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Patriots 24-Chargers 21, Part II

Which came first, the chicken, the egg, or Marty Schottenheimer?

The most puzzling condundrum in sports is just where to draw the line between comebacks and chokes. One man's heroic triumph against the odds is another's gutless punting of defeat out of the jaws of victory.

The abiding fallacy of all fans is that their team and theirs alone is in control of all occurances during a game. An astonishing number of sports journalists who should know better fall into the same trap, one that's magnified by the "shout at the top of your lungs" approach currently dominating all news media. Case in point: Game Six, 1986 World Series. To Bostonians, it's as if the Mets weren't even there during the fatal final inning, just Calvin Schiraldi, Bob Stanley, and, of course, Bill Buckner. This skewed view has taken over our national sports memory as well. That the Mets got more than one two-out, two strike hits to begin the story is forgotten.

In a nice case of historic irony, the 2004 Red Sox will NEVER get the credit they deserve for the all-time comeback in post-season history. America's long tradition of Yankee-hatred insures the '04 ALCS is destined to go down in the books as baseball's biggest choke.

As noted by Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell, it takes two, baby. Over 99 percent of all memorable comebacks/chokes are murder-suicide pacts in which good deeds and wretched misdeeds combine to form the improbable result. Some are more comeback than choke, some more choke than comeback, but one finds few straight up chokes or comebacks in any sport.

Football is the most chaotic of team games. Hence it has fewer pure comebacks or chokes than other sports, perhaps 1/10th of one percent of all notable late game surges. The famed Harvard-Yale 29-29 tie was one. Harvard's comeback energy made the Yalies irrelevant spectators of their own misfortune. The Bills' 41-38 1993 playoff win over the Oilers is another. Houston led 35-3 in the third quarter. Any coroner would rule the Oilers dead by their own hands.

The Pats' win over San Diego is more typical-a 50-50 comeback/choke proposition, an omelet of New England credit and Charger blame intertwined beyond hope of separation. From the opening kickoff, the contest's pattern was of the Chargers creating opportunities to win and either failing to capitalize on or downright squandering them. The Pats spent their time battling prolonged stretches of futility on both sides of the ball, then throwing sporadic but devastating counter punches.

Comeback? Choke? Beats me. The ambiguous nature of post-game analysis was captured perfectly by Lee Jenkins of the New York Times, whose lede for his game story was that Tom Brady proved he could do it all-he won a game by throwing an interception.

I do, however, believe there's a common thread, make that two sides of the same thread in the Pats' and Chargers performances yesterday. Guided by experience and faith, New England remained true to itself. Guided by Schottenheimer's experience and subsequent lack of faith, San Diego vacillated and perished.

The Patriots' offensive and defensive game plans were clear from the git-go. They didn't expect to run for much yardage. They expected Brady to be blitzed early and often, and depended on their quarterback and receivers to make the Chargers pay when they did. On defense, New England HOPED to slow LaDainian Tomlinson down, but COUNTED on thwarting Philip Rivers and the San Diego passing game.

These plans didn't work as well as Bill Belichick must've wished. Brady was horrible more often than not, compiling as many three-and-outs as he does in the average month of the regular season. The Chargers blitzed him to distraction, and when he went deep on single coverage, Brady couldn't complete his bombs. Meanwhile, the Pats couldn't slow Tomlinson down at all. He had 23 carries for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and caught two passes for 65 more yards. Divide Tomlinson's regular season stats by 16, and you come out with almost exactly the same numbers. In short, LT performed at his typical historic levels.

The Pats' reaction was to adjust by making no noticeable adjustments. They kept letting Brady chuck it downfield. They resisted the temptation to being 8 or 9 guys to the line to stop LT, and kept concentrating on the Chargers' passing game. Brady only completed one deep ball, but it was the one that won the game. As happens in close games, the Chargers encountered situations where they had to pass, and couldn't manage enough of them to establish the control Tomlinson should've given them.

Meanwhile, San Diego suffered from a failed personality makeover. Having established both a reputation for ultra-conservative football and a 5-12 career record in the playoffs, Schottenheimer decided to throw caution to the winds. The results were as pathetic and predictable as if this middle-aged suburbanite were to buy a new wardrobe, a Porsche convertible and start hitting the downtown bars in search of companionship. The Chargers were not true to their own selves, and Marty's now 5-13.

Rule number three of conservative football: Always take the points. At 0-0 in the first quarter, the Chargers had 4th and 11 on the New England 30. Instead of attempting a 47 yard field goal, Marty went for it. Result: Sack, fumble, turnover, no points.

Rule number two: Put the game in the hands of your best player. With the score tied 21-21 and 3:30 to go, the Chargers began their next-to-last possession by running Tomlinson off tackle for five yards. Excellent. Now run your hoss down the field till you have to shoot him. Crunch time is Hall of Famer time. San Diego than called two passes, both incomplete. Result: One punt, one New England scoring drive, one loss, one squandered season.

Rule number one of conservative football, the one from which all others flow: DON'T BEAT YOURSELF!!! Protect the football. Don't make unforced errors. Keep your head and remember the risk-reward ratio at all times.

The Chargers did none of the above. It was obvious turnovers were the Pats' defense's only recourse. San Diego dosed itself with football repellent all day long. One wait a long time to see a basically very good team take as many moronic penalties as did the Chargers. Forget the DB's insane head-butt after creating a turnover on downs for a second. I'd like to know just how a man on the kicking team can commit a personal foul on an extra point. That one I'd never seen before.

And, of course, when he made the interception that should have cemented San Diego's victory, Charger safety Marlon McCree didn't think "fall down quick and let LT win it for us." No, McCree's idea was "Anytime I get the ball I am going to try to score."

There's the yin and yang of comeback and choke in one second of play. Yes, Troy Brown made a magnificent, game-winning play reminding us why he should get a bust in Canton, Ohio. But McCree gave Brown the opportunity to be a hero, one he shouldn't have been allowed to sniff.

Secure in their own skin, the Pats remained confident good things would happen if they persevered despite plenty of evidence they wouldn't. Insecure in his, Schottenheimer abandoned the principles he'd made famous. He gave his club the whip when it needed to be reined in.

In football, luck isn't the residue of design. It's the residue of faith.

posted by Michael Gee @ 9:19 AM