How did Bill Belichick go from arguably the best football coach of all time to perhaps the brainless football coach of all time practically overnight? Where did the prowess he obtained during his Wesleyan education go? Did someone slip a stupid pill in his drink during the pre-season?

What is it that has caused Bill Belichick to now seem to appear to have punting the ball against his religion? What made him trade Richard Seymore, one of the best defensive players on his team, just before the season when defense was clearly the weakest part of the team? Why does he go for it on 4th down so much without regard for the game situation or position on the field? Why did he risk playing his all-stars in a game that meant virtually nothing?

Football is a violent sport and injuries are common. I know, I treat these injuries on a daily basis. Despite the outcry from Colts fans, it was prudent for the Colts to sit against the Jets. In fact, one can argue that they played way too much. If you are a Patriots fan you certainly wish Welker didn't play yesterday.

Who cares what your regular season record was once you reach the playoffs. Once you are in the tournament, it's a single elimination one month season and everyone is 0-0.

Did being undefeated in the regular season help the Patriots? You obviously want to attempt to get a bye during Wild Card week, but once that's accomplished or once that is secured what the heck is the difference?

Even if you don't get a bye, does that mean the season is lost? The Eagles had a chance at the number #2 seed yesterday and they got their asses kicked by the Cowboys. In fact, the Cowboys have now beaten them both times this season. If the Eagles beat the Cowboys next week in the 1st round of the playoffs, who will care that they weren't the #2 seed?

What in God's name was Wes Welker, one of the very best players in the NFL, doing on the field yesterday? Were they trying to pad his reception totals?

Now we hear that Tom Brady has been playing with a broken ring finger and 1, 2, or 3 broken ribs depending on the source or rumor you hear? You know what, even if he has no broken ribs and he just had sore ribs, why would you put the guy out there?

The most offensive thing to me about yesterday's game was that even after Welker was lost Brady remained in the game. You would have thought that at least at the point Belichick would have said, "Oh man I'm playing with fire here, I have to get him out."

Then with 4:41 left to go in the 1st half they finally took him out and put in Hoyer. At that point Patriots fans had to be saying, "thank God Brady didn't get hurt." But when the 2nd half started Brady was back in! That's was insane!

Almost everything Bill Belichick did this year, from going for it on 4th and 2 from his own 28 against the Colts to his roster management to his playing time decision making was eff'ed up. There are many coaches with lesser track records who would lose their jobs after a season of such decision making.

Was it the loss to the Giants in SuperBowl XLII that started the madness in his decision making? Was it playing the year without Tom Brady last year that caused him to risk everything all the time?

Something is wrong with thought process and the way Bill Belichick is looking at the world these days. At least with Brady, Moss and Welker they had a shot on any given day to beat anyone, but without Welker there is no way to overcome that porous defense for an entire months worth of games. Could they win a playoff games next week? Perhaps they might be able to steal one, they are home, but that's about it.

This season will go down as one of the most mismanaged of all time. For all the accolades Bill Belechick received when things were going good for the Patriots, he's got to take the hit on this one.

I would be very concerned if I were a Patriots fan. The window of opportunity with Brady as your QB won't last much longer and if your coach doesn't come out of his "stupid" funk your run of success will come to an end sooner than it should have. - Gregory Shapiro

Greg is an orthopedic surgeon that has a number of professional athletes including MLB & NFL players as patients. He's an avid MLB & NFL fan and fantasy participant with some unique insight into the world of professional athletes.

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