Final Score
Redskins 7
Patriots 52

View from Mt. Olympus: Enough with the exhibition games. Bring on the Colts!

We’re going to break with format again and skip the Quality Quotes and Shining Stars section of this game recap. After all, when you beat up on a pretty good Joe Gibbs coached team this badly, you might as well hand out stars on the forehead to the entire roster, coaching staff, front office and even the cheerleaders. Instead, I’m going to touch on a couple of items, one of which is going to tick off a lot of Pats fans. But we’ll save that for later.

First, you have to love Tom Brady’s intensity. Did you see him go nuts and scream a bleepin’ expletive after that false start penalty? You know, the one that came in the 4th quarter of a 38-0 game? This is a guy who’s clearly not going to let the team he quarterbacks relax, even for an instant. If you think this team is going to forget about going undefeated and shift into a lower gear later in the season, just go back to that image of a ticked off Brady after a totally meaningless penalty and you’ll realize how faulty a premise that is.

As for the perfection thing, I believe it all comes down to next Sunday. Beat the Colts, and I think we’re going to see the first 16-0 team in NFL history. However, I’m not as confident as most New Englanders are about beating Indy. The defending Super Bowl champs have been just as impressive as the Patriots, even if they aren’t winning by as big a margin. Peyton Manning seems to have finally gotten “it,” sacrificing personal stats to establish a running game and ball control for the good of the team. The other thing to remember is that this rivalry has turned into Sox-Yankees. Basically, there’s no fear on either side. Both teams know they can beat the other. They’re not going to be intimidated no matter where the game takes place. It should be a classic. Like I said, I don’t know who wins, but I do know it’s probably going to be the highest rated television game in regular season history. I can’t wait!

Is anyone paying attention to what’s going on in San Francisco? The 49ers, after winning their first two games, have lost 5 in a row and appear to be regressing badly. They are currently in a 4-way tie for the 5th worst record in the NFL. Why do I bring this up? Well, because the Patriots own San Fran’s 1st round draft pick (they lost their own in Spygate). As of today, New England would pick somewhere between 5th and 8th in the first round. Tell me that isn’t a scary thought for the rest of the league.

Finally, the negative I alluded to earlier; I think Bill Belichick is getting awfully close to crossing the line between winning with dignity and winning without class. I didn’t have a problem with Tom Brady returning to the Dolphins game last week. I agree with the coach wholeheartedly that the game was in danger had Matt Cassel stayed in and turned the ball over once more. However, there was absolutely no need to go for it on 4th down in a 38-0 game, and to have Brady continuously throwing the ball on that drive against the Redskins. And there certainly wasn’t any need to be going for it on 4th down of a 45-0 game. The Redskins didn’t really make a big deal of it, so hopefully it doesn’t become a point of emphasis for the national media. I know most of you probably disagree with me and also realize there’s going to be a large chunk of the population outside New England that hates the Pats simply because people like to take down the top dog. But I love this team and I think there’s something historically special about it. It’s a shame if any classless acts, real or imagined, take away from the recognition the Patriots deserve and have rightfully earned.

That’s the view from here…how did you see it? Were the Patriots running up the score? Is the rest of the football world justified in turning Belichick’s boys into villains? How do you see the Pats-Colts game playing out?