Indy festival

Page 6 of 28 -- ANYWAY, to my question - what are the possibilities of NE picking up Cory Dillon, somehow, from Cincy? I know he's a tumor in the locker room, but you have to believe that Belichick will put a stop to that. He is obviously not wanted anymore in Cincy, and for good reason. He could be such a great player if he had the right coach, and I think BB is that guy. Thoughts?

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-- Phil Williams, NYC

A: Phil, there are certainly many more like you out there who don't have short memories, but we don't hear from them. We only hear from those who take the here and now approach to sports. Many of the Patriots fans we hear from don't know and don't care about Babe Parilli, or Gino Cappelletti or how great a coach Chuck Fairbanks was. Or how wonderful a receiver Stanley Morgan was or how tough and gritty Steve Nelson was. What a great linebacker Andre Tippett was playing in the shadow of Lawrence Taylor in New York. They don't remember how sad a franchise this had become until Parcells came along and the excitement in this area when Bledsoe was first drafted. I'd be shocked if they traded for Dillon. I would think they'd rather groom a draft pick.

Nick, here's my "question." Why don't you just ignore any future comment or question from any knucklehead whose comment fits into one of the following categories:

I believe it's a waste of your time to respond to these kinds of mailbag questions (for the umpteenth time), and a waste of your readers' time to read some of these inane e-mails.

-- Phil Audet, Austin TX

A: You like to give everyone a forum and I enjoy tweaking people a little bit, but while I must say it's quite amusing, it probably gets old to some readers and I'm trying to limit the Bledsoe-Milloy stuff because I'm sure we'll hear more about it the final game of the season.

Your mailbag is a great part of the fun that I have as a Patriots fan. I really look forward to it each Thursday and I am very loyal to reading much of what you write. Its obvious how much you care about everything associated with the sport-- the players, the coaches, the fans-- and how seriously you take your job as a reporter. Who is more accessible to their readers than you? In my opinion, you have earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as other better known Globe sportswriters over the years (you will be too modest to admit it). I think you are very balanced between being open to criticism and not being a punching bag in ask Nick. That said, the reason you get hammered sometimes is because you have a blind spot for certain individuals you like e.g. Bledsoe, Parcells and on occasion you cut them too much slack. No one is saying that neither of these guys doesn't deserve some props for the state of the Patriots today, but it was obvious to many that in the years that followed 96' that Bledsoe's game was too flawed for him to successfully lead the Patriots or any team, even a division rival. It is also fair to say that what Parcells did to the Patriots in 96' Super Bowl run up was a far worse "betrayal" than Belichick running out on Parcells & the Jets before the season started. Thanks for reading and responding to many of my emails the past couple of years.
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