Most of the nation will probably be watching Sunday's premiere matchup hoping to see the Colts whip the Patriots, and run up the score. Pay backs, right? It's easy to despise success isn't it. But in my book, you can't accuse a team of running up the score in the NFL simply because they choose to play 60 minutes of smart football.
Exactly what should a top team do when they're up by a bunch midway through a game? Get out of their game plan? Lay down? Tell the players to take it easy? Maybe serve cocktails on the 50 yard line? No, you've gotta play 60 minutes of football. You might even treat the rest of the game like a full contact practice, and get some quality experience for your backups (a few substitutions at a time).
When they're way ahead, should a quarterback take a knee on every play? The Patriots' top running backs are banged up, so should the backups be banging the ball up the middle every down? Maybe they could go to the short passing game, and let their receivers take some shots over the middle. There is just no easy way for a team to just let the clock run out, and avoid injuries.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Patriots' scoring onslaught has been on Patriots' fourth down plays. Fourth down near the goal line in a blowout: do you kick a field goal, or go for a first down? A classic "darned if you do/darned if you do" situation. Get a first down, and you can run some more time off the clock. I see this as a chance to either put an easy 3 on the board, or let a beat up defense muster a little self-esteem by stopping you. The Cowboys couldn't stop the Patriots, and neither could the Redskins. But you gotta give the Patriots credit for giving them both a chance.
It was an interesting contrast listening to the Brits booing when the Giants took a knee in the last seconds of the London game, and listening to the whining of fans and commentators about how classless it was of the Patriots to run up the score on its opponents. The Brits got it right, though. They paid to see 60 minutes of football, and didn't want to see anything less. I wouldn't either.
Cintia Dicker
Taylor Walker
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