Woody: Some do side with Belichick

RICHMOND, Va., -- Poor Bill Belichick. His coaching career has come to this: He has two defenders, Al Groh and me.

Groh and Belichick have been on several NFL staffs together, so that figures.

As for me, that's a hard one to believe, isn't it?

I'm no great fan of Belichick and the way he runs his team. He treats the smallest piece of information as if it were a state secret. He pushes the rules to the limit and beyond.

Despite that, Belichick is one of the best coaches ever to work in the NFL. His teams have won three Super Bowls. The Patriots went through the 2007 regular season undefeated.

And last season, when the Patriots didn't make the playoffs, might have been Belichick's best coaching job.

When star quarterback and matinee idol Tom Brady was knocked out for the season in the first game, Matt Cassel took over.

Cassel never had started a college game at quarterback, much less an NFL game. Disaster seemed imminent.

The Patriots finished 11-5 and missed the playoffs on tiebreakers.

That's an impressive coaching job.

So, I, along with Groh, am willing to cut Belichick some slack for Sunday night.

In case you've been busy wondering how moon water tastes and missed the Sunday night game between New England and Indianapolis, here's what happened:

Belichick opted to go for a first down on fourth and 2 at the Patriots' 28 with slightly more than two minutes left in the game. New England led by six and had no timeouts left. Indianapolis had one timeout left.

Logic called for the Patriots to punt and force the Colts to go 60 or 70 yards for a touchdown. Belichick did not play the percentages.

He thought his offense could get 2 yards. Apparently, he thought his defense was incapable of stopping Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

Two of Belichick's former players, Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi, have been critical of the decision. They're television analysts now, and saying anything other than that would have painted them as apologists for Belichick. Bruschi said his blood would be boiling at the lack of confidence Belichick showed in the defense.

Tough. This is the NFL. Get over it.

Kevin Faulk caught Brady's pass and had the yardage for the first down. But Faulk was bobbling the ball and got pushed back inside the 30.

The Patriots had no timeouts left, so they couldn't issue a challenge.

This was an odd decision by a coach of Belichick's caliber.

But the "experts" always are calling for coaches to throw away their conservative playbooks and take more chances. When one does and his gamble fails, he is castigated for being foolish.

I say when you've got three Super Bowl championships and an undefeated regular-season on your résumé, you're entitled to take an occasional gamble.

Belichick was playing to win, not to punt and hope for the best.

Good for him.

Before we consign Belichick on the scrap heap of history, let's wait for the playoffs and see who is in and who is talking about what might have been.

Chances are the Patriots still will be playing.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or . Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/World_of_Woody