Wait a minute.....you wouldn't give up a draft pick and a fine if you thought it would buy you a championship? I may be biased, but I'd consider violating the salary cap cheating. In fact, I would consider it one of the worst forms of cheating. That's not to say that I would take away their titles or anything...as you said, they paid the price. But it seems to me a double standard if you don't feel the same about how the niners and the Donkeys did it.
For one, there was no deceit involved. Secondly...they STILL have to go out on the field and win ballgames. It is in the very game of football, that your patriots cheated, while trying to hide it. What the above mentioned teams did, did not affect the integrity of the game.
The fine was never enough.. Biliicrap probably paid maybe a little and Kraft payed the rest and it doesn't matter how many draft picks they lose, they always fine a way to make that player good.ats_suck:
Fuck Don Shula..... he is the last person to ever open his mouth about cheating. Hey fat fuck remember the Mud Bowl? Talk about no integrity for the game. The guy has no class and he talks about the Patriots.... he who lives in glass houses. That being said..... fuck the Cheatriots too
I'll just wait until December 16th to see if the Patriots can handle the Jets without the video camera. That ought to give us a good feel for how important the camera was to the September 9th game, the size of the asterisk, so to speak.
I could not disagree more. The idea that spending above the salary cap is not in some way an advantage. They did try to hide it, through tangled wording within the contracts, that allow them to pay players without counting it on the cap. Secondly, filming the coordinators somehow excuses the players from having to make plays on the field? I find your argument to be inconsistent. I think, if it were reversed, and the Patriots cheated on the salary cap, while these other teams were filming, you would still say what the Patriots did was worse, and the other teams filiming was no big deal.
I'm not approving of what Denver, San Fran and even Dallas did! To be honest, I hated those Niners and Cowboys team almost as much as I currently hate yours. In no way am i saying it's right. Should they have been punished for what they did? Absolutely. Were they? Yes. But to me, there is a big difference between cheating to get personell, and directly cheating in actual games.
Back on topic.... As much as I could care less about going 16-0, it would be mighty sweet to have Shula at the last game, and have Mark Henderson (of snowplow infamy) as a guest of Robert Kraft....maybe a halftime show of riding the tractor out onto the field. That would give Shula a stroke! If you dislike Shula, you would see his face virtually glow he'd be so red.
Even though the Patriots are unstoppable this year and definitely didn't need to cheat, what about the past superbowl years they've had? does anyone really believe that this "spygate" thing was a one-time occurence just *this* season? I don't. The Pats team was good enough without cheating but knowing the opponents defensive signals certainly helps alot for Tom Brady to do his thing and look like Joe Montana in the process....
(SIGH) Again, The defense calls the play AFTER the offense does...and about a hundred other things...not to mention that the signs are obviously visible to everyone on the field...after all, you are flashing the signs across the field. Everyone can see them. It had nothing to do with stealing signs. What the Pats got in trouble for was the location of the camera. I gaurantee you that they are still filming the signs, they just have the camera located in a different spot, a spot approved by the league for camera use.
That makes sense, now I know how he misintepreted the rules! NFL rules state "no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game." They also say all video for coaching purposes must be shot from locations "enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead." That was re-emphasized in a memo sent Sept. 6 to NFL head coaches and general managers. In it, Ray Anderson, the league's executive vice president of football operations wrote: "Videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room, or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game."
That's exactly right, and he had it on the sideline, broke the rule, and got punished. It had nothing to do with "stealing signs" in the course of the game. If you had someone that could do that on the fly, what the hell do you need a camera for? You would just keep that guy on the sideline as a coaches assistant, stealing the signs as they are signalled.
( Bill Belichick mode ) "It was my understanding that we are not allowed to videotape the coaches on the sideline. In my efforts to comply, we upgraded all of our equipment to DVD-R or direct to hard drive, in order to avoid the use of videotape.. I recognize and understand the importance of all teams being on a level playing field and using the same technology. It would be unfair for one team to be loading their PowerPoint presentation while the next guy is trying to adjust the tracking on the VCR." ( end Bill Belichick mode )
Yup..... And that vulture like death watch they go into whenever a team gets up around 12-0. Considering where we are right now, in terms of the Jets, I am starting to hope NE makes it, so the 72 Dolphins will go away.
