The Belichick Call

Dan sent me this excellent post by Joe "Perhaps the Best Sports Columnist Not Named Simmons" Posnanski. He points out the two bad timeouts preceding the play, as well as the questionable spot of Faulk's catch: two key pieces of the story somewhat glossed over in the criticism.

I love the call, not so much for the football strategy, but rather for what it does to Belichick's legacy. He was always more willing to go for it on 4th down than any other coach. Now we have a definitive memory to tie that characteristic to him. I suspect it would have been more forgettable if they had succeeded. The Belichick-haters wouldn't have something to pile on about.

Finally, I haven't seen many people discuss the brief live shot on NBC that seemed to show Brady talking Belichick into going for it. I am fairly certain Belichick said something like, "OK, let's do it," and then Brady turned and ran back onto the field. They may have been talking about the play call, though. Also, it's ultimately on Belichick as the head coach. Still, it's interesting.

Fantastic football game.