For a coach who refuses to publicly say anything worth remembering, Bill Belichick sure can stir up conversation around the coffee machine.
Earlier this season, it was Spygate and where the line is drawn between gamesmanship and cheating. This week, Belichick has the NFL landscape pondering the unwritten rules of sportsmanship, and whether New England’s coach took the leap from conqueror to bully.
“If it’s a rule, write it,” said Champ Bailey, the Broncos’ star cornerback. “If you don’t like it, stop them.”
We know where Champ stands on this running-up-the-score business. But like most delicate issues in which morality comes into play, I am conflicted.
One of athletics’ first lessons is the expected standards of fair play and sportsmanship. Humble in victory, gracious in defeat.
But that first day of sports class also taught us to give it your all, never give up and play to the end.
I’m not sure which of these lessons came first, or is more important, but somewhere in between was Tom Brady’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass that extended the lead of Belichick’s New England Patriots from 38-0 to 45-0 against the Washington Redskins last week.
“If I was Belichick, I would do it again,” Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun said. “In my opinion, anybody who would shame him for that is 150 percent wrong. Because if the other team comes back and you lose, you’re the idiot. You’re getting bashed either way. No. This is guys getting paid to do this.”
But isn’t there some sportsmanship edict that all competitors, whether amateurs or pros, must abide?
“Not in this league,” Sauerbrun said. “Uh-uh. Heck, no.”
Many Broncos players agree with Sauerbrun’s viewpoint. The overriding feeling is if both sides are getting paid, then anything goes — as if the decorum of decency is redecorated on draft day.
One exception: backup safety Steve Cargile.
“Running up the score?” he said. “I think it’s unsportsmanlike.”
It should be noted Cargile played his college football at Columbia. He’s experienced a few more whippings than the others in the locker room.
Know this: If, through the unexplainable power that is competitive fate, the Broncos are leading the Detroit Lions 38-0 in the fourth quarter this Sunday, Mike Shanahan won’t have Jay Cutler throw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley.
If ever Shanahan would have been tempted to rub it in, it would have been against the Kansas City Chiefs before a Monday night audience in 2005. The previous year, the Chiefs apparently weren’t satisfied with their 35-10 lead because coach Dick Vermeil had Trent Green throw a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter for a 42-10 advantage.
Nor was 42-10 enough, for Green dropped back to pass on all three plays of his next possession.
The next season, after the Broncos went up 27-3 midway through the third quarter, 21 of their final 24 plays were runs.
Not that this necessarily makes Shanahan a better guy than Belichick.
“Everybody handles when they’re ahead different,” Shanahan said. “There’s no right way or wrong way to do it. I handle it the way I think is the right way to do it.”
In Belichick’s defense, he doesn’t have a running game to sit on a lead.
“I watched that game,” said one Broncos player. “And I’m telling you, the only way the Patriots could have stopped scoring is if they stopped playing.”
I think I have the answer. The losing team shouldn’t gripe if the winning team continues to play hard, and playing hard leads to more points. It’s more insulting to see an opponent that knows it can coast and still win decidedly.
The team with a big lead, though, should never offend unnecessarily. Always fear the football gods. That is, unless you think you are one.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
