<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (bakes781)</div><div class='quotemain'>It's clear that Dale will never be able to suck up his pride & give the true credit the Patriots Dynasty deserves. With that said I was hurt by what LT said after the game b/c I respect him more than anyone that doesn't wear a Patriot's jersey. The fact is he's the only player who was reportedly hurt by this action of a couple of Patriots. The other fact is the Chargers had been disrepecting the Pats all week leading up to the game. The Chargers were the team that lost composure with stupid penalties throughout the game. LT is a class guy, but he wasn't the one being mocked. They were mocking Merriman(2 tackles) who does that dance even when he doesn't make a play. The Pats mock his stupid dance after winning the game that very few thought they could & I see nothing wrong with that. SD was the team who had a Super Bowl party already planned not NE. You earn respect. It's not handed to you. Notice I didn't even mention the word STEROIDS once! Stay classy San Diego!</div> What's clear is that Bakes can't pry the Patriot colored glasses off his face long enough to see the world as it truly is. I've given props to the Patriots for being the first dynasty of the 2,000's for a long time. I don't anymore because, between Rodney Harrison and the rest of the Pats crying about not being respected and the disrespectful remarks about other teams from their fanbase, I've grown to hate the Patriots guts. It wasn't always so though. I can remember when the Jets and the Bills were the only division rivals that I truly hated. But getting back to Bakes baseless accusation of the week, here are my words from an exchange that I had with TKO. Like I said, I've given the Patriots due credit for quite some time. Let's learn a new word today, objectivity. Yes, I'm a Dolphins fan but any poster on this board, that doesn't suffer from video game induced ADD, will tell you that one of my greatest qualities, other than my George Clooney-esqe good looks, rapier wit and unmatched literary acuity is my uncanny ability to extricate the truth from the deluge of hype that permeates these threads. I have no trouble giving the Patriots the respect that they have earned as the World Champions and the first dynasty of the 2000s. I hate the Jets but I have championed Curtis Martin as the most underrated running back in the NFL. I haven't spent as much time praising the Bills, but that's mainly because they really haven't earned much praise as of late.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (bakes781)</div><div class='quotemain'>SD was the team who had a Super Bowl party already planned not NE. You earn respect. It's not handed to you. Notice I didn't even mention the word STEROIDS once! Stay classy San Diego!</div> Again the players have 0 control over what the fans do. Yes the Chargers fans were probably ignorant and thought the Super Bowl was there's this year. They were wrong. However I hardly think L.T. was making reservations at Disney World. New England shouldn't of danced on mid field and mocked one of their best players. L.T. did the right thing by standing up for his teammate. However he was stupid saying that comes from the coach.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DolfanDale)</div><div class='quotemain'>The one thing that I've been shown by the Patriots today is that their team have no class. How many times have we listen to the New England Crybabys whine and moan about not being respected and then they do this to the Chargers. I don't blame LT for being upset about what happened after the game. You would think by now that the Patriots would have developed some class and behave like winners after the game. It was a hard fought game. Just shake your opponents hands and act like you've got some manners. If the Patriots want some respect, they might start showing it to their opponents. I really don't care who wins the Super Bowl this year, just don't let it be the Patriots. So go ahead and gloat, but at the end of this day the INDISPUTABLE Truth is that LT has more class in his little finger than the Patriots have ever shown.</div> Oh get over it. The Patriots were simply responding to Merriman being an idiot. If anything, you should have a smile on your face after what Merriman pulled with Taylor. Yeah, LT is a class act alright. Calling out another team's coach for absolutely no reason is REALLY classy. Have you EVER heard a Pats player or coach talk smack about another team in a hateful manner? No, you haven't. LT dissed Belichick on national TV.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JustBry07)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DolfanDale)</div><div class='quotemain'>The one thing that I've been shown by the Patriots today is that their team have no class. How many times have we listen to the New England Crybabys whine and moan about not being respected and then they do this to the Chargers. I don't blame LT for being upset about what happened after the game. You would think by now that the Patriots would have developed some class and behave like winners after the game. It was a hard fought game. Just shake your opponents hands and act like you've got some manners. If the Patriots want some respect, they might start showing it to their opponents. I really don't care who wins the Super Bowl this year, just don't let it be the Patriots. So go ahead and gloat, but at the end of this day the INDISPUTABLE Truth is that LT has more class in his little finger than the Patriots have ever shown.</div> Couldn't agree more. I've always liked the Patriots and it would have been stupid to count them out of this game even if the Chargers are the better team but I'm starting to dislike them. I really wanted to see LT get a SB ring, oh'well there is always next year. I'm now rooting for the Saints, because I'm sick of seeing the Patriots win everything.</div> I guess envy is natural. Everyone that doesn't have success hates it in return. I had a nice new Z28 in high school and all I heard was "rich white boy, daddy's money" from people that flunked school and drove Ford Escorts instead of "good, he busted his ass for that car". Go figure.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JustBry07)</div><div class='quotemain'>FYI: The better team doesn't always win. Chargers are the better overall team, but you are entitled to your opinion.</div> Just like the Pats were the better team when they lost to the Broncos last season in the playoffs? They clearly weren't and it showed just as the Chargers did yesterday. Dumb penalties and some stupid decisions cost the Chargers the game yesterday, thus making them the inferior team.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DolfanDale)</div><div class='quotemain'>I think you missed part of the point, ROTR. I think the reason that a lot of people are sick of the Patriots is because this team has more than it's fair share of hypocrites. How many times have we heard Patriot players bleet and moan about being disrespected, then they have the audacity to mock the Chargers after a hard fought game. [color] LT had a point about it starting with the Patriots head coach. Belichick's treatment of Eric Mangini has been deplorable this season and smashing the camera of a photographer, who had his back to Belichick, back in his face in order to give Mangini pityful hug where he didn't even make eye contact doesn't make up for being an jerk the rest of the year. I will give the Patsies credit. I didn't think that they would beat the Chargers without their normal cheating like snow plows and tuck rules. So far, there's no evidence that they pulled any fast ones. So hats off to the Patsies for winning a hard fought game or, at least, covering up their cheating much better.</div> Hmm, MAYBE that has to due with the fact that the Chargers were disrespectful before and during the game first. Payback is perfectly fine. And about Belichick, how would you react if someone close to you tried to screw you over or DID screw you over? I'm sure you wouldn't hug that person either. I was as critical as anyone about the assault on the photographer but he did apologize for it. its not like he brutally attacked the guy either. Nor did he break the camera or cause any physical damage to the photographer.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (bakes781)</div><div class='quotemain'>It's clear that Dale will never be able to suck up his pride & give the true credit the Patriots Dynasty deserves. With that said I was hurt by what LT said after the game b/c I respect him more than anyone that doesn't wear a Patriot's jersey. The fact is he's the only player who was reportedly hurt by this action of a couple of Patriots. The other fact is the Chargers had been disrepecting the Pats all week leading up to the game. The Chargers were the team that lost composure with stupid penalties throughout the game. LT is a class guy, but he wasn't the one being mocked. They were mocking Merriman(2 tackles) who does that dance even when he doesn't make a play. The Pats mock his stupid dance after winning the game that very few thought they could & I see nothing wrong with that. SD was the team who had a Super Bowl party already planned not NE. You earn respect. It's not handed to you. Notice I didn't even mention the word STEROIDS once! Stay classy San Diego!</div> Thank you. Also, the Chargers restricted ticket sales to anyone outside of the San Diego area. Now THAT is classy!!!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (blackadder)</div><div class='quotemain'>Whether the Pats are a dynasty is a thread and argument for another time. Winning the upcoming Super Bowl will give that theory a little more merit. What the Pats players did was even more classless than what TO did @ Texas stadium when he was a Niner.</div> You're dead wrong. TO and the Pats are night and day different.
What happens during the game is completely different than what happens after the game. Sure, Merriman is a bit of an ass, but to mock a player and a team by mimicking the dance, pointing at the scoreboard, and stomping on the opponents logo at midfield (as reported by ESPN) is purely classless. What I find more distasteful than anything, though, is the fact that Patriots fans are not admitting that what was done was disrespectful and deserves to be criticized. Instead, all I hear is a grade school argument of 'They started it first!'. If the Pats had any class yesterday, they would have celebrated, shook the hands of a very, very talented San Diego team that just didn't put it together, and left the field. They deserved to celebrate, but to stomp on an opponents logo, point at the scoreboard, and mock a player after the game (regardless of how much of an ass he was during the game) is purely classless. This was the first year I started to actually enjoy following the Patriots. Now I'll be looking forward to either Indy or whoever plays them in the Super Bowl embarrassing this team. And when they do, I hope they teach New England a lesson: when you win, you celebrate with teammates, shake your opponents hand, get off the damn field.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MKIV_Supra)</div><div class='quotemain'>Now that you mention it, I haven't heard about Merriman after that one play in the first quarter. It seemed like he fell off the map ever since then. I tried to check GPS but it went lights off.</div> LOL, lights out FOR Shawne Merriman, not lights out Shawne Merriman.
Thinking about this even more I can see where the Patriots would want to maybe make a statement at Merriman. He did an interview at halftime of Jets vs. Patriots in the wild card and he said the Jets would come back and beat New England. So while the Patriots might've acted a tad out of line, Merriman might want to think before he speaks from now on.
They went to shake LT's hand & he refused. If he wants to criticize a few players that's one thing, but to place that on the shoulder's of the HC is out of line. The Patriots will win unless they completely lose focus like SD did on Sunday.
I think it was more of letting out anger. The Patriots were trying to keep there cool during the game in which San Diego obviously failed at doing. I think it was kind of a release of all the emotion that they kept bottled up during the game.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (porky88)</div><div class='quotemain'>Thinking about this even more I can see where the Patriots would want to maybe make a statement at Merriman. He did an interview at halftime of Jets vs. Patriots in the wild card and he said the Jets would come back and beat New England. So while the Patriots might've acted a tad out of line, Merriman might want to think before he speaks from now on.</div> Thank you. And to Vikingfan about the Pats being classless, they're not and you know it. maybe they went a little overboard IF they stomped on the Chargers logo but doing the "lights out" dance and pointing at the scoreboard is perfectly fine. LT is the one who made a public, verbal accusation toward Belichick on national TV. The Chargers players acted cocky, some even made comments, the Chargers organization decided to limit tickets to residents of southern California, and their fans were ruthless when it came to bad mouthing the Pats. Players notice these things so yeah, I would immitate the dance and point at the scoreboard too. This all boils down to one thing and that is the fact that people are tired of the Patriots winning. They hate success if it isn't their own or that of their team and they are bitter about it. It is called jealousy or envy and it has been around since the beginning of humanity. It is nothing new and I am not surprised that most of you guys are reacting like this. Some Chargers fans even signed on to the Pats board saying that they wished Brady would actually somehow get killed or paralyzed in this upcoming game against the Colts. To that I happily extend my middle finger with a smile on my face. Here is an idea. If you guys hate the Pats so much, become Broncos fans. They can handle the Pats quite easily.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (bakes781)</div><div class='quotemain'>They went to shake LT's hand & he refused. If he wants to criticize a few players that's one thing, but to place that on the shoulder's of the HC is out of line. The Patriots will win unless they completely lose focus like SD did on Sunday.</div> That is another good point. Even the players who didn't dance around and point at the scoreboard tried to shake LT's hand and he swatted them away, mumbling something I wish we could have heard as he did so. yeah, the Pats are always the bad guys, no matter what. From now on, NOBODY in the NFL except the fans can celebrate or show emotion. EVERYONE else as far as the actual teams are concerned has to act like Belichick does during his press conferences. No emotion whatsoever, no smiling, nothing.
Speaking of "class", I am taking a class on Monday nights this semester. Someone please remind me to leave work early today. Taunting by a few players after the game is rude. So is the headbutt by SD that drew the penalty in regulation that cost the Chargers some points. It's all moot, at this point. The Pats drove into the home of the #1 seeded team and came away with a win. They have to be favored to win the whole thing now. Are any of you seriously going to bet against the Pats next week? Even if you say yes, I don't believe you. That was just to make you think about it for a second. This next game is always where Manning makes his exit to stage left. I am sure that NE will remind him of this, beginning in the first quarter on Sunday.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Illmatic2121)</div><div class='quotemain'>I think it was more of letting out anger. The Patriots were trying to keep there cool during the game in which San Diego obviously failed at doing. I think it was kind of a release of all the emotion that they kept bottled up during the game.</div> I would agree that it was letting out of anger that built up during the game. A team with classy players would get off the field. Now LT was in the wrong for making his public statements, but at least he has the excuse of just losing a major playoff game when his team was the favorites. What's the Pats excuse? That they won?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pats_Fan420)</div><div class='quotemain'>And to Vikingfan about the Pats being classless, they're not and you know it. maybe they went a little overboard IF they stomped on the Chargers logo but doing the "lights out" dance and pointing at the scoreboard is perfectly fine. LT is the one who made a public, verbal accusation toward Belichick on national TV. The Chargers players acted cocky, some even made comments, the Chargers organization decided to limit tickets to residents of southern California, and their fans were ruthless when it came to bad mouthing the Pats. Players notice these things so yeah, I would immitate the dance and point at the scoreboard too.</div> When you win the game, you really should do nothing more than celebrate with your teammates and move on. I don't care what happens during the game, if you come away with the win that should be enough of a statement without having to act like an ass in front of another teams fans. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pats_Fan420)</div><div class='quotemain'>This all boils down to one thing and that is the fact that people are tired of the Patriots winning. They hate success if it isn't their own or that of their team and they are bitter about it. It is called jealousy or envy and it has been around since the beginning of humanity.</div> Actually, the Pats were my 2nd favorite team from the AFC this year. When it comes to teams outside of the Vikings, I really don't like or hate any team. My impression is based entirely on how NE players reacted after the game was already won. As I said in my previous post, winning the game should have been statement enough. There's no reason that players should mock each other like the Pats did.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pats_Fan420)</div><div class='quotemain'>From now on, NOBODY in the NFL except the fans can celebrate or show emotion. EVERYONE else as far as the actual teams are concerned has to act like Belichick does during his press conferences. No emotion whatsoever, no smiling, nothing.</div> Nobody said that (I said the exact opposite). There is a huge difference between celebrating and taunting. Philip Rivers said that he had no problem with the Patriots celebrating and that the Chargers would have been celebrating all the same. He did have an issue with the taunting. I think San Diego showed plenty of classless moments during the game, and I think LT's reaction was out of line (the first time I've ever seen him act immature). But I still think its funny that Pats fans refuse to admit that players on their team acted in a classless way.
If a player is going to take time out of his practice to come up with a stupid dance that he uses after the most minimal of plays then he deserves to be mocked. And again we save our dances for something a little more meaningful than a late hit on the QB. It's called a W. And ROTR is right on. The Pats should be favored. Colts defense has played well, but they've been playing against very predictable offensive gameplans. Offensively Manning has been very average. The only ege Indy has is on special teams. So they better hope this comes down to a FG at the end of the game.
