Sportsfrog.com

Controversial decision? Check. Unconventional decision? Check. Worked out quite poorly? Check. Might as well fire up the CHB-signal in the skies above Boston. Dan Shaughnessy in the Boston Globe, you’re up:

Ghastly. This was as bad as anything the Red Sox ever did. Had it been a playoff game, it would be right up there with Bucky Dent, Bill Buckner, Aaron Boone, and History Derailed in Glendale, Ariz. And Bill Belichick played the part of Grady Little.

The Patriots lost to the undefeated Colts in unbelievable fashion last night. Leading, 31-14 in the fourth quarter, and 34-21 with 2:30 remaining, the Patriots took the choke and lost to their hated rivals, 35-34. So the conference is gone, the playoff bye is probably bye-bye, and the (6-3) Patriots are saddled with a loss that will haunt them for the rest of the season. And Belichick gets the blame. Too smart for his own good this time. The sin of hubris.

But it wasn’t a playoff game. And it hasn’t cost them a first round bye. There’s miles to go before that is the case. The division is in lockdown. I get that it didn’t work. I wouldn’t have made that call myself (in some weird parallel universe where I am an NFL head coach and not a middle aged shlub up at 4:00 am to write about NFL head coaches). But in the grand scheme of things, I don’t seen where it negatively impacts New England’s year in any meaningful way. Still, at least the CHB-signal wasn’t wasted.

Bob Kravitz in the Indy Star is running a victory lap this morning:

Maybe the Lucas Oil Stadium mice burrowed their way into Bill Belichick’s brain. Or maybe one of those indoor fireworks, which set off a small fire at the 50-yard line early in the game, set his cranium on fire and caused a short-circuit. How could it happen? How could the best football coach in the modern history of the game, Coach Hoodie, The Genius, actually go for it on fourth-and-2 at his own 28-yard line with 2:08 remaining in a game his team was leading 34-28? How did it come to pass that Belichick, a brilliant man, suddenly channeled his inner Barry Switzer, eschewing the obvious punt, arrogantly choosing to go for the first down? Call it hubris. Call it stupidity. Call it Colts 35, Patriots 34, and another utterly remarkable, ridiculous classic in a long line of memorable games.

Hmmmmmm. I am sensing a theme. That’s two hubris cards that have been dealt this morning, which is two more than you generally see played in a month of columns.

Hubris? Not seeing it. Perhaps he thought it was the best way to win, regardless of the message he sent to his defense while making that call. How about that?

At the very least, the failure of the gamble ensures that we won’t see that again anytime soon on an NFL sideline, I would suspect.