Simmons does it again.

[Eja117]

If the defense wants to be respected so bad then maybe they should stop Manning from the 28 yard line. They used to do things like that.

[footey]

I had no problem with Bellichick's math. People over react because it is contrary to normal conservative football decision making and because it failed.

I thought the biggest mistake was not letting Addai score with about a minute to play. I was first and goal, and they stopped him at the one. That wasted alot of time. I felt if Brady had a minute of time, he could have gotten within field goal range. I have not seen anyone ever bring this point up.

[jdpapa3]

I agreed with Simmons here. The statistics I saw popping up were just senseless. The 2 pt conversion statistical comparison was fantastic and was great thinking out of the box by Simmons. It's gotten to the point where people will just take the side opposite of Simmons no matter what at this point (possibly warranted).

Part that hit home the most for me:

The bigger issue: Let's say they punt, then Indy rolls down the field and scores for the victory. We spend the next few days saying, "Wow, I can't believe the Pats blew that game, they had it, Manning is so great, holy crap." Then the whole thing dies. This happens all the time in football. Every week, at least one team dominates a game but urinates it away. There are never significant aftereffects because it's a long season and, really, those defeats can happen to everyone.

But losing because you went for it on fourth-and-2 on your own 28? Much more damaging. The reward (of converting it) did not match the risk (the fallout from a demoralizing loss and a week's worth of "What the hell happened?" questions, not to mention its impact on the team's psyche).

That's an angle that I was waiting to see all week.

[footey]

I agreed with Simmons here. The statistics I saw popping up were just senseless. The 2 pt conversion statistical comparison was fantastic and was great thinking out of the box by Simmons. It's gotten to the point where people will just take the side opposite of Simmons no matter what at this point (possibly warranted).

Part that hit home the most for me:

The bigger issue: Let's say they punt, then Indy rolls down the field and scores for the victory. We spend the next few days saying, "Wow, I can't believe the Pats blew that game, they had it, Manning is so great, holy crap." Then the whole thing dies. This happens all the time in football. Every week, at least one team dominates a game but urinates it away. There are never significant aftereffects because it's a long season and, really, those defeats can happen to everyone.

But losing because you went for it on fourth-and-2 on your own 28? Much more damaging. The reward (of converting it) did not match the risk (the fallout from a demoralizing loss and a week's worth of "What the hell happened?" questions, not to mention its impact on the team's psyche).

That's an angle that I was waiting to see all week.

That places a value on what other people think of you. Belichick assigns a value of zero to that factor. Most great leaders do the same.