Were Randy Moss and the Patriots running up the score?

Before we get started this week, I want to take a second to comment on the 59-0 Patriots demolition over the Titans.

Now I have been hearing a lot that Bill Belichick ran up the score. I don’t believe that for a second. I watched that game and the Pats could have broken the record of 73-0 for biggest margin of victory ever if they wanted to.

But before we get into that, let’s define what “running up the score” really means.

Back during the time of replacement players, many of the Dallas Cowboys remained loyal to Tom Landry and stayed with the team. Because of this, Dallas had the strongest squad.

In a game against the Eagles, Buddy Ryan took offense that Landry was running reverses and flea flickers with a team made up largely of NFL players, while the Eagles had all replacement guys. A couple of years later, Buddy would get his revenge. In a game that was already decided, Randall Cunningham was taking a knee at around mid-field. But as he went to take a knee the final time, Cunningham stood up and threw a pass in the end zone. Dallas was flagged for pass interference with no time on the clock, giving the Eagles one untimed down from the one. Of course, Ryan used the opportunity to put up one final score.

That is running up the score. Ryan went out of his way to embarrass the Cowboys. Years later in the final game Ryan ever coached with the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas returned the favor. Up 35-10 with 30 seconds left, the Cowboys called a time out to tack on a “So long Buddy” field goal.

Ryan was so outraged he walked into the locker room before the game was over and that’s the last we ever saw of him. That is running up the score.

What happened on Sunday was not running up the score. Now, Belichick and Jeff Fisher despise each other. I know for a fact from my time with the Patriots that out of all the people Belichick hates, Fisher may be tops on the list and the feeling is mutual.

This stems from a couple of things. Fisher has long been one of the top guys on the competition committee, a group Belichick has no use for and often takes jabs at during his weekly press conferences.

One of Belichick’s favorite responses when asked about a rule is always, “Ask those geniuses on the competition committee.”

Fisher was also one of the coaches that was most outspoken during the whole “Spygate” incident. While most coaches refrained from commenting on the issue, Fisher took the opportunity to say there is no place for that kind of stuff in the NFL, even though he probably did the exact same thing.

Finally, there was the game a couple of years ago that remains to this day one of the most physical, intense football games I have ever seen.

That was the day Bobby Wade went low on Rodney Harrison’s knee, ending his season. Patriots players reported that Fisher was seen laughing on the sidelines and that’s something people in New England have never forgotten.

So do Belichick and Fisher like each other? No way. Did Belichick enjoy hanging 59 points on Fisher’s team? You bet he did. But in my opinion it wasn’t running up the score.

The reason I believe that is because the people most responsible for the score on Sunday were on the Tennessee Titans. I would say they gave up during the game but I honestly believe the Titans quit before they ever took the field.

Do you know how poorly a team needs to play to get beat 59-0? And like I said before, that score could have easily been 80-0.

Belichick took Brady out in the middle of the third quarter. I’ve heard some say he should have never returned after halftime. That’s absolute crap. These guys all get paid a lot of money and no coach in the NFL would have benched their quarterback at halftime. That simply isn’t done nor should it be.

And then there is criticism because back-up Brian Hoyer was throwing the ball. You know what? If the Titans No. 1 defense can’t stop Brian freaking Hoyer, they deserve everything they get.

Let’s lay the blame for the game where it belongs: at the feet of the Tennessee Titans coaches and players. It’s not Belichick’s job to take a knee for the entire second half, it’s the Titans job to finish out the game.

Again, these guys make a lot more money than any of us to play football once a week, so excuse me if I expect them to give some kind of effort for a full four quarters.

The Titans wanted nothing to do with playing that game on Sunday. Not one personal foul penalty? I’m not condoning dirty football but when you are getting beat like that, no one is so mad that they hit a guy late or get so pissed off that they start a fight?

Think about it, if that were the Ravens on the field Sunday, Ray Lewis would have taken someone out. That’s because Lewis actually cares, something the Titans players stopped doing a long time ago.

It’s easy to blame Belichick for what happened on Sunday, he’s an easy target. I just want to point out that if the roles were reversed, Fisher would have done the exact same thing. Don’t forget where Fisher comes from. He coached and played for the aforementioned Buddy Ryan. See what I’m saying?

On Sunday I saw a disgrace in Foxborough, Mass. However, that disgrace wasn’t Belichick or anything the Patriots did. They played football and they played hard. The Titans on the other hand laid down, got embarrassed and then collected a large paycheck.

If Tennessee put forth any effort, they wouldn’t have lost by that much. They wouldn’t have won the game but it would have been a lot more respectable. So if you are offended by the Patriots scoring 59 points, I’m equally offended by the team that allowed the Patriots to score 59 points on them.

By the way, I’m still a Cowboys fan. As much as I hate Jerry Jones, and I would strangle every last breath out of him if given the chance, I have rooted for Dallas for 30 years. There is nothing I can do about it. As a person I once knew said, fans root for laundry. We root for the uniforms and the helmets of a certain team. I can’t help who the owner is and how he runs the franchise.

The next time Dallas wins a Super Bowl, I will just have to accept the fact that Jones gets to feel as much joy as I do. Luckily for me that won’t be happening for another 20-30 years, so I have that going for me, which is nice.

Don’t forget, you can follow me 24/7 on Twitter for all my up to the minute fantasy advice and witty commentary on life. I was “tweeting” all day on Sunday, telling you who to pick up, who to avoid and wondering how Jim Zorn still has a job.

If you need my insight more than just once a week, go to: http://twitter.com/thefiresale

Now, on with the Fire Sale: