A note on LT/Patriots feud

[Jeff Gluck]

Since there doesn't appear to be any TV footage of this incident, I figured I'd try and clarify the LT/Patriots debate with what I saw with my own eyes on Sunday.

I bought a ticket to the game (just wanted to see it; I don't root for either team) and was sitting in the end zone.

After the game was over, a Patriots player -- I believe it was a player with No. 20-something, possibly Ellis Hobbs -- ran straight to the middle of the field and stood on the Chargers helmet painted at midfield.

Facing the Chargers bench, Hobbs started doing the Merriman "Lights Out" dance. At the time, I don't think anyone was within 10 yards from him. I immediately thought of TO posing on the Dallas star.

LT walked quickly or jogged toward him, gesturing and pointing, and by that time many others had reached midfield and they pulled him away -- the end of that sequence is the moment caught by the TV cameras.

I wouldn't exactly say it was a case of LT being a sore loser or having sour grapes. It seemed like a pretty blatant action on the part of the Patriots player.

 

[Editude]

The difference here, though, was that the game was over and the Chargers players should have been walking off the field with their heads down, not looking for Patriots players acting crazy at midfield.

 

[Oz]

The difference here, though, was that the game was over and the Chargers players should have been walking off the field with their heads down, not looking for Patriots players acting crazy at midfield.

When the game's done, the showmanship ought to stop. You walk to the middle of the field, shake hands, then go to the locker room. If they wanted to mock the Chargers, they had all game to do it. A celebration is fine, it's expected from the winning team, but you don't mock the losing team there. Show some class.

No excuse for the Patriots' actions. Act like you've been there before.

 

[goalmouth]

I can barely watch NFL telecasts for all the taunting and dancing.

More serious -- the other day I saw two 12-year olds throwing a football in a busy street. One caught a ball, then lay down in the street pretending to nap, a la TO. A car could have run him right over.

 

[broadway joe]

I agree that the Patriots should have shown more class. That kind of stuff is beneath them. But if Shawne Merriman is going to dance like a fool and rub the other team's face in it every time he gets a sack, the Chargers shouldn't be surprised if other teams do the same kind of stuff to them. If LT doesn't like it, he should talk to Merriman, not the Pats.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

In my opinion, what LT was doing is what the shrinks call "projection."
His objection to Hobbs' stupid act was really, "Hey, I know he sucked. Don't rub my teammate's failure in my face."
When Tomlinson ripped Belichick, it was because he had to say mean things about some coach after the game, and NFL etiquette prevented him from saying "Will someone get me away from Marty the January Jonah while I'm still in my prime, please?"

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Uh, when you lose a playoff game in part because, at critical times, one of your guys head-butts an opponent after the play right in front of the official, and another one of your guys gets an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty ON A POINT-AFTER-TOUCHDOWN, you pretty much have a flagon of STFU all to yourself in re: "disrespecting the game/us."

 

[heyabbott]

If LT doesn't like it, he should talk to Merriman, not the Pats.

Yeah, Right, talk to some 'roid raging idiot about behavior issues. Might as well tell Hannibal Lechter that Chianti and Liver is bourgeois

 

[Starman]

The difference here, though, was that the game was over and the Chargers players should have been walking off the field with their heads down, not looking for Patriots players acting crazy at midfield.

When the game's done, the showmanship ought to stop. You walk to the middle of the field, shake hands, then go to the locker room. If they wanted to mock the Chargers, they had all game to do it. A celebration is fine, it's expected from the winning team, but you don't mock the losing team there. Show some class.

No excuse for the Patriots' actions. Act like you've been there before.

Even less excuse for LDT's actions. You lost the game. STFU.

 

[Oz]

When the game's done, the showmanship ought to stop. You walk to the middle of the field, shake hands, then go to the locker room. If they wanted to mock the Chargers, they had all game to do it. A celebration is fine, it's expected from the winning team, but you don't mock the losing team there. Show some class.

No excuse for the Patriots' actions. Act like you've been there before.

Even less excuse for LDT's actions. You lost the game. STFU.

I'll hold the instigators up to more scrutiny here. Patriots have won three Super Bowls, they ought to know how to act following a second-round victory.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Everyone is right here. It was classless and showed poor sportsmanship on Ellis Hobbes' part. At the same time, if Merriman is going to do his stupid dance, the Chargers players really can't gripe when someone throws it back in their face at the moment of defeat. Karma's a *****. As for Tomlinson, you could tell by the look on his face as time was winding down how hard he took that loss. I don't blame him. He was pissed, saw a guy rubbing it in and in the heat of the moment, he reacted. He really is one of the good guys, though. A lot of us would have reacted if we had seen someone rubbing it in after a loss like that.

 

[shotglass]

I'll hold the instigators up to more scrutiny here. Patriots have won three Super Bowls, they ought to know how to act following a second-round victory.

Nope. Not going to hold them up to some higher standard.

If LDT didn't want his turf to be sullied, he and the Chargers shouldn't have sullied it in the first place by not rising to the occasion.

 

[Hooray4snail]

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.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

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.

 

[outofplace]

I'll hold the instigators up to more scrutiny here. Patriots have won three Super Bowls, they ought to know how to act following a second-round victory.

Nope. Not going to hold them up to some higher standard.

If LDT didn't want his turf to be sullied, he and the Chargers shouldn't have sullied it in the first place by not rising to the occasion.

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?

 

[Boobie Miles]

When the game's done, the showmanship ought to stop. You walk to the middle of the field, shake hands, then go to the locker room. If they wanted to mock the Chargers, they had all game to do it. A celebration is fine, it's expected from the winning team, but you don't mock the losing team there. Show some class.

No excuse for the Patriots' actions. Act like you've been there before.

Even less excuse for LDT's actions. You lost the game. STFU.

I'll hold the instigators up to more scrutiny here. Patriots have won three Super Bowls, they ought to know how to act following a second-round victory.

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.

 

[beefncheddar]

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.

 

[Boobie Miles]

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.

 

[Pancamo]

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.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

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.