Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, because maybe I'm just still having trouble dealing with how bad the Skins were this year, and my judgement is clouded with anger/sadness because they're not in the playoffs, but it seems to me like ESPN likes jump all over certain teams and certain players nuts, all the time!
ESPN, please jump off the Patriots bandwagon and Tom Brady's nuts. It's like all they talk about how much of a genius Bellachick is, and how awesome Brady is during the playoffs. But, they usually fail to mention some obvious truths that don't support why that might not be true this year. One, since the Patriots won their last Superbowl they've lost several key pieces such as Romeo Cornell, Charlie Weiss, Ty Law, Willie McGinnest, Deion Branch, and I think Harrison is hurt this year. And what happened last year in the playoffs when they didn't have these key pieces, they lost to the Broncos, Brady threw that interception to Bailey in the endzone and he ran it all the way back to his one yard line. I want the Chargers to win just so that they stop talking about the freakin Patriots for a minute.
ESPN please get off of the Ravens nuts. Okay, it's a good story, and the Ravens are nasty this year, but it's like ESPN is just writing the Colts off, like they don't have a chance at all. I want to hear positives about both teams, not just the Ravens. They give very little coverage to the fact the Peyton usually finds a way to beat the Ravens, and how their defense is healthy now with McFarland and Sanders. They just want to brown nose Ray Lewis, McNair, Ed Reed, and the rest of the defense. Why are they so biased? You know what, the ESPN analysts are probably right, there's no way the Colts can stop Jamal Lewis, no way in Hell, it's impossible, they can only stop Larry Johnson,right?
They kinda do the same thing with the Saints too. It's like the Saints are good, but they're playing the Eagles who are absoutely hot right now. This how the coverage usually goes by ESPN: Drew Brees this, Brees that, Reggie Bush, some more Reggie Bush, Jeff Garcia, did we mention how good Drew Brees is yet?, MArquis Colston, blah blah blah Reggie Bush is good in space, Brian Dawkins, the Saints are playing at home, Drew Brees has a cannon, Marquis Colston is gonna cause some matchup problems. Come on ESPN.
Let's not forget what happened during the College Championship game this year. ESPN was all over Ohio State's nuts and they got worked!!!
I dunno exactly what I'm trying to say, I just wish they'd stop giving so much opinion and start giving more positves and negatives about both teams. Does anyone else notice this or am I just nuts?

Re: Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

the media always falls in love this the hot team and that becomes all they talk about. it is nothing new to me.

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I agree on the Pats...I remember rooting for them in their 1st Super Bowl but now it's to the point where I can't stand them and hearing about how great they are. And the thing is...they are not even that great anymore. i will be shocked if that team wins the Super Bowl.

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if espn upsets you then why do you keep watching? i'll tell you: because its good, because its [U]real[/U] good.

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The Patriots are a contender every year!!! That's why they keep talking about them. They lose players & coaches but guess what, they are still contenders. Great coach and great organization. So i would much rather hear about the Patriots than the Eagles who've never won anything. By the way, Tom Brady is pretty good and pretty clutch too.

If the skins won 3 out of 4 SB's i bet we'd be on espn more than anyone else too.

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[QUOTE=celts32;269832]I agree on the Pats...I remember rooting for them in their 1st Super Bowl but now it's to the point where I can't stand them and hearing about how great they are. And the thing is...they are not even that great anymore. i will be shocked if that team wins the Super Bowl.[/QUOTE]

As Bill Simmons correctly said, this year's Pats represent the greatest rebuilding year in the history of sports.

Re: Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

I think whoever wins the Pats Chargers game wins it all. As for the ESPN rant I'm staying out of that

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boo hoo, i would talk about the pats too if they won as many championships as they have in the last few years, they rate it.

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espn was all over the redskins and coach gibbs nuts during the glory years. they jump on the bandwagon of which ever team is winning. do you remember the man love chris berman had for the buffalo bills?

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[quote=redsk1;269834]The Patriots are a contender every year!!! That's why they keep talking about them. They lose players & coaches but guess what, they are still contenders. Great coach and great organization. So i would much rather hear about the Patriots than the Eagles who've never won anything. By the way, Tom Brady is pretty good and pretty clutch too.

If the skins won 3 out of 4 SB's i bet we'd be on espn more than anyone else too.[/quote]
This year, during the regular season, the Patriots played against 4 teams with winning records, 4 TEAMS!!!!! THAT'S IT!!!!!! No wonder they made the playoffs!!! And against the teams with winning records, they were 2-3, I'm not impressed. I would much rather hear about an underdog team like the Eagles, that we don't know as much about, as opposed to repeatedly talking about how good the Patriots are!! If they beat the Chargers, then I'll start to give Brady more credit, but until then, I'm going to accredit much of Brady's success to his past stellar defenses with players such as Willie McGinnest, Rodney Harrison, Teddy Bruschi, and Ty Law. Plus coaches like Cornell and Weis, and let's not forget Deion Branch.

In addition, someone asked why I choose to watch ESPN. What the hell else would I watch? The other national sports network? What's it called? Oh, there isn't another one. There's lots of great things about ESPN, like Sportscenter, PTI, around the Horn, I just get sick of hearing about certain teams over and over.

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[QUOTE=gabe1984;269844]This year, during the regular season, the Patriots played against 4 teams with winning records, 4 TEAMS!!!!! THAT'S IT!!!!!! No wonder they made the playoffs!!! And against the teams with winning records, they were 2-3, I'm not impressed.[/QUOTE]

Wouldn't they be 1-3 or 2-2 or 3-1 or 4-0 or 0-4 if the Pats played against only 4 TEAMS with a winning a record?

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[quote=djnemo65;269835]As Bill Simmons correctly said, this year's Pats represent the greatest rebuilding year in the history of sports.[/quote]

And he isn't biased one bit...

Let's see if they say that after LT has 180 and 4 touchdowns.

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[quote=Redskins8588;269847]Wouldn't they be 1-3 or 2-2 or 3-1 or 4-0 or 0-4 if the Pats played against only 4 TEAMS with a winning a record?[/quote]
No silly, the played the Jets, who had a winning record, twice because theyr'e in the same division.

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well if you look at the records between the pats and broncos, the broncos seem to beat them a lot more than any other team, even the dolphins i think

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[quote=dmek25;269841]do you remember the man love chris berman had for the buffalo bills?[/quote]*still has

I'm pretty sure hes a Bills fan...not that theres anything wrong with that.

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[quote=gabe1984;269844]This year, during the regular season, the Patriots played against 4 teams with winning records, 4 TEAMS!!!!! THAT'S IT!!!!!! No wonder they made the playoffs!!! And against the teams with winning records, they were 2-3, I'm not impressed. I would much rather hear about an underdog team like the Eagles, that we don't know as much about, as opposed to repeatedly talking about how good the Patriots are!! If they beat the Chargers, then I'll start to give Brady more credit, but until then, I'm going to accredit much of Brady's success to his past stellar defenses with players such as Willie McGinnest, Rodney Harrison, Teddy Bruschi, and Ty Law. Plus coaches like Cornell and Weis, and let's not forget Deion Branch.

In addition, someone asked why I choose to watch ESPN. What the hell else would I watch? The other national sports network? What's it called? Oh, there isn't another one. There's lots of great things about ESPN, like Sportscenter, PTI, around the Horn, I just get sick of hearing about certain teams over and over.[/quote]They've (not just ESPN, but also other major outlets like SI) been on Philadelphia's nuts for years and years. I will say this about the Eagles, Andy Reid is a great team builder, and I'm not surprised that Philly is doing what they are doing. Of course if we were ANY good, they wouldn't be where they are right now, so if ESPN was talking up Reid's job ad nauseum, I'd probably be sick to my stomach.

Regarding the Pats...who knows where they'd be if the NFL rules weren't wacky, and they had lost to the Raiders in the 2001 divisional round (the snow bowl)? Brady could be a relatively underhyped QB right now. The bottom line is that good team building and coaching are helpful things, but the game chooses it's champions in a relatively random manner. No one player or coach is bigger than the game, but listening to some of the talking heads, you'd think guys like Brady and Belicheck are larger than life. They aren't. They are great players and coaches who just happened to be lucky enough to win a few championships. Tons of players who have a lot of tools similar to those guys flounder in mediocrity not because they go about playing/coaching the game any differently than a Brady or a Belicheck, but because guys like Brady catch all the breaks, not them.

Re: Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

ESPN is both a blessing and a curse for sports fans. They can be very annoying yet very informative at the same time. They definitely have that Northeast liberal vibe though, that can be quite annoying.

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[quote=GTripp0012;269853]They've (not just ESPN, but also other major outlets like SI) been on Philadelphia's nuts for years and years. I will say this about the Eagles, Andy Reid is a great team builder, and I'm not surprised that Philly is doing what they are doing. Of course if we were ANY good, they wouldn't be where they are right now, so if ESPN was talking up Reid's job ad nauseum, I'd probably be sick to my stomach.

Regarding the Pats...who knows where they'd be if the NFL rules weren't wacky, and they had lost to the Raiders in the 2001 divisional round (the snow bowl)? Brady could be a relatively underhyped QB right now. The bottom line is that good team building and coaching are helpful things, but the game chooses it's champions in a relatively random manner. No one player or coach is bigger than the game, but listening to some of the talking heads, you'd think guys like Brady and Belicheck are larger than life. They aren't. They are great players and coaches who just happened to be lucky enough to win a few championships. Tons of players who have a lot of tools similar to those guys flounder in mediocrity not because they go about playing/coaching the game any differently than a Brady or a Belicheck, but because guys like Brady catch all the breaks, not them.[/quote]

It doesn't hurt that the Patriots play in the perpetually weak AFC East either. That being said, you still have to admire what they've accomplished.

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[quote=ncskinsfanec;269856]It doesn't hurt that the Patriots play in the perpetually weak AFC East either. That being said, you still have to admire what they've accomplished.[/quote]Actually, thats my point. I don't have to admire it. I really don't want the media to force feed me who my props should go to.

In the individual case of the Pats, I do like the job Pioli has done there to keep them full of talent for so many consecutive seasons. But its been two years since the Patriots have done something impressive. They get another chance tonight, but its not a probable victory.

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They are broadcasters and cater to their audience. That's what broadcasters do. The Patriots have a large following because they are [I]consistently[/I] in the hunt. See, they can't be champions every year, but they win every year. That's why the big bugaboo about Bilechick and Brady.

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The media is 50% news and 50% opinion. And 90 % of the shit the media talks about when they voice their opinion is about whatever is hot. Get used to it. Do you think the public would rather Len Pastabelly's opinion about the 5-11 Redskins or how the Eagles won a bunch of games under their backup qb and won the NFC East again?

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[QUOTE=Grim21Reaper;269848]And he isn't biased one bit...

Let's see if they say that after LT has 180 and 4 touchdowns.[/QUOTE]

What does bias have to do with it? They went 12-4.

Re: Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

ESPN also gently teabags Dallas' nuts every year too...until they lose, as usual. (Nice hold, dickhead).
Dallas Sucks.

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no doubt. espn has their favorites (lebron, brady, romo, peyton manning, etc.) what infuriated me is how they defended romo's fumbled snap and called anyone who enjoyed seeing him do that out saying "if you liked seeing him fail like that you have never played a competitive sport before". wtf is that? if that was jake plummer or somebody they would have been all over his ass. its really sad

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[quote=Big C;269866]no doubt. espn has their favorites (lebron, brady, romo, peyton manning, etc.) what infuriated me is how they defended romo's fumbled snap and called anyone who enjoyed seeing him do that out saying "if you liked seeing him fail like that you have never played a competitive sport before". wtf is that? if that was jake plummer or somebody they would have been all over his ass. its really sad[/quote]

Romo's gaffe will be replayed over and over again for the next year, well forever for that matter! One of the worst gaffes in NFL history! Oh, sweet it is!!!

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It's not like we didn't get our prop's when we were winning, because we did. The media is always going to pump a winner, that's the way it's always been, and will remain as long as there's winners and loosers. Get used to it.

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ESPN is near the Patriots and Red Sox facilities, so they tend to be homers for them.

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Closer to NYC. Even have an office there...
Building another huge studio complex in LA next to the Staples Center.
No office in Boston though.

Re: Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

Espn is still the greatest thing in sports.

Re: Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

[QUOTE=railcon56;269885]Espn is still the greatest thing in sports.[/QUOTE]

Not anymore...NFL Network is!

Re: Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

[quote=GTripp0012;269853]They've (not just ESPN, but also other major outlets like SI) been on Philadelphia's nuts for years and years. I will say this about the Eagles, Andy Reid is a great team builder, and I'm not surprised that Philly is doing what they are doing. Of course if we were ANY good, they wouldn't be where they are right now, so if ESPN was talking up Reid's job ad nauseum, I'd probably be sick to my stomach.

Regarding the Pats...who knows where they'd be if the NFL rules weren't wacky, and they had lost to the Raiders in the 2001 divisional round (the snow bowl)? Brady could be a relatively underhyped QB right now. The bottom line is that good team building and coaching are helpful things, but the game chooses it's champions in a relatively random manner. No one player or coach is bigger than the game, but listening to some of the talking heads, you'd think guys like Brady and Belicheck are larger than life. They aren't. They are great players and coaches who just happened to be lucky enough to win a few championships. Tons of players who have a lot of tools similar to those guys flounder in mediocrity not because they go about playing/coaching the game any differently than a Brady or a Belicheck, but because guys like Brady catch all the breaks, not them.[/quote]



You aren't seriously suggesting that being only the second team in 40 years of Super Bowl history to win three Super Bowls in four years is matter of luck, I hope. It's fine not to like Brady for whatever reason you choose, but to lump him with "tons of players" is flat out laughable. Brady is one of THE top clutch quarterbacks in NFL history and there's really no debate- his record proves it. In terms of titles he's far and away the most accomplished quarterback playing today. Last year's playoff loss at Denver was the first time the guy had lost a playoff game in four trips to the playoffs- that's impressive no matter how much you might hate the Pats.

Similarly, Belichick's won-lost record speaks for itself. W's talk and BS walks.

As for the snow bowl, whatever- most dynasties have a break or two along the way, but they only add to the lore- they certainly can't account for all the success a team like the Patriots have created for themselves
(and in any event that call could be seen as revenge for the royal screw job the '76 Patriots got in getting jobbed out of a win over eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland).

Somehow I wonder if you'd be so upset if it was Gibbs and Campbell the talking heads were gushging over.

Bottom Line: Even if the Pats get blown out at San Diego today, you're going to have to learn to live with the fact that unless some team comes out of nowhere and really pours it on the next 3-4 years, New England is hands down the team of the decade, and you'll be seeing this team imortalized forever on ESPN CLassic- and deservedly so.

Re: Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

[quote=djnemo65;269835]As Bill Simmons correctly said, this year's Pats represent the greatest rebuilding year in the history of sports.[/quote]
Bill Simmons is the biggest Boston "homer" on ESPN.com. What the hell did New England rebuild from??? They finished in first place in their division BOTH last season and this season. I for one am a lot more impressed with what the Saints did as a reclamation project. Coming off a last place finish, they bring in a new coach, sign an injured Drew Brees that San Diego and Miami wanted no part of, draft Bush, then plug in a bunch of role players and ride it all the way to the NFC Championship. Bill Simmons should take off his rose-colored Patriots glasses for a dose of reality.

Re: Angry Rant Against ESPN
 

the only person i have ever heard say anything goodabout the redskins is mark scherelith,all the rest of them including jaws,morton,ditka,ishamel,and 8 ball irvin who still holds grudges from teams from his playing days.i have'nt really heard john claton crack on them,but sean salsbury and"merril"hodge(his parents must have hated him why else would they give him that name and the hair that looks like it came off of a donkey's ass?)deion sanders cracks on them every chance he gets to on the nfl network.the skins,and coach gibbs never get respect for anything,not the 3 superbowl qbs in 3 different superbowls or nothing.i jusst quit watching that shit,and inside the nfl too!they kiss the pats,the cowboys,the colts,the 49ers ass so frequently they have to order chap stick by the truckload i bet!

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[quote=SouperMeister;269890]Bill Simmons is the biggest Boston "homer" on ESPN.com. What the hell did New England rebuild from??? They finished in first place in their division BOTH last season and this season. I for one am a lot more impressed with what the Saints did as a reclamation project. Coming off a last place finish, they bring in a new coach, sign an injured Drew Brees that San Diego and Miami wanted no part of, draft Bush, then plug in a bunch of role players and ride it all the way to the NFC Championship. Bill Simmons should take off his rose-colored Patriots glasses for a dose of reality.[/quote]

Simmons has never denied he's a Boston homer. It's part of his schtick. When the Patriots were on their way to their first title he went on at length about what a bland, unexciting history they had, how there had never been a truly memorable game in Foxboro Stadium, etc. He's not without bias and doesn't pretend to be.

New England lost Willie McGuinest, Deon Branch, David Givens, Adam Venatieri and several other players from recent Super Bowl teams. While the overall value of these players (save Venatieri) to other teams in questionable, there's really no arguement that they were vital to the Patriots. I disagree that they are the biggest rebuilding job in the league and would agree with your example of New Orleans, but in this day and age to sustain their kind of success (12-4) with losses like that is remarkable.

As to some of the other sentiments expressed in this thread, why should ESPN be raving about, or even mentioning, the Redskins except to crack on them? They were 5-11 this year, 21-27 since Gibbs game back, have only two playoff appearances in the last 14 years, only 5 finishes above .500 during that same 14 years and haven't been to the conference title game since 1991, much less the Super Bowl. This is New England's sixth straight winning season; you can dismiss that if you want but Washington hasn't done that in [I]twenty years[/I] (1982-87). Those old Super Bowl trophies are dusty relics- if you went to listen to praise for what Gibbs did during those years, tune in to ESPN Classic.

I do understand some of the sentiment against listening to the endless Parcells/T.O./Dallas saga when the Tuna is still looking for a playoff win after four years, and I agree that it sucks the Redskins don't get much serious discussion anymore, but the bottom line is that if the Redskins were winning big right now, they'd be getting talked up- they'd be a big story and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

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[quote=The Huddle;269889]You aren't seriously suggesting that being only the second team in 40 years of Super Bowl history to win three Super Bowls in four years is matter of luck, I hope. It's fine not to like Brady for whatever reason you choose, but to lump him with "tons of players" is flat out laughable. Brady is one of THE top clutch quarterbacks in NFL history and there's really no debate- his record proves it. In terms of titles he's far and away the most accomplished quarterback playing today. Last year's playoff loss at Denver was the first time the guy had lost a playoff game in four trips to the playoffs- that's impressive no matter how much you might hate the Pats.

Similarly, Belichick's won-lost record speaks for itself. W's talk and BS walks.

As for the snow bowl, whatever- most dynasties have a break or two along the way, but they only add to the lore- they certainly can't account for all the success a team like the Patriots have created for themselves
(and in any event that call could be seen as revenge for the royal screw job the '76 Patriots got in getting jobbed out of a win over eventual Super Bowl champion Oakland).

Somehow I wonder if you'd be so upset if it was Gibbs and Campbell the talking heads were gushging over.

Bottom Line: Even if the Pats get blown out at San Diego today, you're going to have to learn to live with the fact that unless some team comes out of nowhere and really pours it on the next 3-4 years, New England is hands down the team of the decade, and you'll be seeing this team imortalized forever on ESPN CLassic- and deservedly so.[/quote]Are you saying that if the Raiders had beaten the Pats in the 2001 playoffs (like most agree SHOULD have happened), that:

1) Brady would be viewed in the exact same light he is right now.

2)The Patriots would still have two Super Bowls; that is to say their success as a team in 03-04 was in NO way assisted by their championship in 01. Consider that they missed the playoffs in 02, so they very easily could have been considered a one year wonder.

The game chooses it's champions. This statement doesn't mean that it's fixed, [U]it means that if you DON'T get some good fortune, you don't win 3-4 games in the playoffs, no matter how good you are[/U]. It's a simple concept. It chose the Pats three times. Thus they are three time world champions. Worship them if you must, but Bill Belichick is not my lord and savior.

The Patriots are not bigger then the game.

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[QUOTE=The Huddle;269889]Bottom Line: Even if the Pats get blown out at San Diego today, you're going to have to learn to live with the fact that unless some team comes out of nowhere and really pours it on the next 3-4 years, New England is hands down the team of the decade, and you'll be seeing this team imortalized forever on ESPN CLassic- and deservedly so.[/QUOTE]

I agree. If we are to crown 'teams of the decade' I don't know who else you could pick for the 2000's but New England. In the 90's it was the Cowboys, in the 80's it was the Niners.

Now, in my mind, if you win 3 Super Bowls in any one decade, you deserve the team of the decade title. Especially if no other team did it. If a team wins two Super Bowls, that's certainly worthy of note, but IMO, it doesn't warrant "Team of the Decade."

Too bad that doesn't include the Redskins of the 80's because they went to three and won two -- if it weren't for that damned Super Bowl 18 ... ARGGGH! We'd have been right up there with the 49ers as "Team of the Decade."

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[quote=GTripp0012;269914]Are you saying that if the Raiders had beaten the Pats in the 2001 playoffs (like most agree SHOULD have happened), that:

1) Brady would be viewed in the exact same light he is right now.

2)The Patriots would still have two Super Bowls; that is to say their success as a team in 03-04 was in NO way assisted by their championship in 01. Consider that they missed the playoffs in 02, so they very easily could have been considered a one year wonder.

The game chooses it's champions. This statement doesn't mean that it's fixed, [U]it means that if you DON'T get some good fortune, you don't win 3-4 games in the playoffs, no matter how good you are[/U]. It's a simple concept. It chose the Pats three times. Thus they are three time world champions. Worship them if you must, but Bill Belichick is not my lord and savior.

The Patriots are not bigger then the game.[/quote]

Who is saying Belichick is your lord and savior? Don't say people were suggesting it, just show me where someone said it.

I am not worshipping the Pats. I am simply recognizing that they have done a better job of taking advantage of the oppotunities they have been presented than other teams.

This is nothing but sour grapes. Again, if the Redskins were winning big and all the rage, we're not having this discussion.

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[quote=djnemo65;269864]What does bias have to do with it? They went 12-4.[/quote]

How are the Patriots in a "rebuilding year"? They won their division and went to the playoffs last year and they won their division and went to the playoffs this year. Because they dump Deion Branch, they are rebuilding? They dump guys every year.

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[quote=celts32;269887]Not anymore...NFL Network is![/quote]

There is nothing great about Gumbel and Collinsworth.

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[quote=Grim21Reaper;269922]How are the Patriots in a "rebuilding year"? They won their division and went to the playoffs last year and they won their division and went to the playoffs this year. Because they dump Deion Branch, they are rebuilding? They dump guys every year.[/quote]


Not just Branch, but Venatieri, Givens, McGuinest...they lost some key guys, guys who had a lot to do with those Super Bowl trophies. Are you saying that replacing those guys [I]isn't rebuilding[/I]? That because New England didn't fall apart for a year like a lot of teams would that somehow this is a less than impressive accomplishment?

What I'm seeing here is a lot of pent up frustration from fans who are perhaps understandably bitter at our team's long-term status as an also-ran. Still, taking out that frustration by belittling the obviously outsanding accomplishments of another team is flat out lame. I mean, three Super Bowls in four years is primarily the result of luck? It had nothing to do with Belichick or Brady? Replacing key players on a championship team isn't rebuilding?...okay, whatever.