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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Bill Belichick told the truth about the ever-expanding SpyGate.The real question is.....

Patriots' Punishment does not Fit Crime

by Bob (Analyst)

17

1,141 reads

Sports

February 15, 2008


NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Bill Belichick told the truth about the ever-expanding SpyGate.

The real question is... why was there not more punishment for the veteran coach?

Recent reports from the commissioner say that Belichick has actually been taping the defensive signals of opponents since 2000.

Did Belichick actually think this obvious form of cheating was not illegal in the NFL?

My little sister could have told him that one.

Furthermore, there is almost no understanding as to why Goodell ordered that all the tapes had to be destroyed.

Was the commissioner trying to cover up something larger by destroying those tapes?

My guess would be yes.

Has the NFL sunk as low (or lower) the MLB has recently with the steroids/HGH scandal? No, but it is headed in that same direction.

Maybe Goodell and MLB commissioner Bud Selig were separated at birth?

They both seem to have controversy following them everywhere they go.

Should the Patriots lose their championships that they won through cheating? I think not.

It's hard to say that in an era of baseball where steroids/HGH were being used by a large number of professional baseball players that you could asterisk someone's name for taking a unfair advantage against the league.

But Belichick's troubles are much worse than steroids.

He took an unfair advantage over teams, making it far easier to run an offense.

No other coach in the NFL is dumb enough, let alone risky enough, to tape defensive signals.

He actually DID have an unfair advantage against the rest of his competition and his rings should be taken away from him.

Sure they won 17 games this year without cheating since they were under pressure of SpyGate.

But would they have won those championships in the past without cheating?

We may never know, but one thing is for sure, Belichick and his staff should get a heavier punishment for their cheating.

Furthermore, Belichick exhibited the same classless behavior when his Pats were finally defeated in a Super Bowl.

With one play remaining why would he walk off the field?

It is ridiculous and completely unsportsmanlike.

Act like you have been to the championship before.

You are supposed to be a veteran coach who has won three championships. You lose one and you walk off the field without the rest of your team or coaching staff?

Belichick is a despicable coach and, quite literally, a bad sport.

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17 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment

  1. ...

    I love reading all these we-hate-the-Pats articles. As a die-hard fan from as far back as I can remember, I get the real point: if our guys weren't so damn good, the rest of you wouldn't be so happy to see them lose. Really, if the Pats were a mediocre team who thugged and lucked into the SB like the giants, nobody would be so delighted to see them lose. What a joke! I think deep down inside we all know who the better team is.

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    Cheating. Gaining advantage. Call it what you want. If no more comes to light about any of this then it will fade away. If more evidence of 'misinterpretation' of the rules comes out than those found guilty should suffer the consequences of their
    arrogant gamble. But do not let it stop there. There is a long history of dubious tactics in Pro football so if it is truly the intent to 'clean up' the NFL then all the dirty laundry must be laid out. Making an example of just one team or just one coach will not change much in the long run. Increasing the level of integrity in the world of NFL coaching will require more than a scapegoat.
    RI Pats fan

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    Nice article Ryne!

    Give my article a read if you get the chance, I wrote on the same topic as yourself

    FZ

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    I wonder if the witch hunt against the patriots will pay for the witch hunt against Roger Clemens and the steroid use scandal in baseball! Wake up people any football team in the league knows that the Patriots are not the only team to review by video. Every team in the league should be scrutinized as much as the patriots and should be. The Patriots are no more cheaters than any other team they won by skill and lost because ny giants wanted it more. I Love the patriots and am angry that someone is trying to cheat them out of their successes. For god sakes people wake up! Lawyers are going to make a killing on this one. Enter Politics/Lawyers/and cheats so much for american football.

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    I wonder if the witch hunt against the patriots will pay for the witch hunt against Roger Clemens and the steroid use scandal in baseball! Wake up people any football team in the league knows that the Patriots are not the only team to review by video. Every team in the league should be scrutinized as much as the patriots and should be. The Patriots are no more cheaters than any other team they won by skill and lost because ny giants wanted it more. I Love the patriots and am angry that someone is trying to cheat them out of their successes. For god sakes people wake up! Lawyers are going to make a killing on this one. Enter Politics/Lawyers/and cheats so much for american football.

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    STOMPED OUT!!!!!!!!!!
    The pats got destroyed, the score didn't show it. You guys are still in denial two weeks later come on. We slapped you guys around on both sides of the ball the whole game. I have people writing comments about luck and no-calls ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Do you guys have meetings with one another and plan the bullshit comments and excuses your all gonna use so you sound like you actually make a point. Recent Pats excuses i've heard 1) Brady was obviously hurt-his performance shows that- GUESS WHAT THAT"S A BULLSHIT EXCUSE 2) Giants Got Lucky- Another BULLSHIT EXCUSE only people who get their asses kicked use this lame weak pitiful excuse 3) The refs didn't make any calls for the pats VEGAS must have called-If you go to pg. 56 in sports illustrated you can see a clear picture of our defensive line being held by the giants offensive line and we didn't get that call either- ANOTHER BULLSHIT EXCUSE Your team is the NE Pats and your gonna talk about suspect calls and games that looked like they were fixed. You all sad sad people wake up! You got beat down physically very very badly. Not the by the score thats not my point. PHYSICALLY the pats took an ass kicking and it's time for the fans to shut up and stop making excuses for the loss and let it go.

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    Nice Article- First Anonymous comment I love that shit "the Giants Lucked their way to the superbowl" i guess you think they lucked their way to winning the superbowl as well. You guys just keep proving the giants fans points. SORE ASS LOSERS!!!!!!!!!!! SHUT YOUR FACES, THERES ALWAYS NEXT YEAR

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    Teddy Bruschi= HOMOSEXUAL

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    At some point people are going to need to wake up, read the rules, and realize that videotaping another teams signals is not an illegal practice in the NFL.

    Every single team video tapes the other team.

    The only rules are about where the video cameras can be located.
    NFL rules do not allow video taping in areas designated to the other team: Its intended to prevent teams from placing hidden cameras in dressing rooms, and things of that nature.
    Belichick did not consider the sideline to be off limits, sent a guy with a video camera there.

    Hence "Misinterpretation of the rules".

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    You can't even spell his name right, asswipe.

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    Yes, there is always next year. The start of a giants dynasty? Don't bet the house on it, buddy.

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    it's annoying to hear pat fans say that the pats are hated because they are a good team. alot of championship caliber teams were NOT hated like the pats are now. the fact that the patriots cheated has been established. they are slimey and dirty. belicheat is a sore/classless loser. and whats the deal with tom brady parading around with a yankee's cap?

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    Contrary to popular belief every dominant team was always hated by other fans. They only reason it might not seem so in the present is because no one has taken into consideration the effect of the media on public perception.

    One has to truely argue the advantage one has from taping these signals. No one has had that argument yet. I just started watching football about 3 years ago and don't really have a team I can route for. However it is suprising how personal people do take things.

    As for the Patriots coach walking off with only a second left on the game clock, well maybe he should have waited, but honestly I think too much is being made of that one event.

    For the benefit of football though I truely hope that all the mess with patriots turns out to be alot of media fodder, otherwise I am probably going to loose interest in a game where there is no level playing field. Baseball is already a joke.

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    Funny, I was going to write an article with the same title, except it was making the exact opposite point.

    I'm OK with punishing the Patriots more as long as we do a thorough investigation into every single NFL team and punish each one for their infractions. Make it retroactive as well. Go after the Broncos for cheating on the salary cap and upgrade their punishment from a 3rd to a 1st round pick with suspensions. Punish the Steelers for steroid usage in the 70s. Punish the 90s Cowboys for video taping opponents sidelines. Punish the 70s Dolphins for sneaking into opposing teams practices to steal gameplans.

    Why stop at the Patriots? That's the thing that gets me. Either get everyone, or stop the insanity.

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      And for the record, cheating on the salary cap is a FAR worse thing than stealing signals. There is a direct impact to every game you play, because you have players on your team that shouldn't be there.

      If what Belichick did deserves 750,000 in fines, a first round pick, and apparently a suspension and multiple lawsuits (which is what people are pushing for now), then what do we do with teams like the Broncos who were caught cheating on the salary cap?

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    "I think deep down inside we all know who the better team is."

    Yes. That Vince Lombardi trophy on the NY GIANTS shelf says it all!!!!!

    *laughs at you*

    According to http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=gallo/080204&sportCat=nfl you must be on stage 1: Denial

    I would pity you--but I'm too busy celebrating the Superbowl victory STILL.

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  1. ...

    Enjoy it while you can, buddy. Let me also add that a 3-point margin hardly constitutes a stomping. Oh, wait, I got that wrong. When the Patriots win multiple SBs by 3-point margins, they were just getting by, lucking out, right? But when somebody else does it, that's a stomping. Okay, I'm glad we got that straightened out. Party hearty, NYers, it ain't gonna last.

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