All of you knew this was coming...

[monosylab1k]

flame away, it'll make all of you feel better. call him the worst writer in sports history, whatever takes the pain away.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...9&sportCat=nfl

Experiencing the chill of 'Victory'
By Bill Simmons

"This negativity just makes me stronger. We will not retreat, this band is unstoppable!"
-- Cliff Poncier, lead singer, Citizen

In a 24-hour span last weekend, I watched "Victory" on cable and the Patriots-Colts battle on CBS. The two events had more in common than you might think.

If you don't remember what happened in "Victory," the Nazis organized a war-time soccer game between a German squad and a team of POWs led by a potbellied Michael Caine and the stunt double used for every Michael Caine soccer scene. The great Sly Stallone plans the team's escape for halftime, then convinces the Irish goalie to break his own arm so Sly can steal his spot and lead the escape -- the single most improbable moment in sports movie history. It's not just that the goalie would say, "That's OK, I'll stay here; you guys can escape," but that he'd break his own arm to make it happen -- followed by the Allies' falling behind and eschewing the escape to play the second half (the second most improbable moment in sports movie history), rallying to "tie" the game on a goal that's disallowed, tying the game on Pele's bicycle kick, then clinching a tie in extra time after Sly catches Werner Roth's penalty kick (the third most improbable moment in sports movie history). That's when the crowd charges the field, overpowers the Nazi soldiers and allows everyone to escape. The End.

By any calculation, it's one of the 10 greatest sports movies ever. But my favorite part, other than Pele's wooden acting and the 15 different chill scenes during the game? Max von Sydow playing the Good Nazi -- the German officer who loves soccer and was promised a fairly officiated game, then slowly realizes the game is fixed as the refs ignore every Nazi cheap shot. After the disallowed goal and Pele's bicycle kick, von Sydow finds himself so overcome by the beauty of the moment, he stands up and applauds the tying goal (the fourth most improbable scene in sports movie history). I remember buying the DVD a few years ago and thinking there would be a deleted scene when the Nazis hang Max outside the stadium, but it wasn't in there. Regardless, I watch that bicycle kick every time thinking, "Come on, Good Nazi, stand up and applaud, you know you want to, come on, just do it ..."

From the time the movie was released in 1981, I have measured every real-life contest with shady officiating against that Nazis-Allies game. (Important note: Even though it's a fictional movie, I've seen "Victory" so many times during the past 25 years that I now feel like the game actually happened.) So the irony of enduring the Pats-Colts game so close to my umpteenth "Victory" viewing was just too bizarre. In fact, here's how bizarre it was -- while watching "Victory," I thought to myself, "I hope this isn't how the Pats game is called tomorrow."

As it turned out, I wasn't far off. Nobody outside of Boston made a big deal about the officiating because the Patriots prevailed. And besides, everyone was more interested in making excuses for the Colts (which reminds me, you can play the "Indy really missed Marvin Harrison card" as long as you also mention all the key guys New England was missing in the AFC Championship Game last January) and taking solace in the closeness of the game (giving everyone hope that New England's 19-0 season isn't a foregone conclusion). Few noticed the Patriots needed just nine minutes of quality football to defeat an undefeated Super Bowl champion on the road, or that they pulled off the comeback despite having 95 percent of the borderline calls go against them.

I knew the Pats were in trouble less than three minutes into the game, when Aaron Moorehead's entire left foot landed out of bounds on a first-down catch. Standing 10 feet away from him on either side, two officials improbably decided Moorehead landed inbounds, forcing the Patriots to waste a challenge to overturn a miserable call. Of course, that moment wasn't one-tenth as egregious as the play when Ellis Hobbs got tackled from behind by Reggie Wayne while trying to catch an interception (8:58 remaining, second quarter), followed by the officials' whistling Hobbs for a 40-yard pass interference penalty because he made the mistake of bringing down Wayne's arms with his back. Hey, Indianapolis, here's a free first-and-goal for you guys. Enjoy!

(Note: Watch NFL Network's replay of the game for the split-screen explanation by Mike Pereira, NFL vice president of officiating, who claims Hobbs impeded Wayne's path to the ball and initiated contact before turning around to find the football. Only one problem ... as Pereira is telling us this, the split-screen replay shows Hobbs turning around before there was any contact. It's an incredible 10 seconds of TV. I wish we could hire Pereira to describe other things that allegedly didn't happen while we show videotape to prove the opposite was true. "As this tape by Rick Salomon proves, Paris Hilton has never had sex with someone on camera ...")

Throughout the game, the sketchy calls kept coming and coming. Like the head-scratching no-call when Dallas Clark pulled down Rodney Harrison as Harrison tried to catch an end-zone interception on Indy's first drive (10:09 remaining, first quarter). Like Asante Samuel's drawing a pass-interference penalty on an uncatchable 40-yard bomb that set up Indy's first field goal (4:14 remaining, first quarter). Like the incredible no-call when Moorehead blocked Rashad Baker in the back (how did Jim Nantz and Phil Simms both miss this?!?!?!?) to spring Joe Addai's 73-yard touchdown at the end of the first half. Like the 15-yard "unsportsmanlike conduct" call on Matt Light after Gary Brackett's interception, of which CBS couldn't even find a replay (14:04 remaining, fourth quarter).

Wait, there's more! There was the no-call when Rosie Colvin got held while trying to sack Peyton Manning on a crucial third-and-15 that the Colts ended up converting on their last touchdown drive (12:52 remaining, fourth quarter). Or the no-call on Indy's final drive when Bryan Fletcher was blocking Colvin at the end of a running play, got frustrated and ripped Colvin's helmet off right in front of an official (2:55 remaining, fourth quarter). Or the no-call when Kevin Faulk got hooked directly in front of an official while reaching for a third-and-21 pass over the middle, followed by Tom Brady's flipping out and berating the official involved. Or a pivotal first-and-goal interference call on Randy Moss when he made the mistake of running forward for five yards and turning around, which nearly murdered the Pats because they were trailing by 10 points and suddenly looking at first-and-goal from the 12 with less than nine minutes to play.

(Note: I'd give you the exact times on those last two plays, but both of them were mysteriously deleted from the NFL Network's official replay of the game. Hmmmmmm.)

All in all, the Pats were whistled for a whopping 140 yards in penalties, a single-game record for a Bill Belichick team. At one point, after a rarely-seen "blocking someone while they're out of bounds" penalty on Willie Andrews, my dad called me just to say, "They're calling things that I never even knew were penalties!!!" It's one thing to have incompetent officiating for a football game; it's another thing to see nearly every call and non-call benefit the same team. In 60 minutes of play, only one borderline call went against the Colts -- a holding penalty on their second-to-last drive that erased a 25-yard Addai run. The final tally for the Colts: four penalties, 25 yards. We haven't seen homefield advantage work that well since Hitler invaded Russia.

With the Patriots playing at such a high level, you could argue the referees subconsciously favored Indy. After all, nobody likes rooting for Goliath. We've seen this happen in basketball, when unstoppable big men like Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal were treated differently than everyone else by the officials; any defender was allowed to push, prod, elbow and basically clobber them for 48 minutes a game. But we've never seen it in football. So, yeah, you could say this happened. You could also say Roger Goodell doesn't want the Patriots to go 19-0, and the referees acted accordingly Sunday.

So let's just settle on the word "fishy." That Pats-Colts game was a little fishy. In fact, it passed six of the seven checkmarks on the Fishy Officiating Test. Here are those checkmarks, which I just made up 90 seconds ago:

*The fans of the team about to get screwed need to worry even before the game, "I hope we win this one handily because there's no way in we're getting a call."

*You need a series of inexplicable calls spread throughout the game.

*The officiating needs to be so reprehensibly bad that the fans of the-team-getting-screwed are calling/e-mailing/complaining/texting each other with comments like, "Oh my God, this is fixed!" midway through the game even before the next few horrendously one-sided calls happen.

*There needs to be one call (in Sunday's case, the Samuel call) that makes you flash back to the shady offsides call in "Victory" when the British announcer screams, "The goal has been disallowed! The goal has been disallowed!"

*The announcers need to openly question what's happening as it's happening at least three or four times.

*You need a lingering feeling afterward that something fishy occurred, mainly because there was a clear motive for the biased officiating in the first place.

*The targeted team needs to lose so its fans will spend the rest of eternity complaining about how they were screwed in the game.

You can't rank one fishy contest above another; you can only add them to the collection of ongoing examples. For instance, I would never argue Jessica Alba was prettier than Jaclyn Smith, just that both of them have secured a place in the Beautiful Pantheon for eternity. The same goes for the Fishy Sporting Event Pantheon. When Richard Steele stopped the Chavez-Taylor fight with two seconds remaining and Taylor leading every card, that wasn't any more or less fishy than Game 6 of the Kings-Lakers series in 2002, or the Soviets' stealing the '72 gold medal from the USA hoops team, or Vince McMahon's stealing Bret Hart's WWF le and giving it to Shawn Michaels, or the Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl, or Games 3 and 4 of the 2006 NBA Finals between the Heat and Mavs, or even Robert Parish's being allowed to remain in Game 5 of the '87 Eastern Finals after punching out Bill Laimbeer just a few feet from referee Jack Madden. The degrees of fishiness didn't matter as much as the general odor of rotten fish.

Last Sunday's game failed the seventh and last checkmark: Somehow, the Patriots overcame the "elements" and prevailed. Nobody praised them for this achievement because of everything that transpired since Week 1, when they cheated against the Jets, paid a stiff price and eventually evolved into the Cobra Kai Yankees, an arrogant, unapologetic, supremely confident juggernaut that ran up scores and turned everyone outside of New England against them. There's a lingering hope out there that the Patriots will eventually get what they deserve -- that the Karma Gods will bite them in the collective arse -- and it should come in the form of biased officiating, a cheap shot that maims Brady or whatever else works. If the roles were reversed and this were any another team, I would be rooting against them just as passionately.

Still, I have to ask a simple question: Is the rest of the season going to be like this?

Was everything that "happened" (for lack of a better word) in Indy just a one-time deal? Was it just an elaborate coincidence the Patriots couldn't buy a single break for the entire game? Was the NFL unveiling a new way of evening the score against New England because a $500,000 fine and the loss of a No. 1 pick weren't enough? Did the league decide no NFL team could conventionally stop the Pats, so they'll have to play against opponents AND referees for the rest of the season? Does the NFL have a hidden trigger much like the one used in the "Madden" video games, where everything starts going against your team as soon as it becomes clear there's a chance for an undefeated season?

There's no way to definitively answer the previous paragraph. But if you're a fan of the Patriots, you've never felt as passionately about them as you do right now. The same "us-against-them" mentality that galvanized the coaches and players ended up galvanizing the fans as well. You should see some of the texts and e-mails I received from friends during Sunday's game -- genuine anger and incoherence from some of the most rational people I know -- or the remains of my living room remote control, which didn't survive a 95-mph throw across the room after the no-call on Faulk. Like everyone else who loves the Patriots, this season has become so personal that it's difficult to adequately describe. It's almost like watching a family member get raked through the coals, like being a member of Sen. Craig's family, only if he wasn't such a creep.

So that made it especially satisfying to watch them prevail in Indianapolis under such unfriendly "conditions." After the final three kneels and a delightfully icy handshake between Belichick and Dungy, I grabbed my dogs for a prolonged victory walk -- still wearing my good luck Wes Welker jersey -- and mulled a scenario in which the Pats finished 19-0, then picked first in the 2008 draft with the first-rounder acquired from San Francisco last spring. The amazing thing? It's not impossible. (Yeah, the Rams and Dolphins would need to win a couple of games apiece, but it's not impossible.) Upon my return home, I e-mailed a few Patriot friends to remind them that the 2-6 Niners had lost again and we were looking at a top-five pick. Just for kicks, I included Mel Kiper's top 10 prospects to whet everyone's collective appe e.

After a few minutes, one of them happily e-mailed back, "I love it, (bleep) everybody!"

For better or worse, that's our mantra for the 2007 season. After the legitimacy of the three Super Bowl les was questioned, there was only one response: 19-0. The players keep saying they're taking it one game at a time; I say they're full of crap. They want to join the '72 Dolphins and destroy everyone along the way. Why? Because bleep everybody, that's why. After Welker clinched the Colts game with a crucial first-down catch, he defiantly hopped up and screamed at the poor cornerback covering him, "YOU F------ SUCK!" Unquestionably, it was the defining play of the season -- not just that the Patriots converted the exact same situation that killed them last January (when they could have clinched a Super Bowl trip with one more completion on third-and-short), but that Welker displayed such arrogant disdain after finishing the Colts off.

Normally, I hate crap like that. Not this time.

Once you enter "bleep-everybody" mode, it becomes a state of mind. You can't shake it. After they slaughtered the Redskins, everyone debated the merits of the Pats running up the score and missed the larger point -- namely, that those inflated scores were serving a larger compe ive purpose. Remember those few minutes right before the Tyson-Spinks fight, when poor Spinks looked like he might lose control of his bowels. He didn't want to get embarrassed or beaten up. You could see it. Just like the Dolphins and Redskins last month. Those blowouts weren't shocking because of the scores as much as the complacency and lethargy of the losing teams. They didn't seem outraged, offended or even mildly ticked off. They just wanted to get the out of there. If the "Eff-You TD" sprung from a certain place -- revenge, pride, hostility, whatever -- it's now emerged as a legitimate tactical weapon. Belichick doesn't care about running up the score; he cares that every inferior Patriots opponent looks like Spinks before the Tyson fight.

And I never thought I'd condone this stuff. Believe me. As my friend Jamie wrote to me this week, "I sit there and openly root for them to run it up on teams. I thought I had experienced every emotion as a fan, this is totally new."

Great way to put it. Since you couldn't fully understand this feeling until it happens to you, here's an example you might grasp: One of the smartest scenes in "Sopranos" history happened in the first episode of the final season, when a drunken Bobby Bacala sucker-punched an even more inebriated Tony and the two guys squared off. Even though Tony started the brawl by repeatedly insulting Bobby's wife, and even though Bobby was a better person and a better family man, you know who we were rooting for in the fight? Tony. He might have been a flawed and unredeemable person in almost every respect, but we were more invested in him. Deep down, we liked Tony. We forgive him for all his sins. What separated those final two shows from anything else in television history was the simple fact that we really, really, REALLY didn't want him to get killed. So what if he was a terrible, selfish, evil guy? We didn't care. We wanted him to live. That's what made "The Sopranos" such a groundbreaking show -- rooting for a bad guy was a totally new way to watch television.

So if you wouldn't blame me for rooting for a s bag like Tony against Bobby, then don't blame me for sticking with my Patriots. The players have always handled themselves with class on and off the field. When everyone wanted them punished after CameraGate, they took their penalty without a whimper. When everyone wanted to turn them into villains, they puffed their chests and gave everyone an endless loop of Tony Montana's "Say o to the bad guy!" scene in "Scarface" for the next two months. Like it or not, everyone's getting something out of this. We get to watch one of the greatest NFL teams ever, we get to argue about them constantly, we get a world-class villain, and if they stumble some time in the next three months, we might even get a potential upset on the level of USA 4, USSR 3.

Again, this is totally new -- not just for Patriots fans, but for everyone rooting against them. Normally, we have to watch a sports movie like "Victory" to find a good villain. This is happening in real time. And the quest for an undefeated season lingers over everything -- it's like watching someone throw a no-hitter, only if the no-hitter lasted for five straight months. Only two years ago, I wrote that the Colts would be crazy for pursuing an undefeated season and risking injuries when the only thing that mattered was a Super Bowl le. Now? I guess I'm a hypocrite. If you asked any Patriots fan to pick between two doors that determined the rest of the season -- in Door No. 1, the team would lose once but have a 100-percent chance to win the Super Bowl, and in Door No. 2, there would be two-in-three chance at a 19-0 season or a one-in-three chance that the team would lose in the playoffs -- a surprising number of fans would roll the dice with that second door. Including me.

If the undefeated season doesn't happen for the Patriots, let's hope it's because they were outplayed and not because of something more sinister. And let's hope this is the final time an NFL game gets compared to a soccer movie starring Sly Stallone and a bunch of Nazis ... and the comparison isn't a stretch.

[samikeyp]

Sadly I expect this tripe from Simmons.

Before I rant...mono this is not directed at you personally.

There were bad calls in that game and the Pats had every right to be pissed about them. If it were my team, I would be pissed as too.

Still, I do not believe that Goodell sat in his office and in his best Marlon Brando imitation said "Send the hoodie a message". Conspiracy theories are now and have been all the rage when a team or their fan base feels slighted for years. To me, that is the ultimate sign of ignorance. If your team loses, its because of...wait for it....your team! If someone can show me proof, actual proof not a bunch of "Well this play was this and this play was this which means its true" (that is an opinion...not a fact, there is a difference and too many people can't tell that difference, especially on this board) then I will back you up 100%. Just because you think everyone is against your team doesn't actually mean its true.

I do know this. The 2007 Patriots are one of the best teams I have ever seen in 30 years of watching football. Their wins are not tainted, their success is legitimate and they deserve all the credit for that. If they want to believe the whole world is against them (and I am not saying they do, but it sounds like it) and it works for them....great. All that matters is wins and losses and it doesn't look like they are going to lose until next season.

[J.T.]

The point he raises about Madden is valid, because I simulated the inevitable January game in Foxborough (in a blizzard just to make it fun) on All Madden with all the AI settings at 100% just to make sure that I was on my A game. I was skunking the Pats 28-0 when all of a sudden every time I run its a fumble. The Pats score and kickoff to me, and a fumble is forced on the return. I pick off Brady and then on my next pass play, my WR bobbles the catch and a Pats defender gets the pick (kind of like what Gary Brackett did last week). I think the jews at EA Sports have a Pats fetish too. I still won the game 38-35 but bull do the Pats score 35 second half points against the Colts in real life.

But this kind of happens in Madden all the time. Simulate the regular season and chances are your QB gets a season ending injury in Week 16.

[J.T.]

Still, it must be nice being Bill Simmons, who before this season was a decent journalist and is now just a glorified blogger. A fall from grace, if you could call it that.

[J.T.]

I am noticing a lot of flack from Pats fans about this game. Are you guys really that pissed about the officiating or scared that you beat the Colts minus 5 starters by only 4 points? No 25 point blowouts and F You TDs in that game.

Sore winners if I ever saw it.

[stretch]

The point he raises about Madden is valid, because I simulated the inevitable January game in Foxborough (in a blizzard just to make it fun) on All Madden with all the AI settings at 100% just to make sure that I was on my A game. I was skunking the Pats 28-0 when all of a sudden every time I run its a fumble. The Pats score and kickoff to me, and a fumble is forced on the return. I pick off Brady and then on my next pass play, my WR bobbles the catch and a Pats defender gets the pick (kind of like what Gary Brackett did last week). I think the jews at EA Sports have a Pats fetish too. I still won the game 38-35 but bull do the Pats score 35 second half points against the Colts in real life.

But this kind of happens in Madden all the time. Simulate the regular season and chances are your QB gets a season ending injury in Week 16.

Madden is too easy for me now. I don't even like playing the computer, I only play online nowadays. But I know what you mean about the computer cheating. The Pats and Giants are always getting BS crap going their way in Madden. Those are the two teams I hate playing the most, because it cheats the most for them.

[stretch]

I am noticing a lot of flack from Pats fans about this game. Are you guys really that pissed about the officiating or scared that you beat the Colts minus 5 starters by only 4 points? No 25 point blowouts and F You TDs in that game.

Sore winners if I ever saw it.

I agree completely. I think that Pats fans are more intimidated than anything, and of course they will never admit it, but its the truth.

[J.T.]

Madden is too easy for me now. I don't even like playing the computer, I only play online nowadays. But I know what you mean about the computer cheating. The Pats and Giants are always getting BS crap going their way in Madden. Those are the two teams I hate playing the most, because it cheats the most for them.

Well, Madden has tons of glitches that work on most every team when you are on offense. I typically just play for the Colts and I could conceivably lead a drive that's a 75 yard defensive pass interference flag followed by a QB sneak TD every time I have the ball, but that's not fun unless you're playing someone who really sucks at Madden and you just want to make them feel totally inferior.

I like playing the computer because when I play online or against friends, I end up with like 11 user picks and a bunch of hit stick forced fumbles... Madden has become too easy over the years.

[J.T.]

I agree completely. I think that Pats fans are more intimidated than anything, and of course they will never admit it, but its the truth.

Yep, Pats fans think that no other team is worthy of lining up across from them...and the Colts definitely shot down that theory last week.

Interesting stat, Brady's TD-INT ratio in the last three games against the Colts is 4-7. Pats fans can't like that stat too much in a rematch. That stat is padded in Brady's favor after last week, since before that game it was 1-5. Before that game Brady had done jack against the Colts for two straight seasons, it was that lucky end zone fumble recovery and the Samuel pick that even got them the huge lead they eventually blew in the AFC championship.

[monosylab1k]

Yep, Pats fans think that no other team is worthy of lining up across from them...and the Refs definitely shot down that theory last week.

fixed

[samikeyp]

Mono....don't tell me you are one of those dumbasses who believes in conspiracy theories.

I'd like to think you are better than that.

[J.T.]

fixed

I guess Pats fans wouldn't be Pats fans if they weren't ing about something constantly.

[J.T.]

Mono....don't tell me you are one of those dumbasses who believes in conspiracy theories.

I'd like to think you are better than that.

He's just riding the Bill Simmons Train right now. In a twisted analogy, Simmons is a crooked priest and mono is his 12 year old lover boy.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

This is why a lot of people hate PatFan - crying after a win, for 's sake.

He must live in Imaginationland to believe some of his "non-calls". There was a block in the back on Addai's TD run...by another Pat defender.

"Blocking someone out of bounds" is almost always called. You must let the player try to re-establish himself on the playing field before making contact.

Crying about holding penalties not being called is the dumbest argument ever. It happens to every team on almost every play. STFU about it.

Simmons is an enormous douchbag who writes like a fanboy - not a journalist. His arguments suck and his points are contradicted in his own articles. For example:

After Welker clinched the Colts game with a crucial first-down catch, he defiantly hopped up and screamed at the poor cornerback covering him, "YOU ING SUCK!"

A few paragraphs later..

The players have always handled themselves with class on and off the field.

Simmons is a .

[DarkReign]

Hes a Boston-ball swinging bag. The fact the ESPN employs him to write homer-articles say everything.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

He's a fanboy. Nobody is talking about this game anymore. This article might have been better if he had submitted it on Monday, but passing this off as his "Week 10 Picks" is laughable.

Just call the column what it is: My Weekly Ode to the Patriots/Celtics/Red Sox.

God help us if the Bruins ever become relevant.

[tlongII]

Simmons' articles are only worthwhile when the Boston teams suck.

[J.T.]

I can only imagine the fest that would have come out of Boston had the Colts won that game.

[BeerIsGood!]

Simmons' articles are only worthwhile when the Boston teams suck.

tlongII with a valid point?

[Findog]

Sadly I expect this tripe from Simmons.

Before I rant...mono this is not directed at you personally.

There were bad calls in that game and the Pats had every right to be pissed about them. If it were my team, I would be pissed as too.

Still, I do not believe that Goodell sat in his office and in his best Marlon Brando imitation said "Send the hoodie a message". Conspiracy theories are now and have been all the rage when a team or their fan base feels slighted for years. To me, that is the ultimate sign of ignorance. If your team loses, its because of...wait for it....your team! If someone can show me proof, actual proof not a bunch of "Well this play was this and this play was this which means its true" (that is an opinion...not a fact, there is a difference and too many people can't tell that difference, especially on this board) then I will back you up 100%. Just because you think everyone is against your team doesn't actually mean its true.

I do know this. The 2007 Patriots are one of the best teams I have ever seen in 30 years of watching football. Their wins are not tainted, their success is legitimate and they deserve all the credit for that. If they want to believe the whole world is against them (and I am not saying they do, but it sounds like it) and it works for them....great. All that matters is wins and losses and it doesn't look like they are going to lose until next season.

I couldn't even skim it, once I saw the premise, that was it. I accept the Pats are the best team in the NFL, and I'm not bitter about it, but I don't understand why Simmons expects me to suck their and like it at the same time.

[monosylab1k]

Mono....don't tell me you are one of those dumbasses who believes in conspiracy theories.

I'd like to think you are better than that.

I don't believe the league is conspiring to beat the Patriots. The NFL has no reason whatsoever to do something like that. And Goodell is good friends with Bob Kraft so I doubt he'd ever try something like that.

I do believe that was the worst, most one-sided reffing screwjob I've ever seen. That was 10x worse than Heat-Mavs Game 5.

It's just a testament to how great the Patriots are that they still managed to win.

[monosylab1k]

This is why a lot of people hate PatFan - crying after a win, for 's sake.

He must live in Imaginationland to believe some of his "non-calls". There was a block in the back on Addai's TD run...by another Pat defender.

"Blocking someone out of bounds" is almost always called. You must let the player try to re-establish himself on the playing field before making contact.

Crying about holding penalties not being called is the dumbest argument ever. It happens to every team on almost every play. STFU about it.

Simmons is an enormous douchbag who writes like a fanboy - not a journalist. His arguments suck and his points are contradicted in his own articles. For example:

After Welker clinched the Colts game with a crucial first-down catch, he defiantly hopped up and screamed at the poor cornerback covering him, "YOU ING SUCK!"

A few paragraphs later..

The players have always handled themselves with class on and off the field.

Simmons is a .

Bill Simmons lives for rants like this. You oughta e-mail him with this gold.

[TheSanityAnnex]

*

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

Bill Simmons lives for rants like this. You oughta e-mail him with this gold.

That's not a rant.

I would email him but I'm busy emailing the NFL about the "running into the coaching staff" penalty called on the Lions this past Sunday.

One conspiracy at a time.