Is it disrespect for the New England Patriots to continue to run up the score?

Question

I am a Charger fan, so I have no problem with it as long as the Patriots are not celebrating on another team's logo. My friend is a huge Redskins fan and said that Tom Brady is just a mad man. He felt that Brady and the Patriots already had the game in their hands when they went up 38-0 with 5:47 left in the third quarter, and were just running up the score to rub things in. My friend said he could not stand it how Patriot fans were booing after the Redskins broke the shutout with 3:00 left in the fourth quarter. He said in a sarcastic tone, "As if 52 points is not enough. If New England had any class, they would have started running out the clock earlier."

I explained to my friend that Tom Brady is a great competitor like Michael Jordan who just wants to win. Personally, I think the Patriots should continue to punish teams in that manner. This will send a message the Indianapolis Colts and the whole NFL that the Patriots are for real.

New England is winning by a margin of 25.5 points. If fans have a right to pick on Bill Belichick, then Belichick has a right to run up the score and humiliate other teams, sending a message. The Patriots want payback and have not forgot about the 21-3 lead they blew in the AFC Championship game.

Answer 1

Personally, I don't think it's disrespectful. The Patriots have to build their image back up after that "spying" incident. There's no reason for them to slack off just because they are winning.

I admit that in personal life, rubbing something in someone else's face is not nice. But this is their career.

Are you going to start slack off at work, just because everyone else is lagging behind and you are making them look bad. I wouldn't, performance is important when your career is at stake.

Answer 2

OK...I'm a Pats fan, so disregard this post if you'd like. If you're still reading...then I'll say, that I am a Pats fan, but I am, first and foremost, an NFL FAN!!!

That being said...When the Pats are up by 2, 3, 4 TD's, they are supposed to go "soft", take Brady out, and just run the ball to waste the rest of the time in the game...right?

OK...I'm 100% fine with that. As soon as...opposing teams, being DOWN BY 2, 3, 4 TD's, agree to put in THEIR backups, and stop TRYING to still score and win the game.

C'mon. You want the Patriots to STOP trying to score, but still feel it's ok for the losing team to TRY to score against them??? How much of a double-standard is this???

When the Pats are 21 points ahead, and the losing team pulls their starters, and stop trying, then the Patriots should follow suit. Until then...while the losing team is still trying to score, then why shouldn't the winning team try to score???

Hate the Pats if you like. I could care less. Call them cheaters (oh, yes, they were the ones that got CAUGHT, and now are rolling over teams because they are playing better, but they are getting all the flack)...call them whatever you want. At the end of the day, if this were the Miami Dolphins that were scoring more points than their opponents...would there be THIS MUCH talk about it???

Didn't think so.

Answer 3

Here's the thing...would it make you feel more like a man or a team if they had starting kneeling down in the 3rd quarter? HELL NO!

If you want them to quit scoring then stop them, it's that simple. They are out there trying to better themselves for the rest of the season and not out there trying to not hurt the fragile little feelings of the Redskins or any other team they play for that matter.

I have absolutely no problem at all with how they handled the situation. The only problem I would have had was if, like you said they made an obvious attempt to degrade the other team when up that much. Scoring is part of football and stopping the other team from scoring is suppose to be.

Answer 4

I honestly don't know. After all, Offensive players play to score points. People bring up what if Tom gets hurt .....a bunch of what if's.....that's how it is in life.....life is unpredictable. Too many people bring up scenarios that might not even happen. I just see a lot of Patriots bashing. A lot of holier than thou people pointing the finger at the team. A lot of teams have blown out people and weren't given crap about it like the Colts. This is NFL...this isn't pop warner. If they don't want the Patriots to score,then the defense should play better. Having starters in there is not necessarily bad...especially if they want to stay sharp. Also.....there is such thing as comebacks. Anything could happen in the NFL. Nobody expected a 6th round draft pick to replace Drew Bledsoe and lead the Patriots to win 3 Super Bowls.

Answer 5

What do you want them to do? Throw interceptions to help the opposition out? If the Redskins didn't want to be embarrassed they should have shown up. Hell from what I heard the Pats played all THREE of their quarterbacks, that doesn't sound like a team that is putting the pedal to the metal. Remember, even the second team offense, and defensive want to become starters. Hell when they get in the game they have a lot to prove, so putting in reserves won't guarantee that the score wouldn't continue to climb.

The '85 Bears didn't lighten up on anyone, and that's why they won the Superbowl. They had most of the games WON before they took the field. It's the fear factor. That's what the Pats have this season.

By the way, who did the Bears beat in the Superbowl in '85, and what was the score? Look it up.

Answer 6

Aren't FOOTBALL players supposed to be the best and strongest players out there? Why are some FOOTBALL fans complaining about high score. In any other sport, if the one team doesn't show up, the other team will TAKE THEIR CANDY!!! Was any Golfer complaining when Tiger Woods won by 10 or more strokes? Or was anyone complaining when Roger Federer was winning all his tournaments? Or Michael Shumacher(might be wrong spelling), when he won SEVEN F1 CHAMPIONSHIPS in a ROW? Or when Michael Jordan was winning his CHAMPIONSHIPS? Or when the RED WINGS/DEVILS/OILERS were winning their respective CHAMPIONSHIPS?

The whole matter is this: If you don't wanna get blown out the SHOW UP AND PLAY FOR THE WHOLE GAME. STEP YOUR GAME UP!!!!!Everyone is focused on the Patriots and they forget to see that the REDSKINS DEFENSE being highly rated for what they're worth DIDN'T SHOW UP!!!! Neither did the OFFENSE. Plain and simple. Neither did any other team's defense, maybe minus the COWBOYS since they actually score on a turnover, and the DOLPHINS since they also scored on a turnover. Or even the BROWNS since they made it a closer game then anyone else has. If you're getting paid millons you best SHOW UP and PLAY 60 Mins or DON'T SHOW UP AT ALL!!!!

Answer 7

They pull Brady well before the end of the game. Remeber there was still apx 10 minutes left when Brady came out of the game. At what point do all the whiners think they should stop trying in the game. You have to keep your starters out there until atleast halfway throught he 4th quarter regardless of the score just so they will be prepared if another team actually decides to play defense against them and they need to respond in the 4th quarter.

Answer 8

You cant pull your starters at half time every week because they wont be in condition for a four quarter game when one comes around.

Redskins pay Joe Gibbs 12 million a year to stop the Patriots, its Joe's job not Tom Brady's not Bill Belichicks.

Answer 9

How many people here criticizing New Englands scoring where some of the same people saying that Washington was going to give them a run for their money because this was supposed to be the best defense they have faced so far this year.

Maybe your Redskin friend was just upset because he might have been talking smack about the Pats and then they got rolled like no other. They are professional atheletes who get paid to take it. It seems the players always like to say this is a business, well if it is take your money and chalk it up to a bad day at the office. Becasue quite honestly they gave up and let it happen because they had no chance.

Answer 10

There's winning and there's being jerks about it and running up the scores in a clear shut out, while not against any NFL rules, borders on them being jerks.

And then there's fans like you who make comments like "I think the Patriots should continue to punish teams in that manner" and that REALLY rubs other fans the wrong way and makes them less likely to a) like the Patriots or b) come around to your side and see them the way you do. In fact, it just might have the opposite effect and cause people to see them as big jerks.

Yes, they play well. But so did the Dallas Cowboys a few years ago... all it got Dallas was a bunch of swelled heads, a lot of scandal, a lot of arrests and then, (blessedly for the rest of us) several humble years where they never saw a play off. All winning streaks come to an end, eventually. You want your team (and it's fans) to be remembered as gracious winners and not selfish, stuck up jerks.

Answer 11

Football is entertainment but it is also a business. As such, you can look at it both ways:

The business side: You have what is called etiquette which in this case is a precedented standard that you don't run up the score when you have a big lead.

The Entertainment approach is giving the fans what they paid so see...a full game. Running up the score also puts fear in the hearts of their opponents.

I think it's safe to say that Bellichik looks for any competitive advantage that he can find, but to answer your question I would have to say that it depends on the motive.

My opinion is that Bill was embarrassed that he was caught cheating and now he is taking it out on his opponents, but that's only my opinion. I still can't say that runing up the score is disrespectfull though...this is the NFL