That's how you answer your critics

TALES FROM THE TAILGATE
Pats 38, San Diego 14 (9/16/'07): The Patriots released linebacker Adalius Thomas a few days ago. Much was expected of the big free agent signing from Baltimore. The only thing he delivered was disappointment.

I won't go over all the gory details of his three years in New England. Suffice to say it didn't work out. He didn't really produce. The coaching staff really didn't seem to know how to best use him. And the bond that he and Belichick made at the 2006 Pro Bowl seemed to only work when the two of them were wearing Hawaiian shirts. It just didn't work out. But for one glorious night at Gillette it did.

September 16, 2007. It would be difficult to find a better regular-season home game in all my nearly 200 games tailgating. Why? One word: Spygate. The week before, the opening week of the season, the Patriots went into New York and stomped on Mangenius' Jets 38-14. The Pats were loaded. Randy Moss. Wes Welker. Junior Seau. Donte Stallworth. These players, added to what was mostly the roster that had won three Super Bowls already, made for -- what we would later learn -- the greatest regular season team ever. Almost the greatest team, period.

The day after the Pats destruction of the Jets in which Moss toyed with the defense, it came out that Mangini (a.k.a the Rat) had tipped off the league that the Pats (which he was once the defensive coordinator for) were taping opponent's defensive signals. This is against the rules. League officials took the guy off the field and confiscated his camera. The camera contained video of the Jets defensive coaches sending in the signals. I repeat, it's against the rules. But this is not a blog post about the validity of Spygate. The Pats broke the rules, were caught, and were stripped of a first-round draft pick. All in a matter of three days.

The season, which started out with such promise, had turned into a nightmare. The team I rooted for was now the object of mocking and derision and hatred. Well they were always hated. When your team wins three out of four Super Bowls they are going to be hated. How do you think New England fans feel about the Steelers? I can't print it here. Decency rules you know. The Pats were the whale and everyone had their harpoons sharpened. There were boxes of "Cheaties" made with Belichick's face on it. New York Post headlines of "Gotcha!" Comparisons of the coach in his hoodie with Emperor Palpatine in his robe. Congress was considering setting up a special commission to investigate. Congress! It was ugly.

But a few days later the team had their home opener to play and a season to save. Against one of their biggest rivals the San Diego Chargers. If there's one thing Belichick's teams have done better than anyone it's put distractions, defeats, and disasters behind them. The Spygate scandal sure qualified as a disaster.

The tailgate before the game on a beautiful early fall Sunday evening was a lot of eating, drinking, and digesting the events of the week. Why was Belichick making tapes and what was he doing with them? We didn't know the answer to those questions that night and we still don't. I'm waiting for Sports Illustrated or another real sports journalism organization to give me the detailed story behind Spygate. Still waiting. As we walked into the game that night we knew the players would be fired up. Say what you will about the video taping and Belichick's ethics or lack of the same. Anyone who watched the Patriots championship teams knows that the reason they won three Super Bowls is simple: Brady, Bruschi, Vrabel, McGinnest, Brown, Law, Dillon, Harrison ... and so on. They had great players. Spygate shed doubt on the accomplishments of that group. Accomplishments achieved through work, work, and more work. As we watched the team on the sideline before the game it was clear to see they were ready to make a statement.

What a statement it was. The Patriots jumped all over the Chargers. Gillette Stadium was rocking. The Pats held a 17-0 lead late in the first half as Philip Rivers tried to rally his team, moving them across midfield. On a third and short he looked to make a quick pass to his right for a first down. He stumbled as he threw and Adalius Thomas stepped in front of it. Thomas raced down the sideline, leaving receivers and running backs in his dust. "Look at the big man go!" bellowed Gil on the radios playing throughout the stadium. Thomas scored to give the Pats a 24-0 lead. He was mobbed by his new teammates. The signing of Thomas looked like it would reap large rewards at that moment. Some things change.

One thing that doesn't change is the players commitment and belief in their coach. It was on full display that night. Many analysts, experts, and columnists predicted the team would collapse, that the players would resent Belichick for giving their Super Bowls a black eye. A reasonable assumption. Unless you've been watching. The leaders of the team -- Bruschi, Harrison, Brady -- are Belichick guys through and through. As the game came to a close one-by-one players came over to their coach and embraced him. Adalius Thomas may have ended up not being a fan of Belichick. But he's among a very small minority.