Morning Report: Patriots really ran it up

While you're digesting what might have been the most dramatic win in Phillies playoff history, think back on the NFL's crackling fireworks display of Sunday afternoon.

Clearly we're not talking about the Eagles-Raiders bore-fest here.

At first glance, the 59-0 shellacking the New England Patriots poured on the hapless Tennessee Titans seemed routine. Even though it was the biggest margin of victory in an NFL game in more than 30 years, it didn't seem totally out of place.

Tennessee is wretched beyond belief, and New England had the greatest offensive machine in league history just two seasons ago. The Patriots have been working back to that level as Tom Brady's rebuilt knee improves.

But at least one critic thinks the eight-touchdown avalanche was a blatant payback by Patriots head meanie Bill Belichick.

"Belichick can go gangster like that," wrote Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. "It's what makes him the coach he is, the master of passive-aggressive paybacks, a guy capable of motivating his players against enemies real or imagined.

"Maybe Sunday's game just innocently got out of hand. Maybe the Titans are that terrible. Maybe 59-0 just happened to happen. Or maybe it just happened to happen to one of New England's biggest critics a couple years back."

To review, in the midst of New England's 18-0 start two years ago, Belichick was caught illegally taping other teams in what became known, naturally, as Spygate.

The scandal cost the Patriots a No. 1 draft pick and cost Belichick a personal fine of half a million dollars.

The league assessed the fine, but Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher - co-chairman of the league's prestigious competition committee - publicly condemned Belichick's actions.

"There's no place for it," Fisher said at the time. "Everybody clearly understands the rules." He said the league acted to protect "the integrity of the game."

That was in 2007. Was yesterday's Belichick's payback?

Here's something else to consider: When Dallas coach Wade Phillips was quoted as saying that Spygate may have tainted New England's three Super Bowl titles, the Patriots' pounded the Cowboys, 48-27, including a final TD with just 23 seconds left.

"Look, we're not trying to do anything but run our offense," Belichick said after the game. "We went into the game with a game plan and I know the score got out of hand, but we were just trying to run our offense."

Well they certainly did that. At the end of the first half, the Patriots refused to rest on a "slender" 38-0 margin, and ran a no-huddle offense so they could punch in the touchdown that made it 45-0.

And rather than sit Brady - remember that surgically rebuilt knee - the QB led a second-half drive to make the score 52-0.

When obscure backup Brian Hoyer entered the game, the Patriots went for it on a fourth and 6 at the Titans' 31-yard line, converted, and soon scored again.

In supposed mop-up duty, Hoyer fired 11 passes and completed nine.

Fisher, sensibly, declined to get into any mudslinging.

"That was their plan going in," he said of the play-calling. "Why are they going to change their plan?"

This is the NFL. All of the players are highly paid professionals and an old-fashioned butt-kicking won't lighten anyone's paycheck this week.

But the game was an indication of the way Bill Belichick coaches. And a reminder that anyone who thought New England's run of Super Bowl appearances ended two seasons ago might be sorely mistaken.