As a fan of the New England Patriots, I feel like I need to sound off on this issue. First let me get this out of the way, LT's performance against my beloved Pats on Sunday was something special, he was pretty much able to run all over them and he should hold his head up high after that he did everything he could to put his team in a position to win the game. This is exactly why I feel he reacted the way he did after the game, imagine putting your team on your shoulders and having the other guys blow it for you it must be the most frustrating thing in sports. That said here are my thoughts on the post game controversy:
1) Did the Patriots react in an unprofessional manner? Probably, but honestly who in the NFL doesn't. So far this season I have seen, and laughed at, Joey Porter of the Pittsburgh Steelers sack Daunte Culpepper in week 1 and do Culpeppers "Get Your Roll On" dance, Noone on the Dolphins cried about it. Chad Johnson do the exact same dance the Patriots did in week 10, coincidentally the Chargers won the game and LT didn't seem bothered by it then. Not to mention, just about every single NFL player make a fool out of themselves after scoring a touchdown. And yes some defenders may have felt disrespected after but the bottom line is don't let them score and it won't happen. That is why LT was so upset he did everything he could not to let the Patriots win that game.
2) Did the Chargers show any semblance of class? Absolutley not. They did not sell tickets to anyone outside of California, and vowed not to let Patriots fan park in there parking lot. Also after last years game at New England, which San Diego won 41-17 and snapped a 21 game home winning streak for the Patriots, here are some of the quotes from players which I took off a facebook.com message board, which was taken from somewhere but not cited:
"Amid complaints from running back LaDainian Tomlinson and other members of the San Diego Chargers that the New England Patriots celebrated too fervently their unlikely victory over the 14-2 Bolts on Sunday, we've been reminded of the Chargers reaction to a similarly unlikely win from a year ago.
In New England.
After thumping the Pats by the score of 41-17 and shattering the team's 21-game home winning streak, the Chargers were not exactly humble.
"That's a [butt]-whipping," said defensive coordinator Wade Phillips in an article penned by Tom Curran, who at the time wrote for the Providence Journal and who now works for NBCSports.com.
Cornerback Drayton Florence (or is it Florence Drayton?) was less tactful: "F--k New England and their team," he said, before turning to a "collection of onlookers" and adding: "Get the look of shock off your faces. Don't be shocked. We beat your [butt]." "
Not exactly a shining display of class from that team from the West Coast. I'm guessing the Patriots were remembering a little bit of that and probably more when they were celebrating.
And my final point is about the man they call "Lights Out". Yes he is a great player. Unfortunatley, I have no respect for him or any other athelete who fails a steroid test. Not to mention someone who hit Tom Brady , clean but not a sack, after he released the ball and still felt the need to do his foolish little dance for no apparent reason. In my opinion Merriman should be mocked by everyone his dance is stupid but more importantly he disrespected everyone who puts on a football uniform from pop warner to the NFL including the Chargers. The fact that he is allowed to play in the pro bowl and was even considered for any individual awards is a joke. Also, Merriman had "Lights Out" shaved into his head, I don't know if that's been there all season or not but either way, it looks ridiculous and shows no class. Nobody on the Patriots will ever have a nickname they gave to themself as long as Bob Kraft and Bill Bellicheck are in charge, they'll just let their Super Bowl rings do the talking, as opposed to some dance.
And how about the class exhibited by Florence headbutting a New England player after the play, not to mention it cost his team by nullifying a third down fumble and giving the Patriots a first down, that led to a field goal.
So basically am I defending the way the Patriots acted? I guess I am. Why shouldn't they celebrate after winning a play off game, as an underdog, on the road, against a team that went 14-2? I don't understand how any of it was disrepectful compared to the stuff that goes on week in and week out all across the league. I do understand why LT was upset, but I do not agree with the way he reacted, to me he was just being a sore loser which is to bad because until that point he had earned my respect with the way he played on the field Sunday, and all season. He did have a questionable non call facemask on Rosevelt Colvin but I don't think he had any control over his body as he was falling and his hand ended up on his facemask. Granted it was there for a while but I don't think it was intentional.
I still respect Ladainian Tomlinson as a player, but for now my verdict on him as a person is still out, although I will not judge him by this incident alone. The fact the would even imply that Bill Bellicheck is not classy, shows his lack of charachter (to a degree) and judgement while making these comments. Remember his team is the team that took 2 critical personal foul penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct which is a reflection of attitude which, to steal a line from Remember the Titans, "Attitude reflects leadership". The Patriots didn't retalliate to these personal fouls as the penalties didn't offset. And if you want to say Daniel Graham pushed Florence I guess you could but to me he saw a man trying to head but him and pushed back to counteract it, watch the tape, Florence is coming at him, and Graham is able to stoop the headbut before getting hit. In my opinion retalliation to that would have been going back at him, he restrained himself once he saw the flag which to me is a reflection of coaching, not to mention really hard to do.
As your being a Patriot fan my question to you is how do you think Bellichek feels about the celebration? In my opinion it was a very STUPID thing for the Patriots to do. For an organization that should be used to winning this behavior seems very uncharacteristic. Also your team (admit this) got very lucky in pulling out this win against a very physically talented Charger team.
So my point is why do anything that is going to pump them up for a rematch next year? I guarantee every Charger player will be thinking about how they gave this game away and then the Patriot players tried to humiliate them IN THEIR HOUSE. Not a smart move by half-and I bet ol Bill is telling his players that.
I'm sure Bellicheck isn't happy that it happened but only because it reflects poorly on his team and organization, not because it will anger the Chargers and motivate them for next year. Secondly, yes the Chargers are physically a talented team but they are by no means better then the Patriots. I don't know what game you watched but the Patriots didn't play flawless football either they made a ton of mistakes. While the Chargers may have better individuals, they are certainly not a better TEAM. As I stated in my post, the Patriots didn't retalliate and take stupid penalties and they capitalized on your mistakes, which is what a good team does. The Chargers started just about every possesion in the first half with exceptional field position and only scored twice, and gave up a touchdown on a 2 minute drill style drive at the end of the first half. Those are not the marks o####ood TEAM. Throw all individual stats out the window, the Patriots won. By the way I still have yet to see this celebration actually happen on any TV show.
The Patriots behavior is where we are headed in the NFL. The celebrating is getting more outlandish, to the point where teams get fed up with it and get carried away responding. No Merriman "Lights Out" dancing and you probably don't see New England dancing on the logo at midfield. Doesn't make it right, but it does make it understandable. Eventually it will lead to an on-field brawl and the league will deal with, but for now they put up with this nonsense.
Like I have said before, if you have never stepped onto a football field, you really have no idea what LT was going through. It is hard to lose, but it is even harder to lose to a team that you know you should have destroyed. LT did what any teammate would do in that situation. He said things out of anger. As far as him saying what he did about Bellicheck, well maybe Brian should have done something to his players, like maybe grabbed them and pulled them away. Marty did that to LT. Why can't Bellicheck do it to his players. And I'm guessin you watch alot of football, not really played that much, but a watcher nonetheless. And to call LT a sore loser, well try puting everything you have into something and see it stolen away from you like that game was. Then you can make a judgement on that.
And by the way "Lights Out" was not a nickname the Merriman gave to himself. He had that name at Maryland. Please learn some facts abotu football. Or atleast learn a little about the players before you talk about them.
If "Light's Out" wants to be one of the best, he needs to act like it. Did you ever see Reggie White, Derrick Thomas, etc. act like that? He needs to act like he has done it before.
Last edited by criscros on January 16th at 4:17 AM.
Just because someone else acts stupid does not make it right or mean you can act stupid. Does the phrase "act like you've been there before" mean anything? The Pats are a good team but lack any class and LT is right that comes form the head coach that wears cut sweaters on the sideline. Real class. I think the NFL should make suits mandatory for all had coaches every game day and the head coaches be fined for unsportsmanlike conduct of the team and player and you will see how fast this comes to and end. What the Chargers one player said last year using profanity was wrong but what Philips said was right it was a butting whipping and that is nothing just a simple comment. The patriots have no class and finally it is being talked about how they act, talk and represent the legue in general. Winning does not equal class. You can win and still be a bunch of jack #### or you can win with class. I see the Pats chose to be ####...
ok so what I'm getting out of this is that wearing a sweatshirt makes you less classy. The Patriots should act like they've been there before even though they have been. Who gave Merriman that nickname lights out at Maryland, I'm pretty sure he did if not I apologize but that's what everybody has been saying around here. Second of all I don't care how he got the nickname it stupid grow up and act like a normal human being. How do the Patriots not have class? because they did a dance after they won? What about the 85 bears and the superbowl shuffle? or was that classy because it was choreographed? or any endzone celebration? but because its the Patriots celebrating that makes it inappropiate? Part of me wants the Patriots to lose this weekend so Bellicheck coaches the AFC Pro Bowl team and all those Chargers ahahaha.
I could comment on about three posts now. That's why I don't watch pro Football anymore. I'm still interested in it. But the sportsmanship always displayed all the time in every game, which is non-existent, not only this game, is promoted from within.
I know I just set myself for some unwanted comments but I'm sorry. I want to get involved again but as soon as I do , the disillusionment comes back. Sorry. But this is a good post.
What it all boils down to is sour grapes. Pure and simple. LT and the rest of the Chargers couldn't accept that their "tremendous" season was over, and that their superior talent and skill wasn't good enough AGAIN. The best TEAM won that game, proving once again that talent unrealized is wasted indeed. They may have been physically better, but certainly NOT mentally better. Who cares what Bill Belichick wears on the sideline? This isn't a fashion show, it's the NFL. That's his identity, a blue collar guy coaching a blue collar team that will use EVERYTHING in its power to win. I didn't see one cheap shot during the game like the hit against Rodney Harrison at Tennessee. Your team may have more individual talent, but we didn't steal that game away from you. You just handed it to us, in many ways. Not using LT in the second half (aka Marshall Faulk in our first SB win). Stupid penalties, undisciplined play, poor coaching, and on and on. Why didn't LT stop and blame his ENTIRE team for having the ball in Patriots territory for the whole first quarter and putting up a goose egg? That is what cost you the game. You had us where you wanted us, things were going your way, and you couldn't bury us. Cuz your NOT as good as YOU and everybody thought you were I guess. It takes full dedication and focus to win in the playoffs, and unfortunately, you are still relying on pure talent. Keep it up. And another thing, we can't wait to meet you again next year either. In case you haven't figured it out yet, WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED..........BY ANY TEAM!!!!! If the Colts beat us next week,
Hey bayoudog,
If it wasn't for Hurricane Katrina, nobody would care about the Saints and you clowns would still be wearing brown shopping bags over your heads. The biggest fair weather fans in the country. You miss a big point there dude. If SD had shown us any respect last year when they beat us, or this past week when all they did was talk about how they couldn't be stopped, I'm sure we wouldn't have rubbed their noses in the defeat. But our players have tremendous pride, just like your players do, and to be dissed and almost completely dismissed before the game has even begun is insulting. But we used that to fuel our fires to beat them. And don't think your coach won't use everything in his power to "totally" prepare the Saints for Chicago. I hope you win,too.
maybe next year the bolts fans shouldn't be able to come to gillete oh but wait the patriots have more class that won't happen! lt shut ur mouth losing must really hurt when ur that good.
Tef- Merriman's college DC gave him that name after a UM-FSU gave. B/c he alomost completely knocked out the FSU QB. I forget who the QB was at that time. But that is where it came from.
Fair enough I was wrong I apologize. I agree with your previous comment on how LT reacted I pretty much said everything in my post but if you are a professional athelete you are going to be subjected to more criticism them regular people like you and I, I have played sports I know it sucks to lose but as a professional you have to handle yourself better then that no matter what you are feeling inside. Then to come out and say the same things the next day. I still haven't seen any footage of this but from what I heard all this celebration lasted for about 10 seconds and it was around the Logo but I think that's because that is where the last play of the game was. Either way I think this whole thing is ridiculous and way overblown
You don't respect Merriman because he hit Tom Brady but didn't get a sack? You are a ####. Stop playing fantasy football and try to play it for real. Those guys are flying around out there...and poor little golden boy got hit. Tom Brady was the sam #### crying last year at the press conference when the Chargers kicked their #### 42 to 14.
Football is not about class. What did LT expect the Pats to do? They celebrated a playoff victory against the number 1 seed. How can you blame them for that?
No I said I don't respect Merriman because he took steroids, I just pointed out that he hit Brady but didn't sack him and still did his "sack" dance which is stupid I said it was a clean hit and good for him for finishing the play and getting to the quarterback albeit too late but either way don't do the dance if it's not a sack....and hey 2 tackles 1 sack thanks for showing up Shawn
Last edited by tef0324 on January 18th at 9:51 AM.
I find this comment funny "they'll just let their Super Bowl rings do the talking, as opposed to some dance". Except that their classless behavior after the game implies they've never been there. That's too bad. Must have been learned from their coach. We saw early on this season that he not only has no class but showed his team more than once that you don't have to be a good sport either.
oh is that what it implies, well here are the facts the Patriots have been there 3 times in 5 years as a matter of fact, the Chrargers haven't so a team that hasn't been there is going to tell a team that has how to act like they've been there. Honestly if you can watch the game on Sunday and tell me the Chargers acted with any semblance of class then you're flat out lying. head butts talking trash after every play and then crying after a loss none of that is classy at all. Can someone tell me what the Patriots did that is considered not classy besides celebrate for 10 seconds after a win?
I didn't say that the Chargers can tell the Patriots how to act. I'm not even trying to dispute the fact that the Chargers made a couple of bonehead moves. Anyone with eyes could see that. In this situation though, no one came out looking clean. But when you try to say that the super bowl rings can do the talking, it doesn't fit because they exhibited classless behavior. I'm not saying whether it worse that the Chargers or better than the Chargers just that it was there and didn't reflect a team who used to being there.
Chargers classy behavior who has a rally before the game and Merriman egging on a Brady Sucks chant no wonder the Patriots couldn't wait to shove this in his face, I didn't even know this happened until right now. I think this video shows why the Patriots chose to mock Merriman after the game: http://youtube.com/watch?v=yHyLlL01 tGA
For the most part I am a college sports fan. I am a Boston College fan (born and raised) and a University of Tennessee fan (My alma matter). For the Pro teams I like the Pats, Celts, Bruins, and Sox of the red variety. I will try to write the most unbiased blogs I am able to however if you are a sports fan you know that it is easier said then done. I'd also like to add that I write all my posts while at work, so there maybe some spelling and grammar (amongst others) errors, for this I apologize in advance. I am not trying to be a columnist just trying to get my opinions out there. All comments welcome.
