simplicity

Often times what gets lost in sports is the difference between confidence and egotistical behavior.  There’s a clear distinction between “I know we’re prepared” to “We’re going to smack you around”.  Now I’m not stupid enough to believe that trash-talking doesn’t happen in sports.  It obviously does and to a very large degree.  Where I start to get a little oft-put is when it comes off the field and from someone or some team that hasn’t won or done anything of significance.  Especially in 50 some-odd years.  And from a team that got absolutely demolished the last time they took the field against the Patriots.  If you aren’t aware of what I’m talking about you can look at ESPN’s bulletin board where they lay everything out pretty well.

It started last week with Rex Ryan throwing a jab at Tom Brady when the Jets were preparing for the Colts.  Further fuel was added to the fire this week as more comments were made by Ryan.  Then yesterday it seemed like hell broke loose when Antonio Cromartie decided to call Tom Brady an ‘asshole’ and further stated ‘fuck him’.  Look it’s clear these teams don’t like each other nor should they.  They should despise each other because of their history and because of the fact that they are division rivals.  But why do the Jets want to do this?  Haven’t they learned from the past?

F​reddie Mitchell tried similar tactics before the Superbowl.  He called out Rodney Harrison and said he “didn’t know the the numbers of the cornerbacks”.  What happened?  The Patriots held him to 1 catch for 11 yards.  He became non-existent during the game.  After the game Belichick had this to say about Mitchell:

“All he does is talk. He’s terrible, and you can print that. I was happy when he was in the game.”

Now where is he?  He’s on the Millionaire Matchmaker TV show, that’s where.

Anthony Smith had similar bravado before the Steelers played the Patriots in the 2007 season.  If you remember correctly, he guaranteed victory.  You know what Tom Brady did?  Ian O’Conner laid it out pretty well in an article this morning on ESPN:

Brady threw for only 399 yards and four touchdowns, including two long ones at Smith’s expense, in a 34-13 victory over the Steelers that inspired Bill Belichick, of all people, to pile on. “We’ve played against a lot better safeties than [Smith],” Belichick said.

So what does this all mean?  Well it’s simple, according to Rich Cimini’s article:

Football 101: You don’t challenge Belichick, and you don’t insult Brady, one of the greatest coach-quarterback tandems in history. More often than not, they will turn your loose lips into a fat lip.

W​hy is that?  Well, as much as you want to believe Belichick when he says all this talking doesn’t mean anything and they don’t pay attention to it that’s a flat out lie. Cimini had this great nugget from the past:

In January 1991, a few days before the Giants’ famous upset of the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV, a Tampa, Fla., newspaper ran a photo of a few Buffalo players at a local jewelry store, getting measured for Super Bowl rings. Privately, the Giants delighted in the Bills’ arrogance.

“That was the defining moment of the week,” Belichick told me years later in an interview. “When we saw that picture, we got that baby and slapped it up on the wall in the meeting room. We just said to ourselves, ‘We got ‘em now. We’re going to get ‘em.’ It was a great confidence builder. Everybody was talking about that picture.”

You can bet that at the meeting on Saturday evening Belichick will be bringing up this stuff.  Listen I​’m not saying the Patriots are going to crush the Jets, hell this is a tough match-up for the Pats.  The Jets are a decent team.  But I’m saying you don’t wake a sleeping giant.  And right now you’re just adding more wood to the fire and getting yourself into a mess of trouble.  This was from an Ian Rapport article today:

”Yeah, I think he’s going to unleash hell on them,” Dilfer responded. ”I do. Early in the week, I felt like the Jets had a chance in this game. I looked for every reason why this thing could be an epic battle. That the Jets could redeem themselves from the 45-3. Then I started to look at more film, and realized the Patriots are just smarter than everyone else.

”And then I look at how they’re handling (the trash talk), and yeah, I do think it festers in a good way,” he went on. ”They have the ability to use all this stuff, and hold it inside, and use it to their advantage come game time. I don’t see how this strategy works against the Patriots that the Jets are using. I can see it working against somebody else. I just can’t see it working against the Patriots. I think Tom already with a razor sharp focus, finds even another level to his focus and his preparation. I can just see him playing one of those flawless football games.”

‘Unleash Hell’ #12, unleash hell.