As a football fan, I love that the Patriots go for it on 4th and short with regularity. However, there is no sane way to give Belichick "credit" for being ballsy in this situation. Sometimes convention is convention for a reason. Why do you think teams don\'t go for two after taking a 6-0 lead in the fourth quarter? I was just talking to somebody who watched the game with Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy (yes, really), and they were both absolutely baffled by the decision.
Punting the ball away tells the Patriots\' defense, "I trust you to win the game". Going for the first down not only tells the defense, "I don\'t trust you", but it also tells Peyton Manning, "You have our number". Peyton Manning doesn\'t need extra confidence boosts.