Since going for it on fourth-and-2 at his 28-yard line Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, Belichick has been found guilty. But our justice system dictates a man is innocent until proven knuckleheaded.

Belichick needs someone experienced in defending unpopular causes. Anyone have the number to the local ACLU office?

The charges are assault and battery on conventional wisdom, reckless endangerment of a New England Patriots lead and gross non-support of his defense.

First, the prosecution.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this case is as open and shut as the door to the defendant's hoodie closet.

"Simply ask yourself, if your rent money was riding on stopping Peyton Manning in the last two minutes, would you rather he had to go 80 yards or 29 yards?

"For witnesses, the prosecution could call virtually every talk show host and guest in the western world over the past 24 hours. Not to mention Papua New Guinea and Kazakhstan.

"Don't be misled by the fact the gamble nearly worked. Pawn shops are filled with watches formerly owned by men who went to Vegas and made gambles that almost worked.

"Finally, don't be distracted by the defendant's past days as a genius. His deeds are on trial, not his reputation. This was like watching Thomas Edison suddenly unable to change a light bulb.

"The state rests."

The defense may proceed.

"Jurors, now that a day has cooled emotions, you can see the defendant had no other choice.

"Consider the two Colts touchdown drives earlier in the fourth quarter. They took about as long as is required to peel a banana. I don't want to say the Patriots defense was gasping for air, but if Lucas Oil Stadium were a 757, oxygen masks would have come tumbling out of the overhead bins.

"Note that when the Patriots failed on fourth down, seven Colts points were not automatically added to the scoreboard. They could still be stopped. It took them only four plays.

"Finally, we have the postgame deposition of a star witness. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help him Vince Lombardi:

•'I love the call. I love the fact we're out there with a chance to win, and the coach has confidence we could make it. I had confidence we could make it. We all did.

•'We punted to them down to the 20-yard line and they go whatever it was — 80 yards — in a minute and half. It's not like as a coach, you think, "Well, let's punt it to them again, and see if they can do that again."

'He's thinking he has an offense on the field that had over 450 yards of offense at the time.'

•'It's easy to second guess, obviously. If we gain 7 more inches, then it's a great call.'

"In summation, concerning the defendant's strategy, if Brady says it's fit, then you must acquit."

The verdict is in.

On the charge of assault on conventional wisdom, the defendant is found guilty. When it comes to whatever book coaches use to make decisions, he took a blowtorch to it.

On the charge of reckless endangerment of a lead: Guilty, but with extenuating circumstances.

On the charge of non-support of his defense: Not guilty. The last time 11 guys looked that spent was during the bell lap of the 10,000 meters in the Olympics.

The sentence is several days of hard labor, convincing his defensive players that he didn't throw them under the team bus. No use looking back at second guesses.

"You only get one chance," Belichick said at his Monday news conference.

The 9-0 Colts are free to go and face questions about their chances of an unbeaten season. Once Sunday's furor eases, it will be noticed that the only division leader left on the schedule is the fading Denver Broncos.

But the Indianapolis defense seems too porous for perfection.

The defendant's past glories have been noted in granting leniency. If a rookie coach made this decision, he'd be in Guantanamo by now.

Belichick has the credibility of three Super Bowl rings.

At the moment, he needs every one of them.

Mike Lopresti writes for Gannett.

Enlarge By Brent Smith, Reuters New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick walks the sideline against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter of their game in Indianapolis. After a controversial call to go for it on fourth-and-two, the Patriots turned over the ball to the Colts, which then scored to beat the Patriots in the closing minutes of the game 35-34.