals? People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones...
For the rest of you, go ahead and badmouth the Patriots all you want. As you saw on Sunday night, they're going to make their statement on the field, by beating your favorite team...
Posted by: Steve | September 17, 2007 4:40 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
LT is a whiner. And it's not as if the Chargers are immune from charges of cheating, e.g., Merriman's steroid use.