Very **&#%!! Far From Acceptance

I don't know if you've heard, but the Patriots were eliminated from the playoffs last weekend. I think I am caught somewhere between Denial and Anger. Depression is nearby, but you're supposed to go through Bargaining first and I'm not doing that.

Then comes Acceptance. Whatever.

The Denver D was doing a great job controlling the line of scrimmage and freeing up their linebackers (and goddamn John Lynch) to make tackles and sacks.

But the ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS pass interference call that handed the Broncos a 7-3 lead early in the game was pivotal. Everything that happened after that (including all the many Patriots turnovers) was pure hypothetical counterfactual BS.

Jeff Triplette is an abomination and a disgrace to the zebra stripes. Remember, this is guy who threw his flag so hard that it blinded a player in one eye and ended his career. He is terrible. His utter inability to enunciate the rationale behind his stammering rulings indicates the tenuous connection he has to the events on the field. Plus, he gets things wrong.

More than anything, this loss shows how hard the previous three Superbowl victories over the course of the last four season have been. So many chances to go astray, so many events beyond your control, so much quality opposition. But it hasn't been as easy to appreciate as it is now.

Congratulations, Patriots, on a 12-6 season, a playoff victory, and a Division championship. Not a bad year, considering.