I'm just reading ESPN.com's Hashmarks blog over lunch, and of course the talk is all about last night's Monday Night Football game where the Patriots narrowly defeated Baltimore. Now, I understand that the Baltimore players were in a pretty emotional place when they said the things reported here - having dominated New England all night only to fall apart in the last five minutes of the game. But still, this stuff is just laughable:
Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs on officiating: "Everybody is kind of cheering for them to go undefeated and break all the records." If by "everybody," Suggs means "Patriots fans," then yes, he's exactly right. Pretty much everybody I talk to on a daily basis is actively rooting for Tom Brady to get hit by a truck. And did he watch the Pats-Colts game? Anyone who says New England gets all the calls is either consumed with blind hatred or doesn't understand what the expression "get all the calls" means.
Suggs on the infamous 4th-down timeout called by the Ravens sideline: " I don't know. It looked like all 22 men on the field played as if no timeout was called. But if it was called, it was called. I don't get into that part of the game. I just do my job." If it was called? Before he mouths off to the press, Suggs should maybe watch a replay of the incident. Before the snap, you can clearly see the Ravens coaches signalling the most bone-headed timeout call in the history of the NFL. Yes, it was monumentally stupid in hindsight. You could tell from the reactions of the Ravens players how bad it sucked to realize that your coach just undermined a brilliant defensive stop. But that's football. No conspiracy.
Ravens linebacker Bart Scott on the timeout: "I didn't hear a timeout. That was very convenient." If the timeout call had come from the Patriots bench, I'd agree. But it didn't. So unless Scott is implying that the Ravens' own coaches are in on the alleged fix...
Ravens receiver Derrick Mason: "Allow the players to dictate how the game is going to go, especially the last couple of seconds. It's kind of like basketball. There's three seconds on the clock. Let the guys play. The best team is going to win." Yup. Looks like it did, alright.
More from Mason: "It's kind of like that old Bulls team when they were running the tables. You were playing against Jordan, Pippen and the bunch and it was hard to beat them because everyone was on their side." Or, you know, 'cause they're just flat better than you. That could be a factor...maybe.
This is the thing. The Patriots didn't make Billick or whoever it was call that timeout. They didn't make Bart Scott throw the official's flag into the stands, which in part led to the Pats getting an extra 40 yards on their final kick-off. The Ravens cracked, the Patriots didn't. End of story. There's a reason one of those teams is undefeated and the other is fighting for its playoff life.
Me, I have zero problem with a team that's this scary-good running the table. This kind of true excellence happens once in a lifetime - why would you want to denigrate it? I sincerelly hope the Pats go 16-0, especially if this is coupled with the Dolphins going 0-16. Karma's a bitch, you champagne-popping old farts.
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