As was to be expected sports radio was all about the Patriots and their second straight loss Sunday night. There were a bunch of different story lines that dominated the airwaves. Obviously the referees and how poorly the game was called was the lead story, but then there was also the Bill Belichick pushing an official following the game side of things, which got a lot more attention than I personally thought it would. Tony Massarotti was very adamant in saying Belichick should be suspended and brought it up any chance he could. Most everyone else said to expect a heavy fine. Other topics on the airwaves and online included the defense taking a few steps back, and even whether or not the game-winning field goal was good or not.

Taking a step back and looking at the big picture the Patriots went toe-to-toe with one of the top 5 teams in the AFC on the road, without one of their most productive and important offense players in Aaron Hernandez. The Patriots proved they are still one of the elite teams in the league and will be there in the end. Some are saying the Patriots schedule is now tougher than first thought, but until the Texans game Dec. 10 the only “tough” games I see are vs. Denver Oct. 7 and @ Seattle Oct. 14. The Patriots could still hypothetically go 12-4.

One trend that is becoming an issue is the Patriots failure to closeout and win close games. Since 2009 (including postseason) the Patriots are 8-9 in games decided by five points or less. Tom Brady spoke indirectly about it following the game saying the team needs to play better when it counts. This is something to monitor as the season goes on.

The ending of the Monday Night Football game will surely be the topic of discussion all day and for the coming days as well. If this doesn’t end the officials lockout, I honestly don’t know what will. The NFL needs to get this settled and it needs to happen before the Browns and Ravens kickoff Thursday night.

Here are a few of the notable links, but you can get all the coverage over at Patriotslinks.com.

Patriots issues go beyond officials– Tony Massarotti says the Patriots have problems on both offense and defense.

Patriots report card– Ron Borges gives his grades for Week 3. There aren’t that bad, but definitely room for improvement.

Patriots lost in the chaos– Gerry Callahan says the Patriots cannot blame the refs, they need to just play.

Patriots’ offense caught in between– Mike Reiss looks at how Josh McDaniels has handled the offense and how he is trying to find out what works best to start making things click.

Against Ravens, Patriots were lacking finishing move– Christopher Price says the Patriots could not close out the Ravens, which was the main reason why they lost.

Wedge issue: Replacement refs could leave scars– Tom E. Curran notes coaches, execs and players have the right to be upset with their owners for not reaching a deal with the refs.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

12 thoughts on “More Patriots-Ravens reaction”

  1. I said this on a previous post but I think this is the most relevant for the media angle: I love how everyone is in uproar now that it’s the media darling Packers and that adorable Aaron Rodgers. Yesterday? It was that a-hole Bill Belichick, that cheater, those horrible, spoiled Patriots fans.. If it’s happening to him or the Patriots? Serves those cheaters right. The only more disdained club, outside of maybe Raiders/Eagles fans, is the Saints due to bountygate (however, think Goodell for the handling on this one). Still, it’s funny how people are now talking about Sunday again and actually giving some of the phantom calls light..

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  2. The First Amendment only applies to the government (and arguably to private entities acting as agents of the government). It does not apply to private people/entities/businesses. Your employer can say “Shut up or you’re fired” and unless you have a contract that says he can’t say that, you can and will be fired if you don’t shut up, and you have very little ground (and certainly no First Amendment ground) to challenge it.

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      1. I asked. I knew the answer but it was more of a question to the “Would they be dumb enough to take the PR hit?” Has partial implications with the media side if nobody in the game can talk.

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  3. I know this is going to completely shock everyone….. but Gregggggggggggggggggggg Easterbrook took the opportunity of last night’s official debacle to take multiple shots at the Patriots and Belichick in his column. What are the odds?????

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    1. Easterbrooks doesn’t bother me. Of course that’s probably because I have no clue who he writes for. I mean, I know who he is and what his “rep” is….but he’s like a “mystery man”….who does he write for, anyway?

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  4. Depends what is in the CBA for control over players’ statements. The league obviously has some control over statements, but I bet the players would fight a total ban on a form of communication if it is not clear that the league has the authority.

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  5. You knew this was coming:

    Felger, “I hate people who politicize this thing”
    next line, “But then you hear these wingnuts, Oh in Obama’s America.. ” and goes on and on

    Never stopped to consider that based on what we’ve known, the refs weren’t just asking for a slight bump in compensation but some untenable positions.. Or how asking for more than you should get is normal in each and every negotiation between two sides.

    Not that this makes the situation any better.

    Still, I love the “It’s only political when people make it about something I disagree with”

    Good job!

    And, we already have politicians from WI (tweeting Goodell’s phone number)/NJ trying (state senator issuing a bill to ban replacement refs @ professional games) to get some political gain on this issue.

    —————–

    On “exploiting this for some gain”, ESPN also got an obvious bump in their normally vapid post-game:

    (SC) drew a 5.0 overnight. and that, says ESPN executive vice president NorbyWilliamson, could make it the most-watched SportsCenter ever when all TV markets are included in a national rating. (At least that’s true, says ESPN as it combs through its ratings history, for SportsCenter shows that lasted at least an hour. The 5.0 overnight translates into 5% of households in the 56 urban TV markets measured for overnights.)

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