Happy (belated) 100th, Bill Belichick!

By Os Davis  |   Monday, October 02, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

New England Patriots
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While his New England Patriots were concentrating on making the Cincinnati Bengals look bad and their own championship prospects look good, coach Bill Belichick was "celebrating" his 100th regular-season game with the team.

Well, happy anniversary, Coach! Sorry we here at Real Football 365 didn't get you anything, but, hey, you're the proverbial Dude Who Has Everything.

At the 100-game mark with the Patriots, Belichick is now 66-34. This is nowhere near the one-team mark set by John "Talking Bust" Madden at 103-32-7 (after the century mark with the Oakland Raiders, Madden was slightly better than his career mark at 72-21-7) or a .763 winning percentage. To top Madden's mark by his 142nd game as a Patriot, Belichick would have to do no less than win his next 42.

No matter, no one can give such a gift of the future. Besides, Belichick's future in Canton is assured; in fact he's already there. Reportedly, his defensive schemes from Super Bowls XXV and XXXVI are already in the Hall. (Now, what exactly is meant by this? What's actually sitting there in the actual space dedicated to such a display? His doodlings from the game? His brain matter?) Belichick already has three totems of football immortality, two of which Madden never attained: Super Bowl rings.

And with his 100th game, the Patriots reaffirmed that still, even after all this time, Coach Belichick has everything. New England's performance against the helpless Bengals team had to have given him the warmest heart felt since George Bailey's. All the holes on the roster seemed filled, all the doubters blown away.

Most flamboyant gift on this day - Belichick's scantily-clad female bursting out of the cake - was Laurence Maroney. With 125 yards rushing and two TDs, this guy broke tackles, eluded pursuers, performed several classic Madden-style (the video game, not the coach) stiff-arms, high-stepping his way into the hearts of Belichick and Patriot fans while earning fair mention in future opponents' gameplans.

Combined with Corey Dillon, looking better than he has since joining the team in 2004, and Belichick has perhaps the best newfangled 1-2 running game this side of the New Orleans Saints. (Incidentally, Dillon's chucking of the ball into the stands was proof that he's an avid reader of this Web site -- He followed the Doctor's advice, after all...)

Meanwhile, Belichick certainly noticed the way his D smothered the Bengals: The Cats were 2-for-11 on third down, in three quarters no TD was allowed, and Jarvis Green gift-wrapped three sacks for the coach. Belichick had to be sentimental about the way old contributors played, with Tedy Bruschi racking up seven tackles to lead the team, and nice play by Mike Vrabel. When looking at the stat sheet, Rosevelt Colvin is largely invisible, but he was everything else on the field and played with the energy of a man four years younger.

Again, congratulations on your 100th, Bill. Good job getting that win. Maybe by the 150th, we'll think of something to get you.

Hey, how about a kicker?

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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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