So, all those big Patriots “fanz” who felt that last week’s win was “cheapened” by a “gift” pass interference call have to be waking up pretty pleased this morning, right?

I mean, better to lose honorably than to get a cheap win, right? So, congratulations, Pats Fanz on the loss!

The Patriots had issues scoring touchdowns in the red zone yesterday, which led to a 24-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins. If New England was able to get into the end zone a couple of times instead of having to settle for field goals, we’re probably not talking (as much) about the “abomination” that is Dont’a Hightower, (CSNNE poll question before the game.) or in Stephen Gostkowski pulling a John Kasay to set the Dolphins up nicely. The defense was troubling, but again, two TD’s instead of FG’s, and the conversation is much different.

Obviously, the team missed having the big target that is Rob Gronkowski, and that is going to be an issue moving forward. Hopefully they get Aaron Dobson back soon, as he was showing glimpses of being someone who can go up and get a ball.

Check all the Patriots coverage at PatriotsLinks.com.

*******

Dan Shaughnessy had the Patriots winning the Super Bowl last week. This week, he says the idea that the Patriots could be the number one seed in the AFC was laughable. He of course, blames their troubles on “arrogance.”

As the heroes at Dan Shaughnessy Watch point out, here are Shaughnessy lines from the last couple weeks:

December 1st:

Less than a year later, the Patriots are flexing their muscles after last Sunday’s dramatic comeback over the Broncos. The 8-3 Patriots are favorites to run the table and return to the Super Bowl.

December 15th (yesterday):

This is where, on Sunday, the Patriots will assume their spot as the top-seeded team in the AFC.

Today:

but the notion that they were the AFC’s top seed is laughable.

It really must be nice to be able to write something on one day, and then the next act like it never happened.

Is there anyone lazier than Dan Shaughnessy? Seriously. Each of his columns reads as if it took 15 minutes to write. Just come up with the angle that is going to piss the most people off, and hit submit, and Joe Sullivan will call you the bravest columnists in the history of newspapers. It used to be that a columnist’s role was to make the reader think. To challenge some of their perhaps preconceived notions, and to perhaps stir things up by playing devil’s advocate. Now, it is simply to troll the fans.

********

If you’ve suspected that Peter King writes much of the Monday Morning QB in advance, today’s edition probably seals that. In the Fine 15:

king-patsUpdate: Passage has been edited so that it now ends at “dominating no one.”

Clearly written after the loss to Miami, but before the Bengals laid down to the Steelers last night.  Most other sections are current, he’s got the Bengals losing, he notes that the top three in the AFC remained the same this week, but forgot to change the Patriots blurb.

********

This morning on WEEI, the crew was bemoaning Brady’s lack of weapons, and their reliance on the tough scrappy guys like Welker, Edelman and Amendola. Gerry Callahan stated that he wished the Patriots had drafted Dez Bryant instead of Devin McCourty, who he says has been “fine, I guess”

Can you even imagine if Dez Bryant was here, how he would be treated by the Dennis and Callahan show? It would be Manny Ramirez, part II.

**********

Four things from the CBS broadcast yesterday:

Note to Simms and Nantz. It’s am-men-DOLE-uh, not AH-men-dole-uh. (It’s in the media guide and everything.) How annoying was that?

On the botched FG by Miami, they never picked up on the fact that the two ends flared out at the snap, indicating that the attempt was a fake. It was picked up in the press box though:

In Miami’s TD drive at the end of the first half, it was never mentioned that the clock did not run at all on the 2nd and 10 play to Marlon Moore. It was a pretty long play, as Tannehill left the pocket, and ran to fairly close to the sideline before throwing. The play took at good eight seconds or so to develop, which ultimately didn’t matter too much as the Dolphins scored pretty quickly, but it was never mentioned.

Finally, in the second half, when the camera was focused for an excessively long time on offensive coordinator Mike Sherman up in the coaches box, Jim Nantz casually mentioned “Jones is injured for the Patriots” but the camera and storyline remained fixed on Sherman. The Patriots have two Jones’ on defense but obviously one is much more critical than the other. Patriots fans were left to wonder if Chandler Jones was the next Patriot to suffer a season-ending injury or if he was going to be OK, or if it was Chris Jones. Kind of a difference there.

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Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

8 thoughts on “Good News: Patriots Don’t Win On Gift Pass Interference Call”

  1. Bruce,

    I hate to quibble with you but Shank is the second laziest person in the Boston Sports Media Clan. The title of laziest goes to one Gary Tanguay who spent 10 minutes of the pre game broadcast extolling his laziness. How he is too lazy to shovel his driveway, or do other work. He used the term about 25 times to describe himself in all sorts of different contexts. It would have been funny had it not sounded like the first honest thing he has said in years.

    I am actually a little surprised you missed it.

    On the Pats in general, I harbor no illusions that the Pats can overpower the AFC and get to the SB. I think if they play a team like Cincy in the playoffs they have a real problem as Cincy’s defense is the type (pressure from base defense front four) that gives them fits. However I think the Pats are no better or worse than any of the other teams vying to be AFC representative. What is amazing me are the people coronating Seattle. DO they forget Pete Carroll is the head coach out there?

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  2. I thought I was the only one to notice that the clock did not run on the Dolphin’s play with less than a minute left in the half. I don’t expect Simms or Nance to pick up something that obvious, but Socci and Zolak did not notce it either.

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  3. With a loss, you get to see the true colors of a columnist/beat person/media member. I think we really get to see it as the Patriots have had so many ‘come back’/’miracle wins’.

    However, this has to be unique here where we see the same thing, even in a win. I’m trying to think of other places where you get paid to write like you’re a blogger for a rival/division team when the team you cover wins.

    It could be worse.. we could have blown a 26-3 halftime lead to a backup quarterback at home and have an absolute disaster for an owner.

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  4. you left out one thing as far as Dennis and Callahan. They kept describing the Pats WR’s as tough,scrappy and WHITE. They must have said it 10 times. Just in case there are Pats fans out there that didn’t notice. Amendola,Edleman and Austin Collie are small, tough,scrappy WHITE GUYS

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  6. I am one of the few that is actually enjoying this Patriots season. The Pats aren’t steamrolling opponents anymore, but these games are exciting. I live out-of-market, surrounded by Bears, Lions and Browns fans. I was driving to a show with some friends and I had F&M streaming in the car. They were perplexed at how anyone could enjoy listening to such negativity. “Your team is in first place, right?” “You’ve been to five Super Bowls in 12 years, right?” “Your quarterback is Tom Brady still, right?” “Who is the pompous guy telling us to stay consistent? .. what does that even mean?”

    Questions to which we may never know the answers:

    * Why are 75-80% of the Boston sportz media such insufferable dicks? You’re not on the field, you’re not throwing the ball, catching the ball, kicking the ball, or blocking or tackling … so what about covering the team entitles you to being part of the story? You have an opinion? So does every bartender with the Sunday Ticket. You’re not special.

    * How much of the prevailing arrogance of the Boston sportz media created the “character” of Bill Belichick we see in press conferences, interviews, etc.? The snorting, the utter disdain, the “it is what it is.”

    * 10+ years ago the contrarian opinion was based, at least in part, on some combination of common sense and the eyeball test. (ie. Brady vs. Bledsoe). So why is it that today, in 2013, reporters, columnists and talking heads jump to the opposite of the popular opinion without a shred of facts, quotes or evidence?

    * At what point in the past did editors and producers stop and say, “You know that thing Jim Rome does? You know, say outrageous and controversial things that make him look like a complete ass hat? Yeah, well we’re going to base our entire editorial message on that, regardless of what it does to our credibility.”

    * Has it gotten so bad that a radio/TV show with limited agendas, and God-forbid, hosts that actually sound like they enjoy their jobs, will never find the airwaves again?

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  7. Don’t forget the inner rage boiling within Shaughnessy thanks to his column locked behind that 99-cent paywall. Few people read his ‘work,’ and the only parts that manage to escape into the public domain (like this site) are the ones making him look utterly stupid. I’d pray for the safety of his family; that rage is coming home with him each night, we can theorize.

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  8. Did Walter White spike the Stevia in Shaugnessy’s coffee?

    http://b.globe.com/1dmkwzD

    [DELETE COOKIES FOR BOSTONGLOBE.COM IF YOU GET HIT BY PAYWALL (hint: Remove Cookies plugin for Firefox/Chrome is awesome)]

    “But the conversation often came around to the same question. Fans would ask me: Don’t you want the Patriots to win? And the answer was always unsatisfactory.”

    So, clearly, all the hits he takes on here and places like the Dan Shaugnessy Watch and elsewhere have taken a toll.

    He seems to be clueless, like most columnists who work for newspapers covering not just sports, at what/why the ‘regular schmoes’ who complain about what’s written. You’re completely out of touch, for whatever reason, with the ‘regular reader’.

    I assume this will get a ton of attention today (D&C talking about it as we speak).

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