RECAP: Norm's Final Thoughts on Patriotgate...

[lurkercowboy]

TMQ had a great rant about this last week.

The Pats almost certainly had taped teams they played in the SuperBowl. That's a fairly reasonable explanation for why the league moved so fast, stayed so mum, and then swept it under the rug.

It also irritates the hell out of me to hear the various game commentators laud Belichek and minimize the impact of this scandal each and every week. It's pathetic to listen to it.

Jaworski and the MNF guys did it last night. Disgusting.

 

[cowboyz]

i think it's safe to say they used these during their super bowl years and the league didn't want those tainted.

the nfl is about making money. that's why they swept this under the rug and why they hang out players to dry. it's not about morality, it's about the advertising dollars. and the media wants it gone too because they get dollars as well. it's all about the appearance.

then you got old school coaches like bill parcells who have been cheating for years calling it gamesmanship. i'd bet a million bucks belicheat calls him up to get the lowdown on the cowboys weaknesses.

 

[khiladi]

Jaworski and the MNF guys did it last night. Disgusting.

Steve Young is the only one that takes Bellichek to task...

 

[bobtheflob]

I'm almost positive they cheated in the Superbowl. Obviously they've shown that they cheat in the regular season, why on earth would you cheat in a less meaningful game and play clean in the most important game?

Say what you will about the NBA, but I think they handled the ref-mob scandal better than the NFL has handled this one.

 

[adbutcher]

Steve Young is the only one that takes Bellichek to task...

Really? That is odd because imo that 94 superbowl deserves an asterisk as well.

BTW, what did he say?

 

[CrazyCowboy]

This is bad for the NFL and PATS.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Really? That is odd because imo that 94 superbowl deserves an asterisk as well.

BTW, what did he say?

He was saying that he'd become a little disillusioned with the league because he thought it was getting too individual-oriented when the Pats came along and restored his faith because they were all about the team concept. (Not a lot of big names, everyone running out as a team for pregame intros, etc.) So he said this really cast a pall over things for him, because now he had some doubts about the way they did things.

 

[adbutcher]

He was saying that he'd become a little disillusioned with the league because he thought it was getting too individual-oriented when the Pats came along and restored his faith because they were all about the team concept. (Not a lot of big names, everyone running out as a team for pregame intros, etc.) So he said this really cast a pall over things for him, because now he had some doubts about the way they did things.

Thank you.

Here is something else to consider. The league has a track record of successfully separating itself from cheating while lauding the efforts of those who have cheated. No one mentioned Shawn Merriman’s record performance could have been because of HGH. The hardly bring up Favre laying down and letting Strahan get an easy sack. When San Fran circumvented the cap, no one put an asterisk on their superbowl. Does anyone outside of Dallas talk about scissorgate? Although Belicheat’s accusations are far more severe, if the media is complicit this will go away.

 

[theebs]

amen norm.

 

[chargrove]

Thank you.

Here is something else to consider. The league has a track record of successfully separating itself from cheating while lauding the efforts of those who have cheated. No one mentioned Shawn Merriman’s record performance could have been because of HGH. The hardly bring up Favre laying down and letting Strahan get an easy sack. When San Fran circumvented the cap, no one put an asterisk on their superbowl. Does anyone outside of Dallas talk about scissorgate? Although Belicheat’s accusations are far more severe, if the media is complicit this will go away.

Bro, scissorgate and Strahan's stupid sack are very minor incidents in the past. This is right now and W-A-Y bigger. The Patriots need to go down, not because they are competitors and it would be nice to see them smacked, but because there is undeniable evidence of them being dirty cheaters.

 

[theebs]

Steve Young is the only one that takes Bellichek to task...

parcells got steve young pretty good last night...It was funny.

 

[lurkercowboy]

parcells got steve young pretty good last night...It was funny.

Recap please.

Also, about scissorgate, how did a botched haircut help Dallas on the field?

 

[InmanRoshi]

Recap please.

Also, about scissorgate, how did a botched haircut help Dallas on the field?

Considering he staring at a probation violation, having Michael Irvin on the football field instead of a jail cell certainly helped the team.

 

[adbutcher]

Bro, scissorgate and Strahan's stupid sack are very minor incidents in the past. This is right now and W-A-Y bigger. The Patriots need to go down, not because they are competitors and it would be nice to see them smacked, but because there is undeniable evidence of them being dirty cheaters.

You must have missed my comments. I agree it is way bigger but just like those so call minor infractions, this will go away.

Originally Posted by adbutcher
Thank you.

Here is something else to consider. The league has a track record of successfully separating itself from cheating while lauding the efforts of those who have cheated. No one mentioned Shawn Merriman’s record performance could have been because of HGH. The hardly bring up Favre laying down and letting Strahan get an easy sack. When San Fran circumvented the cap, no one put an asterisk on their superbowl. Does anyone outside of Dallas talk about scissorgate? Although Belicheat’s accusations are far more severe, if the media is complicit this will go away.

 

[ddh33]

It is a dirty story, and it's disturbing how it's been handled. I said at the very beginning that the NFL would sweep this under the rug, and they have.

And I still worry that Roger Goodell went to the David Stern school of being commissioner.

 

[khiladi]

parcells got steve young pretty good last night...It was funny.

By referring to how head-sets allegedly went off in the first efw minutes of a game when in SF? That somehow affected the game because the first 15 plays of SF were scripted??? even if that is true for the sake of argument, you still have a whole 1 hour and half of football to play that most likely is not significantly impacted by the first 15 plays...

taping calls and so forth is on a different level... your talking about knowing what the team is going to do it, and setting up your personnel to defend it... this gives a team a HUGE advantage...

 

[khiladi]

what is so ironic about this whole situation is the whole clean cop image that the commissioner has been presenting himself with, along with the fact that the NFL is nipping evil in it's bud...

yet, when something on this level goes down...

 

[LeonDixson]

Many coaches I have listened to did not think it helps that much after all your dealing with a 45 sec clock or less and change of personell almost every play and it would be very difficult to be able to pick up signs and relay that in time.

Look at the Colts how would the Pats be able to do much with Manning constantly changing the plays or faking that he is changing the plays?

You've got this part backward. The Cheats were taping defensive signals, not offensive signals. How hard would it be for Brady to call both a pass and a run play in the huddle. In the meantime, the Cheatriots coaches recognize the Colts defensive signal and alert Brady as he's approaching the line. He audibles to the play that best exposes the Colt's defense.

Granted, the timing has to be good, but it's very, very possible to do.

The other thing I would have liked to know more about is the radio system used by the opposing team to call plays and relay them to the QB mysteriously shutting down in the middle of critical drives with the other team is moving the ball well. We read reports of at least two coaches saying this happened to them when playing in Foxboro.

 

[Pottsville Maroons]

what is so ironic about this whole situation is the whole clean cop image that the commissioner has been presenting himself with, along with the fact that the NFL is nipping evil in it's bud...

yet, when something on this level goes down...

Precisely. I hate the Tapriots and I'm having trouble seeing the "good" in Goodell as this goes along.

 

[lurkercowboy]

Considering he staring at a probation violation, having Michael Irvin on the football field instead of a jail cell certainly helped the team.

Yeah, but that was "a player getting into legal trouble" or potential trouble just as happens all the time. It was not a case of a team breaking a league rule during a game to gain an advantage.