it isnt so everyone should just leave the patriots and any other team that has the chance to do it alone

i dont think that waht they did against the cowboys when there were 19 secs left was a bad decision ..or that they kept scoring on the dolphins

if a team can win by a lot of points then more power to them so if the opposing team doesnt like it then they shoudl just get a better defense to stop the winning team from "running up the score"

do you think "running up the score " is bad?

Patsfan- i already know what you said but there are articles that say the patriots should not run up the score and they shouldnt have brought brady back in the 4th quarter after the int.

Running up the score ISN'T a bad thing, it's quite frankly awesome if you ask me. This is obviously Bill Belichick and the unstoppable New England Patriots deciding once and for all to establish themselves as THE foremost NFL team, possibly of all time. It's also probably a little bit of retaliation on Bill's part for the NFL's insanely large fine on him and the team. What better way of pissing off the league than destroying EVERY single team that crosses their path? It also shows that the Patriots never needed footage to crush an opponent, they have every imaginable weapon in their team to annihilate any opponent.

My opinion? Keep up the good work! Kill them all and ESPECIALLY those ******* in Indianopolis!

Only if it's on my team.

The Pats didn't run it up on the Dolphins. They benched their starters in the 3rd quarter and only brought Brady back when the Dolphins scored 14 points in under a minute.

And as for the Cowboys if Brady kneeled on 4th down the clock would have stopped.

OMG Mark J its obvious you didn't watch the game. It wasn't 5 minutes left it was 12. And the Patriots backup threw and INt that was returned for a TD on his 2nd pass.

Great, their were articles about the Rams being an NFC super bowl contendor does that make it true? And once again being cautious is not running up the score and seriously how does it make a difference at all in the season? So why should the other team care.

I've got no problem with teams running up the score. If the other team doesn't like, try having the guys that get paid to play defense do their job.

Bob Stoops likes to run up the score, so it must be OK.

It's not a bad thing, it's the point of the game... the only ones who have an issue with it, are the ones who are anti "New England Patriots"... I noticed that the Colts won their game with the Jaguars by 22 points, and I don't hear anyone fussing about that....

Piling up points will come back and bite you in the azz,it might not be this year but it will the next,what goes around,comes around

Well if you leave the starters in when the game is out of hand then it could be poor sportsmanship. They won't forget if the tables are turned later.

On the other side of things. What if your star player got hurt when you are up 35 late in the game? Injuries can happen any time but having it happen when its unnecessary it is worse. Can you imagine if Moss or Brady goes down with a season ending injury in that situation? I would put the backups in. They work just as hard in practice and it would be nice to let them play. The younger guys getting some real game experience will be good for them in the long run. You never know when you may need them to step in and start.

Why do the Patriots have to run the score up when there's five minutes left and they're ahead by 2 touchdowns? Why? What else do they have to prove? A win is a win, why do you have to leave all your startes in and insist on clobbering the other team? Are they more focused on setting records than they are on winning football games? That's like continuing to kick someone after they are unconscious.

No class if you ask me.

There are three reasons or schools of thought on running up the score:

1. A team respects its opponent, and wants to make sure they can't come back.

2. You want to humiliate the opponent. Annihilate them...

3. Records.

Mike Ditka was on the receiving end of a blowout once, and remarked about teams having long memories. What goes around comes around. Whether it is perception or reality, eventually that behavior will be returned one day.

I think it is bad for several reasons:

A. There's no reason to risk the health of your starters when a contest is out of hand.

B. Blowouts are when your second and third string are supposed to get work. If they score too, oh well.

C. It's bad juju to pile on a team that is clearly off its game. At some level, a gentleman backs off the hammer.

I don't think either of the Pats situations were running up the score. I think you can make a case that the team wanted to finish them and leave no doubt. Close, but not running up the score...

There's a big difference between guaranteeing a win, and "piling on."

In a league that produced improbable comebacks like the "Music City Miracle," perhaps it's best to be sure.

There is nothing wrong with running up the score and trust me, the patriots DEFINETLY didn't run up the score against the Dolphins. They sent in a backup in the 4th, for goodness sake!

If you want real running up the score, check super bowl 23 (SF 55, DEN 10) or the 1940 NFL Championship Game (CHI 73, WSH 0)

I say. No lead is safe in the NFL.
If you have the chance, bury them!

Since forever.

It's not bad to have a huge lead. But when you're up by 30 with 20 seconds left, take a knee. Don't go for the touchdown.

I think there is a difference between "running it up" in the NFL and NCAA. There are many college programs that are far better than some of the other programs they play. For instance, Oklahoma spends far more $$ on football than their week one opponent Tulsa. In this case, running up a score of 79 to 10 was pretty classless in my opinion.
In the NFL it's a different story. With Salary caps and revenue sharing, the league is designed to be evenly matched (so to speak). Also these men are paid to play hard for four quarters a game and win, not play hard for three if they have a big lead.
I don't see anyone running it up in the NFL, I see teams doing their job!!!

Its about sportmanship. Yes, the point is to win the games, but the Patriots were in no danger of losing those games especially when you look at how bad the teams the Pats have played this season are with the exception of Dallas none of them are above .500. Why humiliate an opponent when the game is out of reach.? It was 42-7 at one point during the game. There was no reason to put Brady back in at that point. Which is why people perceive the Patriots to be running up the score on their opponents. If the games had been close it would have been one thing, but the game wasnt close. No one said anything about the Pats running up the score until this weekend when they did it to the Dolphins an 0-6 team. The Patriots showed no sportsmanship it was a very unclassy thing to do especially after you pull your QB and then you put him back in and score another TD. Thats what the issue is all about...was it necessary? The answer is no it wasnt necessary.

I think running up the score when it's unneeded is just poor sportsmanship. If you have to play a team every year it's really a bad idea. Every dog has its day and you may get the favor returned in an off year.