The Night The Genius Died

Go ahead a laugh. Wear that smug face all day long and make sure to send 25 emails to your friend who suddenly started wearing Patriots gear around the year 2000. Get it out of your system this week because that's what Bill Belichick is doing.

I received about ten texts last night the second after the Colts scored the game winning touchdown to beat the Patriots in the game of the year. Every single one of those texts were gleeful messages from friends who still couldn't believe coach Hoodie made a football move that blew up in his face. Belichick's decision to go for it on fourth down from his own 28 and the failure to convert it left the game open for the Colts to break the Pats' hearts. And Peyton Manning broke their hearts indeed.

Now most of us get to pour through the sports news to read something unflattering about the Patriots. We get to imagine those obnoxious Patriots fans who think New England should have won five Super Bowls this decade (apparently the Pats got hosed in playoff losses at Denver and Indianapolis, but the tuck rule call was totally legit) trying to come to grips with their team snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Most of all, we get to sit back and day dream about the sour faced Belichick, the frowny coach who doesn't seem to have time for things like sportsmanship, post-game handshakes, or any of the hoi polloi sitting there scratching his head trying to figure out what went wrong. Even former Patriots like Rodney Harrison and Teddy Bruschi are piling on Belichick for that decision. Let's all take a second and imagine how this mistake and resulting loss will send the Patriots into a downward spiral that ruins their season...

Okay, now get over it.

Belichick will have to live with this loss, but he isn't one to dwell on things. The Patriots are now preparing for their next opponent and Tuesday will mark another practice. That's all.

And go ahead and expel that glimmer of hope you hold about the downward spiral of the Pats this season. In 1995, the Dallas Cowboys blew a 4th down run not once, but TWICE against Philadelphia. The Eagles ended up winning that game and the Cowboys lost twice more in the next few weeks. It crushed the team so badly that they ended up winning the Super Bowl. That Dallas team was more talented than this Patriots team, but the head coach was Barry f-ing Swtizer. You could have put a monkey on the sideline and gotten the same production.

Belichick is still a football genius who will devise wicked game plans that test teams. The Pats will still probably make the playoffs and will be a formidable opponent once there. They will still collect draft picks from the Raiders in exchange for older players on the downside of their careers and will use the draft picks to grab guys we've never heard of and those players will make the Pro-Bowl.

So enjoy your moment of Belichick questioning because he's going back to work and so are the Patriots.