MRW

Caldwell used to play for San Diego but they opted to go with better receivers.

I was one who didn't give the Colts much of a chance against the Patriots, as I figured when the pressure was on they would wilt. To me, that made their win even more impressive, and I would guess more satisfying for them, than if they had just gone out and stomped the Pats. There's something to be said for blowing a team out, but I think the comeback is even better.

I don't see how that call favored the Pats in any way. It was just weird.

I heard that Mike Williams was supposed to get Willis condoms but was too lazy to go to the store.

Sure, they may have been cokeheads, abusers, rapists, and murderers, but at least they didn't try to take away our toy!

Cripes, the Dolphins will never beat the Patriots again.

Extending this further, given how quickly DBs can step and contribute relative to offensive linemen, aren't we getting better value from picking a DB early? I think what you're saying is true, the problem is letting good performers go rather than the specific positions we're drafting. It does make it very tough to build a solid team. (Note on the above: I would much rather keep Clements and get a good OG in the draft, but given that Clements is likely gone, I can think of worse picks than a CB in the draft. McGee/Youboty as starting corners scares the crap out of me.)

Yeah, I think you have to reserve a term like that for a Norman Einstein, or maybe a Gerald Hawking.

The standard of "high character" you're setting out here has never been the standard of the Bills, which I think was Kelly's point when he named many of the team's past stars. And now having 3 kids out of wedlock + saying stupid things = being an alcoholic wife beating child molester? You're right that there is a line, I wouldn't want Rae Carruth on my team, but there's a big gap between that and Willis.

Thank you for summarizing my reaction to this whole Willis debate. You guys are, indeed, amazing. And FYI, I'm not a "low character lover". I just don't particularly see the relevance when we're talking about a professional athlete. I'm not deciding whether or not I want to have WM as a friend.

Oddly there are some who think that the law does not define morality. Weird, I know.

You think that's bad, I read that he gave an interview in Hustler earlier this month where he said that he thought the Falcons should move to Savannah!

And if you think you "know" who the high character guys are you're fooling yourself. Remember back before the ATL-DEN Super Bowl several years ago when Eugene Robinson was busted for solicitation the day after receiving an award for being such a high character guy?

I wouldn't say that they did, actually; the "drops" I saw from New England were poor throws from Brady. That's been one of the consistent (and frustrating) things about watching the Patriots, their receivers catch extremely well. And drops like SD's receivers had are not "part of the game". They were killers and made it completely inexplicable that the SD OC kept calling plays to throw to them. I second taterhill's question, did you watch the game? Because I can't believe you'd watch that performance by the receivers and come here and criticize Rivers.

I don't think that's true though, not with Cutler (originally typoed as Cutlet, heh) still on the board.

Yeah, it's not like anyone ever ripped on Travis Henry or Antowain Smith in unreasonable ways. Oh wait, they were drummed out of town in pretty much the same way that Willis is. Strange. Well everyone, enjoy another two-minute hate! Who's next on the list after Willis?

Please don't ignore the post by Lurker two posts above you which is fatal to your argument.

You're right, I overstated. Their approach still was the same, I think; wait for the other team to make mistakes, etc., but the Pats were about as sloppy themselves as I've seen. They were just fortunate that the Chargers were so, so much worse. Dave McBride, good points about the Pats baiting the Chargers into throwing to their receivers. It is absolutely inexcusable that Tomlinson did not have 30+ carries in this game.

Inspiring counterargument!

? Don't get the reference here...

It's easy to watch the Patriots and think that they just win because the other team screwed up or the refs were favoring them or whatever your favorite theory is. But I think you have to acknowledge that it's no accident that they always win these types of games, and it's tougher than you might think to play a mistake-free game, and the Patriots are the best in the league at it. This was one of their sloppier efforts but it was still good enough.

Normally I'd be inclined to agree. But... it's not like this is the first time a Marty-led team has choked away a playoff game. At some point you have to point the finger at the coach for not having his players prepared.

This was a typical Patriots game. Make fewer mistakes than the other team, keep it close, make the plays at the end to win it. The only difference today was that the Pats themselves made many more mistakes than usual.

Rivers? I think you mean the SD receivers who continually dropped passes that hit them in the hands.

But gmac17 raised a good point about field position not making a difference. If you give up a first down at that point you're screwed regardless, so isn't going for it on fourth down maximizing your opportunities? You're not actually any worse off if you don't make it.