A Patriotic Day

It's the most important political day in the last couple decades ... so let's talk some sports.

I know (thanks Angry Craig) I've been neglecting the blog a little bit. I could make some excuses, but I should just play like a champion.

So here we go:

It's a coulpe days late, but let's discuss what happened to the Patriots this weekend. When it comes down to it, one play cost New England the game: when David Thomas made the official bonehead move of the 2008 Patriots season and earned a personal foul flag on third and inches on the outskirts of field goal range. He deserves the most blame for the loss to the Colts, but he's not the only one.

Let me make this clear: Bill Belichick is one of the greatest football coaches of all time. He has been phenomenal guiding the Patriots to three Super Bowls, but you know what? He's human, and he had a bad game Sunday night.

Three coaching decisions stand out as being very costly on Sunday.

1. The challenge of the 12 men on the field call - It wasn't bad because he got it wrong. The decision to challenge it at all was extremely questionable because the Pats didn't stand to gain a lot and they ended up risking (and losing) a second-half timeout. That's a call you make to get a key first down in the first half or in the closing minutes of a game. You don't do it on first and 10 in the third quarter.

2. The timeout before kicking the go-ahead field goal - Belichick was on "The Big Show" yesterday explaining this decision. He said he thought it was fourth and inches and turned out to be closer to fourth and a yard. The problem with this excuse is that if it was that close, he could have asked for a measurement to have a better view and to think about the decision without having to waste a timeout. This was an airhead move by a coach who always seems to make the right decisions in crunch time.

3. The shovel pass on third down on the final drive - This is a play that may have worked with Tom Brady as quarterback because the defense would be defending the deep ball. With Cassel at quarterback, defenses have to expect trickery on third and long, so trying to slip a fast one by the Colts defense just seemed foolish. Sometimes you just have to stop thinking too hard and let it fly.

No one is saying Bill Belichick should be fired over these decisions, but if you listen to Boston sports radio, it seems like it's blasphemy to every criticise the man. He messed up on Sunday, and he should be called out on it. Don't fool yourself, Belichick has messed up before (Super Bowl XLII) and he'll mess up again. He's a great coach, but he's not God.