Questionable Hit by Brady Ends His Own Season

via blogs.usatoday.com

Sparks Cover Up Controversy

Yes, the NFL has truly outdone itself this time. This scandal ranks right up there with the cover-up of the Buffalo Bills and the four Super Bowls that actually won. Yes, the outright cheap shot by Tom Brady on a defenseless Bernard Pollard epitomizes the league’s desire to protect its "cover boys" and their image at the expense of other teams.

The hit took place early in the game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs on September 7 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.  With the Chiefs Pollard attempting to regain his position after a block and still pursue the quarterback, Brady delivered a harsh and blatant knee to Pollard’s shoulder in an obvious attempt to injure the defenseless Chiefs player.

"I was shocked, I mean, I didn’t know what to think", said Pollard after the game, "I have never had a quarterback try to purposely hurt me like that*". 

*Pollard did make reference to a failed attempt by Brett Favre last season to bite off one of his fingers, however, no video evidence could be found.

However, the dirty play backfired on Brady as he suffered a season-ending knee injury due to the vicious hit he delivered on Pollard. Immediately the cover-up began. CBS replayed the hit over and over, but only after editing the film to hide the unsportsmanlike conduct by Brady. The picture below is believed to be the only evidence that Brady actually initiated the hit, unfortunately, the view is obscured by

via i.cdn.turner.com

Chiefs rookie lineman Glenn Dorsey. When pressed, Dorsey assured Chiefs fans that he was not in on the cover-up. "I was just trying to get to him (Brady), that’s my job. You know coach says, ‘you play to win the game’ and I was playing to win", Dorsey stated during a postgame interview.

The photo that was released by the NFL, below, paints the picture that Pollard acted

via d.yimg.com

alone and that the injury to Brady was purely accidental.  But it is believed that the League covered up the illegal hit by Brady in an attempt to protect his image as a "golden boy" and his team’s image as well. Of course, we do not have to delve too far into history to find another controversy that the NFL seemingly "took care of" for the Patriots. "Spy Gate" including the videotaping of other teams’ signals, however, these videos were destroyed by the league with no real explanation.

Questions surround the comments made by Patriots players who immediately placed blame on Pollard, claiming it was a cheap shot, even though it was obvious that Pollard was as vulnerable as a baby kitten stranded in a tree. New England wide receiver Randy Moss stated that, "he definitely met to hurt him, he’s a dirty player", even though Moss admitted to not actually seeing the hit as he has already given up on his route and was getting a drink on the sidelines. However, when pressed as to who he was referring to as the dirty player, Brady or Pollard, Moss replied "no comment". The response by the NFL regarding the play was unusually quick, as the Officiating Department declared the "hit" by Pollard as legal in a twenty-page report within 6 seconds of the actual play. It is believed by many that the league has prepared such statements for a variety of possible controversies that may need to be "handled".

While we may never know the whole truth regarding "Knee Gate", it does appear that karma has finally caught up with Brady and the Patriots. His absence will definitely make a return trip to the Super Bowl an uphill climb for the Pats as they must now rely on backup QB Matt Cassel. Cassel, before this game, had not thrown a pass in a real game since high school, but was confident when interviewed after the game. "Yeah", said Cassel, "coach told me not to worry, that all I had to do was throw the ball because ‘we can’t lose, it’s been taken care of’. I assume he meant I had trained hard and that I was ready, but he kept talking on a red phone to someone about invoking ‘Plan Armageddon’, but I had never practiced that offensive setup". Somehow Cassel was able to overcome nerves and rustiness, but also his inability to see colors. "Yeah, it’s impossible for me to tell the difference between our players and theirs" said Cassel, "but somehow the ball always found its way to my teammate". "It didn’t hurt that they pulled out a special ball whenever I came in".