Despite Pussification of Current NFL Rules, Ndamukong Suh uses Thanksgiving to demonstrate What a “Dirty” Player is.

2 games isn't that bad, Ndamukong Suh. If you did that in public, it would be Assault and Battery.

I’ve had this discussion with friends and family members before, and I was always rebuffed with comments like, “He plays smash mouth football, its great somebody these days does.” Or “He’s a pass rusher dude, he’s supposed to play that way.” This is me standing on my soap box with a smug smile filled with satisfaction declaring emphatically, “I told you so.” Unless you are the least American person in the country and were not watching Packers vs Lions on Thanksgiving 2011, you bore witness to Mr. Suh, greatly offended when an offensive lineman touched his helmet, decided that an appropriate response to the situation was to spear his assailant (who was lying on the ground) in the bicep with his spikes.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think Roger Goodell, in his Napoleonic-like crusade to maintain player safety in an intrinsically violent sport, has massively pussified serious aspects of the sport. Pass rushers, like Suh, have to hit quarterbacks within .000125 seconds of them releasing the ball or get hit with a 15 yard “Roughing the Passer” bullshit call (As much as I love you, Tom Brady, this is partially your fault due to your irate gesticulations and furious berating of officials over the years every time anyone hit you in the pocket.) Members of any secondary cannot so much as fart near an opposing receiver without drawing some type of penalty (This one is 100 % Saint Dungy’s fault for his endless bitching that his receivers were “man-handled” AKA his team got their ass whooped in the 2004 AFC Title game.)

But as Albert Haynesworth 2.0…uh, I mean Ndamukong Suh proved on a national scale, his complete disregard for other player’s well-being and visceral reactions to contentious moments on the field have entrenched him in the “dirty” category of football players. His emphatic claims that his job is to “hurt people” are evidence of his misguided notion of what the job description of a defensive player in the NFL is supposed to entail. The objective, in my mind, of a defensive player is to prevent the offensive player/team from scoring. This can be done in any number of ways, including tackling the ball carrier, intercepting a pass, or forcing and recovering a fumble. At no point in any of those objectives is the deliberate sabotage of another player’s physical faculty included. Do injuries happen in the course of game? Yes, absolutely. I am not so deluded as to think that players should never get hurt during the course of an NFL game. These guys are the best athletes in the world and are hurling themselves at each other at top speed with unfathomable strength. The chances that something twists the wrong way are fairly high. And if this happens during the course of what a player is supposed to be doing, well, shit happens.

But a deliberate stomp with the sharpened metal end of your footwear onto a man’s unexposed arm? What if that had been his wrist and he went out for the rest of the regular season? An NFL player’s livelihood and ability to do his job is almost entirely dependent on his physical health, and absolutely no player has the right, Suh included, to purposefully and spitefully take that from another player regardless of the nature of the sport. I actually like Suh when he plays the game the right way. He has the strength of a bull elephant, and he plays with a tenacity matched by few others in the league these days. But at the same time, he has the unrestrained emotionality and petulant reasoning that plagues many immature players, and his most recent offense coupled with his past instances of placing an oversized toe over the line have firmly entrenched him, at least for me, within the realm of a “dirty player.” Whether Suh attempts to reform this image or embrace it and deal with the sanctions that this type of style typically brings from the league office is up to him. For now though, I’ll enjoy calling him “Stompin’ Suh” until I can come up with a funnier name for him (or someone else does, then I can shamelessly steal it and pretend it’s my own material.)

P.S This might be an Alt Tab first, but I made it through an entire rant without using the word "fuck." Well, until right there. In any case, props to me for being civil for at least one entry.

The Story that I am Glad Was NOT a Story: “Running up the Score”

Hey Coach, maybe if you spent more time teaching your team defense instead of flipping the bird, you wouldnt be getting your ass kicked.

Last Sunday, America was present for a public massacre: a completely defenseless party was at the mercy of their oppressors, and was forcibly beaten like a red headed step child for 3 consecutive hours until the last breath of life escaped them. I, of course, refer to the snooze fest blow out that was the NFL “Game of the Week” with the Colts playing the Saints in the Superdome. The Saints, with their explosive offensive firepower, and the Colts with….well their incredible level of ineptitude as well as a quarterback who creepily looks like Kurt Cobain, was a combination for a 62-7 final score. The score doesn’t even really do justice to how badly the Colts got their ass kicked. The Saints ended up with 557 net yards, 305 more than their hapless opponents. The Saints punted the ball ONCE the entire game. The sorry excuse of a team called the Colts had a time of possession almost HALF of what the Saints did. So yeah, in every respect this was a complete and utter ass kicking.

However, the point I am trying to bring to light is that not a single member of the media even muttered a whisper of “lack of sportsmanship” or criticize the Saints for running up the score. For once, I am absolutely overjoyed that nobody (or at least a large majority of journalists) did not even give this angle of a story a sideways glance. As a Patriots fan, it drove me absolutely crazy in 2007-2008 for all the jealous little shits and sanctimonious football gurus to shove their arbitrary notions of “sportsmanship” down our throats when the Pats were mercilessly tearing through opposing defenses like Rob Gronkowski tears through porn stars. The nerdy corpse some call John Clayton emphatically stated that the Patriots kicked Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs “when he was down” by crushing his Redskins 52-7. Forget the fact that the pass/running play ratio was almost identical for the Patriots in that game, no, they were being assholes by continuing to play and do their job until the 60 minutes was up.

My opinion at the time (and as it still stands today) is that there is no such thing as “running up the score” in professional/Division 1 collegiate sports (which is essentially pro sports these days anyways with the number of scandals and level of competitive nature, only difference is these kids don’t make millions to play their respective game.) You should not have to be reviled, decried, criticized, and demonized because you happen to be much better at what you do than your opponent is. Just because you take a big lead (like the Saints 2011/Patriots 2007) does not mean you have to fold it in and just half ass the rest of the way because you are scared you’ll hurt someone’s feelings. If you want to go out and sling the ball for a second half because you want to work on “in game” repetitions, do it. If you want to stomp on your opponent’s ego and crush it into a fine powder by winning by 40+, power to you. Not many teams can perform at that high a level very often. Imagine if competitive businesses were going head to head, and the 2^nd place entity filed a complaint with the SEC about the other company “running up the score” (making more money, having a bigger market share, whatever) They would get laughed out the building faster than it takes Daniel Tosh to do something flamboyantly homosexual.

Look, I get the notion of sportsmanship and when it is appropriate, like in youth sports and handling yourself like a professional before and after competitive events (*cough JIM SCHWARTZ cough*). But when you take the court, field, or rink in a professional setting, you damn well better make sure you come to play, because if you’re looking for any sympathy when/if you are getting your ass kicked all over the play, you won’t find any from me. All you will get is a smirk and a comment to the effect of, “You don’t want the score run up on you? Play better.”

Running Diary: Patriots vs. Cowboys 2nd Half

Yes, foreshadowing is STILL fun

Part 2: Patriots vs. Cowboys Running Diary Second Half

3^rd Quarter

15:00 Annnnnddd we are back everybody. Pats begin the half with an uncomfortable 13-3 lead, even though I feel like it should be bigger, given the miscues. Also I’m trying, to no avail, to convince myself that I shouldn’t be scared of the Cowboys, but I am. They’re bound to discover our defense sucks at some point.

-Just noticed we have the OTHER Gronkowski brother back again. Jesus, this guy is like a revolving door for our third tight end spot. Can’t we just keep him based on the awesome-ness of having 66 % of the Gronkowski brothers, regardless of whether or not he’s good?

15:00-12:20- Promising first set of downs leads to a rapid case of football blue balls on the second set. A little foreplay tease with three straight runs, the last a “Brady Special” for the first down. Then Brady can’t find a receiver, Matt Light gets toasted like a bagel on the outside for the 20485^th time in his career, allowing Brady to get sacked for the 3^rd time on the game (didn’t catch the Dallas player, I was too busy bitching about Matt Light.)

-A 3 man rush generates enough pressure to make the Pats throw it away. I feel like little Malculay Kulkin in Home Alone when he finds the picture of Buzz’s girlfriend…”Guys that drive, WOOF.”

12:15-5:48- Dane Fletcher makes a GREAT special teams play, leveling the return guy before he had time to blink. This guy has looked good in limited reps dating back to last season, I don’t know why he doesn’t get more run than Rob Ninkovich as an LB, but hooded one knows best.

-Romo’s pass batted in the air at the line, and we get to see two 350lb+ guys playing coverage on each other as Wilfork goes for the pick while some huge dude on the Dallas O-line bats it away. Fat people make ordinary circumstances much funnier.

-After stuffing Tashard Choice again, Romo finally finds Witten in the middle of the field for a big chunk of yardage. Of course, Gary Guyton was clueless, as he realized he hadn’t yet exhausted his quota of mental fuck ups for the game and decided 3^rd down was an optimal chance to use another one. Literally let Witten run right by him without a second thought.

-Romo gets ridiculous protection and finds Miles Austin all the way to the N.E 19 yard line. The defense not nearly as feisty coming out for the second half as they were to start the game,

-This upper body tackling bullshit by our DB’s has to stop at some point. Chung had Demarco Murray lined up in the backfield for a loss, but instead of making a nice, fundamentally sound form tackle, he tried to drill him in the chest, getting burned and allowing Dallas to eat up more yards. Not enough Pepto Bismol in the world for the heartburn this defense gives me.

-In the goal to go situation, Dallas gives New England a MASSIVE break when Romo misses Murray on a swing pass where we probably would have scored, followed by an Andre Carter speed off the outside on Romo and drilling him in the (hopefully even more broken now) ribs for a 10 yard loss. A 3^rd down screen pass almost results in a “kick in the balls” touchdown as Choice weaved in and out of our unmotivated defenders to the 3 yard line. Christ. After all that time and anger, Dallas gets only a field goal to tie it at 13-13.

5:46-1:10 Pats get the ball on our own 15, and immediately try some sort of gimmick play to get Ochocinco involved. A cluster of 4 receivers sprinted out of the huddle to the right side, leaving Ochosinco on the left, Brady devliered, but Chad once again wasn’t on the right page as he was nowhere near the ball. Based on Brady’s furious body language, I’d say Chad didn’t run his route properly. I REALLY want to love Ochocinco, but he hasn’t been productive at all.

- A couple nice throws to Welker, followed by Gronk leads to a first, as well as a hurry up offense with a nice 9 yard run to BJGE. This variation in tempo’s is catching the Dallas D off balance and leading to some productive plays, very encouraging.

-After a couple more BJGE runs, another first down pass to Gronk, and more hurry up offense, Dallas wisely prepares for the quick run to BJGE and stuffs him for a 2 yard loss. Whelp, that experiment was fun while it lasted. Brady finds Herndo on third down, too bad it was well short of the first. No rhythm to our offense in the second half at all. Mesko to punt

-HAH, Dallas continues to commit unbelievably stupid penalties at a “Oakland Raiders-esque” level, with a “Running into the Kicker” call being made. Mesko embellished a little, but that’s what he’s supposed to do if he feels contact. A gift first down for the Patriots.

-Holy shit, a Danny Woodhead sighting with a run for 5 yards. This is shocking because a.) I thought he was still hurt and b.) he hasn’t factored into the offense at all due to the effectiveness of Herndo/Gronk and Welker/Branch so far this season. Good shit, right Miroki? (If you don’t get the movie reference, get the hell off this blog)

-Son of a bitch, Hernandez fumbles after a nice catch, recovered by Dallas with Welker making a huge heads up play to tackle him. Terrence Newman had a lot of green pasture ahead of him if he wasn’t brought down. On a slightly negative note, Hernandez’s hands are quickly becoming as slippery as the moves he has after the catch. He has a worrying propensity to carry the ball to far from his body or not secure the football quick enough, leading too fumbles or dropped catches. Insert profanity laced grumbling here.

-Dallas has the ball, runs it, going to the fourth quarter, still tied up 13-13

4^th Quarter

15:00-12:54- Romo begins the forth by going to Witten again. Good of Tony to finally realize “Hey, my favorite option is a nightmare matchup for these guys.” Wait, what the hell am I saying?!? FUCK YOU ROMO.

-Pats bring another blitz on 2^nd down, but Dallas picks it up as it has most of the game, and he shoots a pass to Miles Austin to the Patriots 45

-Back to Back blitzes, and the Cowboys give another early Christmas gift to the Patriots, as Austin drops an easily catchable ball. Those Ryan’s really have an affinity for feet huh? Rex gets off on them sexually, and Rob’s teams seem to enjoy repeatedly shooting themselves in the collective foot (yeah, I know Rob is the defensive coordinator, whatever, the joke was better this way.) Patriots ball off of the punt.

12:54-9:30 Patriots open up with an attempted screen pass that was incomplete, and run the hurry up once again, catching Dallas with 12 guys on the field. I feel like the biggest hypocrite, squealing with delight when the Patriots do this to get a cheap 5 yard penalty when I roared with anger every time the Colts did it to anyone else over the years. Oh well, hypocrite feeling gone, keep doing what you’re doing, Patriots.

-BJGE is getting some good lanes off of these quick snaps, with consecutive good runs chewing up 4 and 7 yards respectively. After a false start on the hometeam, the exotic species known as the Danny Woodhead gets blown up in the backfield for a loss.

-My god, Deion Branch is clutch. Snares a 3^rd down pass for a 1^st down. Guy can catch 10 for 120 and 2 TD’s one week, then be a ghost the following week until you finally need him, and more often than not he makes the play. Again, why did we ever part ways with his dreadlocked, sure-handed goodness?

-FUCKING DAMN IT, Brady pretends to be Aaron Rodgers, rolls out to his left, gets his arm hit on the release, and throws his second pick of the game. That was just an awful decision all around by Brady because even if he wasn’t hit on the play, everyone on that side of the field was covered anyways.

Note: My thoughts/scribbling from this point on were hectic/barely legible, owed to what was about to transpire. The page I’m reading from looks like a rabid raccoon dipped its paws in paint and did a figure skating routine on my notebook paper, with the occasional legible profanity.

9:00-5:14 Swing pass to Murray for 8 yards. Gotta say, the rookie out of Oklahoma has looked like a good change-of-pace back for Felix Jones/Tashard Choice.

-Holding call, which negates another Gary Guyton fuckup (missed a tackle on a runner in the backfield)

-You have got to be kidding me, 3^rd and 12, and Romo runs for 17 because no one decided to spy the QB. Why is he being smart all of a sudden? I hate him even more now.

-Terrible throw by Romo, almost picked off, Haynesworth (wow, he’s playing?) forces the issue

-More fodder for the “Devin McCourty is Regressing” argument, as he whiffs on a tackle on Laurent Robinson (who?) who runs for 34 yards down the sideline.

-Pass over the middle complete, and receiver somehow still alive even after Pat Chung made every attempt to murder him on the hit

-1^st and Goal-screen pass to the New England five, this is getting painful, as William Wallace would have said, HOLD!!!

-2^nd and Goal-pressure gets to Romo, forces an incompletion. Heart rate unhealthily high for a regular season game.

-3^rd and Goal-What the hell?? Terrible playcall by Dallas, inside shovel pass to an RB gets blown up by Spikes, settle for field goal again, but take the lead 16-13 Dallas.

5:14-3:46 Written at the top of notes prior to the drive, verbatim, is “Brady, work some of that clutch magic baby” Let’s see if he listens.

- Gronk screen for 9 yards, good start boys

-Running play cut down in the backfield, fuck me.

-AGHHH, pressure forces incompletion…we have to punt…and rely on our defense to make a stop…oh my god.

3:36-2:31 Spikes rips through the line, cuts down runner for 1 yard loss.

-Another run stopped for a 2 yard loss

-False start on Dallas, 3^rd and 18 coming up…and I’m still insanely nervous we can’t top them

-Run for 7 harmless yards, holy hell we stopped them…but what is up with the playcalling??? Three straight runs with a chance to put a dagger in our hearts? Whatever, thanks Dallas, we have one more chance at this bitch. Pats ball, all or nothing here

2:31 to end of game Blitz comes, Brady gets it away to Herndo for 16

-Brady CRUSHED, but somehow gets it to Gronk on sideline, clock stops

-Quick out to Welker for five yards, 2 minute warning.

-Another one to Welker for 5, 1^st down baby

-Dump off to Woodhood for 9, up to the Dallas 30, only down 3.

-Incompletion, another Brady Special for a first down

-Woodhood for 15 more on another underneath route, holy shit, visions of ‘03 patriots obscuring vision.

-Welker for 6, despite excellent coverage, holy balls. Timeout Pats, 27 seconds left in the game

-Brady hangs in pocket, good protecting, fires a missile to Herndo….FOR THE TOUCHDOWN, FUCK YES!!!!

-Dallas finished the game with a hopeless attempt at a hail mary.

Final Thoughts

-In the moment, I didn’t see how the touchdown play developed, but Gronk took the top off the coverage by running out while Herndo ran in, double coverage followed the wrong guy, Brady looked at Gronk, then fired to Herndo, who got sticky hands are the right moment.

-The defense, while stepping it up big time, is only partially responsible for this win. The Dallas play calling on their last two drives was pathetic. No looks downfield, ball completely out of Tony Romos hands, and it probably cost them the game. Seriously, their game plan in the last 6 minutes was more conservative than Rush Limbaugh.

-Unsung Hero-Vince Wilfork-on most occasions where the other D-lineman and linebackers could shoot the gaps and cause havoc, the big man in the middle was commanding double teams in the trenches while also causing a fumble. Continues to be one of the best players on the field despite not always getting the media blowjobs other players receive.

Quick Slants: Musings and Thoughts after 3 weeks of “Foo’BAWL!!!”

Like every NFL season, the 2011-2012 version has brought us some great headlines, surprising side stories, and the head scratchingly bizarre.  Some of this stuff most of us will claim we saw coming, other events are completely out of left field, but all of them are part of my Quick Slants: Weeks 1-3 edition.  Instead of doing a specifically tailored dissection of one game, I’ll just give a bunch of short observation’s I’ve had of the NFL landscape every few weeks, to keep it fresh and interesting (translation: so that I don’t have to write/you don’t have to read a 1200 word post when this is so much easier.)  With that, off we go

*The New England Patriots literally look like a carbon copy of the 2004-2005 Phoenix Suns:  One half absolutely ridiculous, perfectly paced offense that can stack up points so fast the scoreboard can’t even keep track like the DDR showdown from Grandma's Boy; one half tissue paper thin defense with more holes in it than Sonny Corleone’s body does after the tollbooth scene in The Godfather.

*The Oakland Raiders, after going through many treatments, have finally seemed to have recovered from the suckitude that the malignant disease “JeMarcus Russell-it is” left them with for years.  We are looking at a team that, had they been able to stem a late surge by the Bills, that could be 3-0 right now.  Holy shit.  I am looking at that right, the Raiders?? Yeah…I am.  Plenty of season for them to mess it up, but at least they look like a decent football team so far.  Darren McFadden is transforming into a top tier running back with every passing week.  Oh, and they also have a walking potential felony in their drunk ass kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who just so happens to also had a right leg made of titanium as he makes 50 yard field goals all day.  Fun all around with this group

*I can’t help but wonder if Adrian Peterson just signed his way into being “Barry Sanders 2.0.”  Not in terms of production; Barry, in my opinion, was the best running back to ever play the game.  But in signing a 7 year, 100 million dollar deal, he’s essentially locked himself into a losing franchise that frankly doesn’t have much going on besides him.  McNabb is completely and utterly cooked, Leslie Frazier is making fans pine for Brad Childress (maybe not, Childress was truly awful) and can’t force a turnover for their lives.  Oh, and they’ve been outscored 67-6 in the second half of their games.  If Adrian signed for the money, good move.  If he signed to be on a winning club….yikes.

*Who in the hell saw the Buffalo Bills being the only team left in the AFC going 3-0??  The proverbial walking joke of the past 5 to 10 seasons, a group of football based futility that if you saw on your favorite teams schedule, you instantly penciled your team in for a win?  Yeah, not happening this year.  Ryan Fitzpatrick is absolutely GUNNING.  He has a competent receiving core in Stevie Johnson, Donald Jones, and David Nelson.  Fred Jackson, long an under rated back, is tearing through defenses with reckless abandon.  That being said, in way am I penciling the Bills for a Superbowl Birth simply on their early success.  They still have a truly AWFUL defense that struggles particularly against the run.  It will be tough for them to win games if their offense fizzles at all.  (NOTE: Did anyone see the dwarf athletic trainers the Bills had during the Aaron Willams injury this past Sunday?  Dude is living proof that Gimli and his kin aren’t just mythical beings of Middle Earth. Linky goodness here)

*The NFC west is absolutely terrible.  In other fascinating news, the sun rose still in the East and set in the West today. (I’d like to take this opportunity to give Frank Gore the middle finger.  You’re one of the main reasons my Yahoo fantasy team sucks.  Thanks, ass)

*The Eagles, despite the constant media blow jobs they received upon signing all these amazing Pro Bowl players, are 1-2 due to a secondary that apparently skipped the section of camp where they learned how to tackle, an offensive line more porous than a sponge, and their premier quarterback’s propensity to dangerously run out of the pocket has caused him to suffer a concussion and a broken hand in back to back weeks.  Just another sign that hype and NFL “analysts” (edit: meathead dumbfucks who used to play football, so they think they are intelligent) anointing you as the team to beat in preseason means absolutely dick.

*In a really pleasant turn of events, the Detroit Lions are 3-0 and look every bit as talented as they have been touted.  It’s taken a few years for all the pieces to assemble and Matthew Stafford to stay healthy, but I can’t help but love this team.  Maybe it’s partially out of my affection for Barry Sanders, maybe I can sympathize with a city that has had next to nothing sports related to root for in years.  But these guys are awesome on both sides of the ball.  Stafford can sling it like a boss and Calvin Johnson (aptly named Megatron) is a freak in a league where wide receivers are already freakishly athletic human beings.  Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vandenbosch are a TWO MAN pass rush.  Just awesome shit to watch, and I actually hope it continues (if for no other reason than to justify having them play every thanksgiving.  This year they might actually…play a competitive game?!? I didn’t think Thanksgiving could get any better.)

To: Tedy Bruschi Subject: Chill out Bro, You Mad

        Just as a quick foreward so as not to alarm anyone, I'm Sean Morency and the newest writer for the blog.  I previously had my own blog (Kind of a Big Deal here at blogger.com) that was more of a personal digital journal with a small (edit: almost nonexistent) following, but CW made the executive decision to bring me on board, so hopefully I can contribute some entertaining pieces and induce some laughter for those who desperately need to procrastinate from the repellent "real world" tasks that they have to attend to.  Without further adieu, here's my debut for team Alt-Tab

Tedy Bruschi- "Drop the awe factor, OK, Ocho? Chad, drop the awe factor," Bruschi said. "You’re not a fan, all right. You’re not someone who’s on another team or watching TV. You’re not an analyst. You’re a part of it. They want you to be a part of it. So get with the program because obviously you’re not getting it and you’re tweeting because you’re saying, ‘It’s amazing to see’? It’s amazing to see because you don’t understand it. You still don’t understand it and it’s amazing to you because you can’t get it.
"Stop tweeting and get in your playbook," Bruschi added. "Wake up! If you’re just waking up now — I don’t know when this was, six minutes ago? — get out your bed and get to the stadium and watch some film if you still think it’s amazing. If you’re in it and you know what you’re doing and you execute out there you don’t think it’s amazing. You know why? Because it’s what you’re supposed to do."

Don't get me wrong, Tedy Bruschi was one of my all time favorite Patriot players.  His no-bullshit, do your job mantra combined with his uncanny play making ability undeniably contributed to the fastidious devotion to the game of football by every member of the team during the 2001-2004 run.  That being said, in this instance I believe Tedy is coming off extremely harsh as well as a "holier than thou" asshole.  Yes, Chad Ochocinco did not exactly delight fantasy owners nor wow anyone watching the game with his box score production of one reception for 14 yards.  But to indict the guy with this harsh condemnation on his work ethic and commitment to the team after one game??  Talk about some extreme reaction-ism.  Let's all keep in mind this is not, as many idiotic WEEI callers firmly believe, the same as when we brought in Randy Moss.  Despite the obvious differences in receiving style and demeanor, Moss had the benefit of multiple off season workouts prior to training camp, meaning he had much more time to absorb the offensive system deployed by the Patriots.  It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, despite the tireless work ethic that Tom Brady openly vouches Chad possesses, to figure that Ochocinco is still 2 or 3 weeks behind on what exactly his role in the offense is and how much of the playbook he currently understands.  Our other "big season" acquisition, both literally and figuratively, Albert Haynesworth received limited reps on his side of the ball as well.  The learning curve in this system is steep, and patience is a necessary virtue before we can fairly evaluate whether or not Ochocinco is producing.
         Additionally, from what I saw of the (nearly flawless) execution of the Pats game plan, Brady was entirely content to rely on short crossing routes by Welker (with the except of his 99 yard touchdown sprint borne out of an idiotic coverage scheme by the Dolphins), Deon Branch sitting down in soft spots in the zone, and blatantly exploiting the linebacker/safety coverage of our budding star tight ends in Gronkowski and Hernandez.  Even with Brady slinging the ball 48 times, that doesn't leave alot of room for Ochocinco to grab many passes when he is primarily a moderate to deep route runner with a Pro Bowl corner back in Vontae Davis marking him.  What's to say that the game plan didn't include a wrinkle to use Chad as pseudo-decoy when on the field to take the top off the secondary, opening up those spots underneath for other players to wreak havoc?  The guy only played 25 % of the offensive plays that were fun (18 of 70), perhaps another subtle indication that Belichick knew how to dissect the Dolphins without the need for down the field go-routes.
       We all knew what we were getting in Ochocinco; part talented receiver with deceptive smarts and precise route running ability as well as part time entertainer who likes to be paid attention to via his utilization of social media.  If it had been a situation where Chad said something like "Didn't come here for this #frustrated,"  Bruschi's reaction would be completely understandable.  But Chad is simply expressing his delight and pride at being part of organization that he perceives as being the best in the business.  Even masters of their craft express delight from time to time.  I'm pretty sure after Michelangelo finished his work on the Sistine Chapel said the Italian equivalent of "Shit, that's pretty damned impressive what I just finished."
But since tight lipped confidentiality rivaling that of the FBI is how most Patriots personnel handle the media, including Bruschi when he was on the team, Chad's exuberant twitter posting probably came off a "team felony" of sorts to the former line backer turned professional douche-bag...er, I mean football analyst.
      Yes Chad Ochocinco didn't figure prominently in our first game of the season.  Does that mean he's not working hard, that he doesn't care about running precise routes, and that he won't be a useful piece going forward?  Absolutely not. Bruschi, cool your jets bro.  You more than anyone should know how gameplan's and player utilization changes week to week in New England.  It was one game for gods sakes.  Save your righteous tirades for people who actually deserve them, like Jon "Captain Hyperbole" Gruden or every member of the Jersey Shore.