Prickly Pete

Instead of collecting more skill players than they can use, they should have found a couple more O-linemen.

My bad, you did start with a neutral post (and a good one)...that immediately turned into a Patriots whine.

Good points, but no one here actually cares about the pick plays, man. It's really just another opportunity to whine about the Patriots.

http://yourteamcheats.com/DEN They even have their own "Spygate". This bickering is ridiculous. Pick plays are used by every team, get over it.

There is no need to question my morality. I'm plenty virtuous, and have NEVER cheated at any sport (organized, or just pick-up). I wouldn't feel fulfilled winning that way. I don't like what the Patriots do, and I can't stand the pick play, but to act like every team doesn't try to skirt the rules sometimes, is whining to me. Everyone's "angel", Peyton Manning, runs plenty of picks with the Broncos, but no one even mentioned them, and they are who the article is about!

Nope. I'm pretty cynical, but I don't steal. It's pretty obvious from reading sports autobiographies, listening to interviews of players, etc. that bending the rules and even cheating is pretty common. Like Jerry Rice and his stickum. And I bet there is footage of EVERY NFL team running a questionable pick play.

I would prefer that they would be illegal. It would be easier to officiate than the other way around, I think.

That might be true. Certainly the Seahawks with their physical DB's are testing the limits with "they can't call Pass Interference every play". Same thing (maybe worse).

..and that every team is getting up to something.

Those aren't the topic of this thread. Like I said, there are plenty of legitimate complaints about the Patriots. Pick plays aren't one of them.

Maybe, maybe not. But they do all the things I mentioned (and many more!), throughout the league, with hopes of not getting caught....every game.

I'm sure Bills lineman push the limits of the rules against holding, and chop blocks, and that Bills DE's push the limit on hands to the face, and DB's push the limit on interference...on and on and on.

This is whining. EVERY team has the option to run these plays, and they do. If the Patriots run them more than others, so what? There are plenty of legitimate complaints against the Patriots, but this isn't one of them.

The best comment, "Today I learned Larry Norton is still on the air."

While I'm okay with running out the clock, all this talk about not showing more of the playbook seems off. They could re-run plays from the 1st half that were aggressive, without exposing more of the playbook. And while I'm sure there are lot's of wrinkles needed in a gameplan, every play doesn't need to be a mysterious new invention to be effective. It's much more about execution.

Where? You only say "it's different for everyone", not what it is for YOU.

More evading, and childish use of emoticons. You won't answer the simple question, but instead make attacks. Why do YOU want the Bills to win a Super Bowl (what is the source of your enjoyment)?

You pretty much back up my point! I agree with the last paragraph, but the reason the championship has any importance, is because of the history of cities/teams/fans competing for it, and the relationship between these communities. That is shaped, presented, discussed, given a relative value, archived, and given a platform, by the media. You want them to document your team's achievement. To say "the prize is the championship" is leaving out WHY the championship would have any importance as a "prize". You can claim that you don't need to hear a peep out of the media, but that's ridiculous, because you already know the implications of winning the championship, and that it will be heralded on a global scale. It's easy to say you don't need to hear it, because you are already assured it would be there, regardless (though you will still probably seek it out). In fact, I don't believe you! I think if the Bills win the Super Bowl, you will watch some ESPN, or hear Cowherd eat his words, or read Peter King etc. to roll around in it all a bit. I know I will! I'm not chiding people for wanting the attention, I'm chiding the people that try to claim they don't want the attention!

I'm not accusing people of some kind of vanity. I'm saying the reward for your team winning a championship, is the attention given to your team/community by opposing fans, casual observers, ESPN analysts, on and on....via the media (that includes books, newspapers, blogs, forums, TV, and many other forms of media). If there was no feedback from outside the "winning community", the achievement wouldn't have much value. For instance, telling people who don't know anything about football, that your team won the championship would be pointless. When I posted "bragging rights", I meant it as a figure of speech, not that I literally go around shouting out my team's achievements. And where is Greggy?

Nope, not answer. Why is the win enjoyable for you and your friends? NOT AN ANSWER. Just another attack NOT AN ANSWER. NOT AN ANSWER. These are your posts (demonstrably!) WHERE IS AN ANSWER?

So what is your answer?

Evading again. I have answered a bunch of attacks in this thread (from a gang of people). You have only attacked (as usual).

Well, quit evading, and tell me what it is. You insist I'm wrong, but don't have an alternative reason. I'm confident that any collective aspect to it, can be tied to attention.

So why do YOU want the Bills to win a Super Bowl? What will YOU get from it? What is the source of your enjoyment? Nope. I don't take it that seriously, it's all just "bragging rights". My self-worth isn't tied to the team's achievements, and my own achievements are satisfactory.

I said that the "reward for winning" specifically, is the attention. There are other aspects to the event that can be enjoyed, but they can be enjoyed whether the team wins or not. The reason we want our team to win, is so that the team (and it's community of fans) can enjoy the attention bestowed by it's rivals, and other communities. That happens primarily through the media. You characterize the media, and attention as "a bunch of people you don't know talking about the team you root for" I don't. It's not just ESPN, or sportswriters, it's history books...people want reflected glory, and fame, even if it's just for their community. And what is fame, other than " bunch of people you don't know,talking about you ", and why do people seek it?