Have you ever heard of an NFL team complain that another team disrespected them by running the same play over and over because they couldn’t stop it? Until now, I hadn’t either.
A few Miami Dolphins players complained this week that the New England Patriots disrespected them by running the same running play over and over in the fourth quarter of New England’s 23-16 Week 13 win.
The Pats had a 16-play, 77-yard drive that took up 7:18 in the fourth quarter. It lasted so long they didn’t give the ball back to Miami until 1:10 left in the game. They called 13 runs during the drive, including six to the exact same hole over left tackle.
“It really (ticked) me off,” tackle Tony McDaniel told the Palm Beach Post. “It was disrespectful to us to run the same play over and over and be successful.
“Normally when somebody’s driving down the field you just think, ‘Well, they just had a good run there,’ but you run the same play over and over, as a competitor that (ticks) me off.”
“It is disrespectful,” tackle Randy Starks agreed, “but you’ve got to stop it. We never stopped it, so I’d keep running the same play, too.”
This is seriously some of the most pathetic complaining I’ve ever seen from an NFL team. The Patriots didn’t disrespect the Dolphins; they exposed them. There is a difference between the two. If you don’t want a team to run a play, you have to stop it. Power football teams will run the same play over and over until you prove you can stop them. What a joke, Miami.
