The Pats Need Bulletin Board Material?

Posted on January 12, 2008 in Sports

For months, Jaguars.com senior editor Vic Ketchman attached an asterisk to the New England Patriots in his weekly power rankings.

Around the time Ketchman first added the asterisk, Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer was asked by the media for a comment on the Spygate scandal.

“Do like the NCAA and kick them out of the playoffs or something,” he told reporters. “Put them on probation; they can’t go to no playoff games. Roger Goodell has definitely enforced some new rules. He’s been hard on players. Now let’s see how hard he’s going to be with a team.”

All of a sudden, four months later, the media has decided the asterisk and the quote are newsworthy.

Why? Because the Jaguars are about to face the Patriots in the playoffs.

One ESPN story suggested Spicer’s comments should be motivation for the Patriots.

“If the undefeated Patriots need bulletin board material for their playoff game Saturday night against the Jaguars,” the story read, “they have it now.”

ESPN Radio host Dan Patrick said the same about Ketchman’s asterisk, many of his fellow sports journalists agreed.

Wait a second. We’re not talking about the Miami Dolphins or the Baltimore Ravens here, we’re talking about the undefeated New England Patriots.

“But should the Patriots really need bulletin board material? Isn’t that a little tacky?” Ketchman asked. “Come on. I thought this was supposed to be the greatest team of all time.”

He’s right. If the Patriots, who have the chance to gain NFL immortality with a 19-0 year, need motivation, then something is fundamentally wrong.

Spicer was asked what he thought about his quote being bulletin board material for the Patriots.

“”If they got to bring up something said so long ago,” he said, “let that be their motivational tool.”

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