A note on LT/Patriots feud

One thing you could tell from the TV coverage was that as LT was trying to make his way through the pack to confront the Patriots player(s), one of LT's teammates headed him off. Lip readers could see him repeatedly telling LT, "You're better than that," before they turned the other way to their locker room.

 

Tomlinson rose to the occasion. Merriman, Marty, and the rockhead penalty committers did not. I repeat, LT had to vent his justified frustration somehow, and was lucky Hobbs gave him an excuse to vent at someone other than those who deserved it-his coach and several of his teammates.

 

Forget higher standard. Just any standard. It was classless.

Did Tomlinson over-react? Sure. But can you really say he didn't rise to the occasion with 123 yards and two touchdowns against one of the NFL's best run defenses?

 

Is Merriman not the real instigator? He's the one that does the dance after every play and brings the attention to himself. The Patriots have "been there before" and you almost never see them act out like that. The only other time I can think of was the wings flapping in the Eagles Super Bowl, and that was in response to Freddie Mitchell and TO. If you talk trash or worse, have a signature dance, you open yourself up to getting it thrown back in your face if you don't deliver.

Why is LDT even getting mad? Shouldn't it be Merriman? LDT should be pissed at Merriman for not doing anything in the game, not worried about the 'roid head being "disrespected."

I also don't get the emphasis on the midfield logo. Would it have been less disrespectful if it was done on the bolts on the 30's or in the end zone? Midfield is just the natural place to celebrate when you run off the sideline.

 

FWIW, and I haven't heard much mention of it, Vrabel did the dance in the first quarter after popping Rivers. Got a good laugh out of it, and wished only that he had pretended to inject roids in his ass before he did it.

They barely caught it on TV and cut away quickly. I was surprised at the time that nobody made any mention of it.

 

I saw that too and had the same reaction. Surprised it didn't come up then or since. He was also big on the arm flapping in the SB a few years back. It's funny because you never hear the guy say anything inflammatory or really anything period, but he seems to get fired up at a lot of the b.s. a lot of guys pull and has no problem throwing it back in their faces.

 

I love when the ESPN guys all talk about BB's class and character. I'm sure the ex-husband in NJ believes the same things.

 

There is a significant difference, I think, in bizarre taunting during the game, that is, during the heat of action, and after the final gun. The former is distasteful to me, but understandable in the heat of action. The latter is just bush.
My favorite Mike Vrabel fact. Both he and Hall of Fame wideout to be Michael Irvin have appeared in three Super Bowls. They have the same number of touchdown catches in those games-two.

 

The Patriots celebrate as much as anyone after a big play during the game (anyone ever watch Tedy Bruschi play?). Hell, even Tom Brady occasionally drops a first down signal in the face of his opponents.

It was a classless move by Hobbs. I did, however, hear something about Merriman doing some radio show earlier in the week and joining with San Diego fans chanting "Brady sucks! Brady Sucks!, so that could be the motivation for specifically doing his dance.

 

Brady did that at least once during the Jets playoff game. Bottom line, it's one thing to taunt during the game, it's another to do it right after you've ended someone's season. After the game, it's simply cold and classless.

As for Merriman, I read somewhere -- Peter King, maybe -- that perhaps the Pats were still upset that Merriman on whoever's pregame picked the Jets to win. Be upset with that and the sack dance all you like, you don't taunt like that after the game is done -- unless you're the Miami Hurricanes.

Here's hoping karma bites the Pats this week.

 

I still think LDT needed to take the medicine there and shut them up next season.

 

Chargers vs. Patriots in the Thursday opener next season. Book it!