Patriots vs Steelers

In contrast to last week, this was a better team winning. Last week's diatribe was not to say that the Patriots are not a great team led by a great coach and a great quarterback nor that games are fixed. Nevertheless, like any organization, the NFL develops "lines" on various issues and its employees second-guess what the executive originitors of the lines would like. In a game like yesterday there was no danger of the pats losing; no need for a helping hand. Last week they got one, admittedly after the Ravens doing their best to blow it. One almost perfect barometer of when a jobbing occurs is the player reaction. No-one knows better than pro players what the zebras are doing or what the league "buzz" is; being pros, with the exception of one or two flakes, they hew the company line. What we saw after last Monday was the genuine unsuppressed outrage of boy-men, who know the score but couldn't help themselves; they were jobbed and they know it. So do the Pats.