Weasel of the Week: Bill Belichick

Ya had to know this was coming sooner or later, didn't you?

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick gets the Weasel ears and a Dunce Cap this week, basically for the same offense.

New England blew out Indianapolis by 35 on Sunday, but the bigger story came out after the game when it was reported that star tight end Rob Gronkowski suffered a broken arm late in the game as he was on the field for an extra point following the Pats' last touchdown. Why he was still in the game at that point, with the outcome already assured in New England's favor, only Belichick knows, and he ain't telling. Gronkowski will be out 4-6 weeks, according to reports, and that means he'll miss the Thanksgiving night game vs. the Jets.

Belichick has a habit of running up the score, even in preseason, but this was beyond ridiculous, almost as if the Spygate scandal 5 years ago didn't deter him from continuing to use shady tactics to gain unfair advantages on other teams. If the Pats set out to embarrass Indianapolis rookie QB Andrew Luck, they certainly did, but in a manner more befitting a schoolyard bully, which is the perception fans have of the team. To think that Belichick was once an assistant under Bill Parcells on 2 Super Bowl winners with the Giants now seems like a lifetime ago.

Most teams will pull their starters in a blowout to protect them from injury. Not Belichick. He'd rather let Tom Brady and the NFL's evil empire pad the stats and resumes, as if they were throwing up a collective middle finger at the haters in the media and the fans. Belichick put one of his stars at great risk, and is going to pay for it over the final six weeks of the regular season. New England has a 3 game lead on the rest of the AFC East, but that could shrink if everyone else catches up in a mighty hurry. The Jets will be looking for an el receipto on Thursday, provided they can sustain the momentum they built in beating St. Louis on Sunday.

Why is Belichick getting a Dunce Cap? For leaving his stars in the game when it was already decided, and getting one of them injured needlessly. Why is Belichick a Weasel? For disrespecting the opposition by leaving those stars in the game long after it'd been decided. If he were a high school coach taking such risks, he'd have been fired long ago. If this fool's folly costs New England either the division title (highly unlikely) or a trip to the Super Bowl, the fault will be his, too. And well deserved.