Patriots vs Chargers

As the Patriots prepare to play the Chargers on Sunday it appears that Bill Belichik has taken some time to share his thoughts on the chargers with his team. Tuesday morning Belichick held what some people are calling his "toughest morning meeting to date". During that meeting he shared the Chargers stats with the team and stressed that they had the best stats in the game since December. He also referred to the Chargers as "the best team in the AFC" during his press conference. I guess it is possible that he forgot that the Patriots are also in the AFC, but I kind of doubt it. This game is being sold as a blow out in the making by the media and Belichick is making sure that the Patriots don't believe the hype. After the meeting, Richard Seymour was quoted as saying:

“I don’t know why there’s this perception that we’re just going to run over the Chargers, that all we have to do is show up and the game is won. We’ll be going home if we take that approach. That’s the bottom line. We’ll be going home.”

We have seen throughout the season that Belichick is a master at keeping his team both focused and humbled. Not one peep of trash talk has been heard out of the Patriots camp. Not one ounce of disrespect for their opponent, and no talk of taking this game lightly. It is hard to believe that Belichick has been able to keep a team with so much success so grounded in reality.

On the other side of the ball are the Chargers.

This is a team that, last year, couldn't say enough about the "lack of respect" that was shown by the Patriots after their infamous post game celebration in San Diego. Leading that team at the QB position is Philip Rivers, who it seems, makes a second career out of talking shit. For a team that is so focused on respect they, may want to look behind their center and have a word with their "leader". From his trash talking directed toward Jay Cutler, to his confronting of a fan in Indianapolis, it is clear that he is far from being an example of class and respect. I only wonder what LT had to say about that to his QB. My guess is nothing.

Then there is Igor (who's name really does a good job of describing his appearance and mental capacity) who just couldn't help but put his foot in his mouth the other day with his comments. I guess he didn't see the Patriots humiliate Anthony Smith after making his "guarantee", or he did and he's just too dumb to know better.

Will the Patriots blow the Chargers out this weekend? I don't know. What I do know is this: two great teams will step onto the field this Sunday, and at the end of the game, one team will go home and the other will go to the Super Bowl. Smart money says the Patriots will be on their way to Phoenix. But then again, there's a reason that they play the game.

One piece of advise for the Chargers: Win or lose, remember the words of Ron Burgundy and "Stay classy San Diego".