Bill Belichick has been known to fudge with the integrity of the injury report, but this is a whole new level of fudging; this is a giant “I don’t give a crap” to the NFL.
On Friday, Belichick released the New England Patriots game status report for this weekend’s game, and let’s just say it was crowded.
Before you ask, no, that’s not normal. In fact, there’s a chance this is an NFL first.
In case you’re counting, that’s 21 (!) players listed on the injury report, 16 (!) of which are listed as questionable. And of those 16 players, 10 are starters.
In comparison, here’s the Broncos’ game status report:
Now that’s more like it. And I can promise you that Chris Harris Jr and Darian Stewart are not any less injured than those 16 guys listed as questionable up in New England. Just as the Broncos expect all of their guys to suit up on Sunday, I would be shocked if the vast majority of those “questionable” players aren’t on the field making plays, too.
Bill Belichick is always looking to find even the slightest advantage. Apparently, he believes telling Denver his entire team is cooped up in the infirmary is a clever way of doing that.
