For Football Fans - Just For Fun

Here's something else I pulled off the internet. If anyone cares I can give you the source too.



I'd love to hear what people think of this article:

Take a Deeeeeep Breath and Focus
The Spygate lynch mob needs to actually think things through.


The New England Patriots broke an NFL rule and were caught doing it. That much is indisputable. What does seem to be in dispute is how this affects their past and future accomplishments.

To suggest the drastic step of adding as asterisk be taken, one needs to look deeper than the mere fact that “they cheated” and measure what actual advantage the Patriots gleaned from videotaping coaches’ defensive signals. Issues like these are not black and white, but rather many shades of gray. It seems many detractors have been sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting, “They cheated! They cheated!”, without actually analyzing what their particular infraction gained them.

The crux of the issue is that the Patriots videotaped the defensive signals of opposition coaches to be analyzed at a later time and logged in a video library. This differs from what is allowed by NFL rules in one, and only one way. They used a video camera to gather and store this information. If they had done this with binoculars and a notepad, and kept these on file either electronically or in hard copy, they would have broken no rule. That is the bare bones extent of their guilt, and the sole infraction for which they were punished by the Commissioner of the NFL. The severity of this misstep is open to interpretation, but it is a fact that they are in violation of a rule.

It is common knowledge that NFL coaches both steal signals and change up their own signals to prevent other teams from deciphering them. It is part of the game and has been going on for decades. Any real advantages gained by this common practice are up for debate, but are likely negligible. Jeremy Green, who was a pro scout for 10 years with the Browns and 49ers, had this to say about what he did as a scout and what the Patriots could gain from their usage of a video camera to record signals: “I used a pair of binoculars and prepared sheets to chart what I saw...It was my job to chart what signals he (opposing formation caller) gave and which players came in and out of the game...There is not a lot left uncovered by advance scouting and what’s not there can often be found in (legal scouting) films shot during games...What they would have gotten would have amounted to maybe a small fraction of what they already know anyway.”

We have heard that “whatever” they did, it must be severe based on the punishment handed down by the NFL. What we never hear is what they actually did. The Patriots have been damned by detractors because the NFL destroyed the tapes that were handed over during the investigation. This has been portrayed as exacerbating the level of guilt for what the team had already been punished. But that’s just the thing. What could have possibly been on those tapes that would make the Patriots MORE guilty of taping coaches’ signals? They were already found to be in violation of that rule. How does the fact that the tapes were destroyed make what the Patriots did even worse? It’s like being pregnant versus being VERY pregnant.

It is human nature to want to see what was really on the tapes, but it doesn’t make sense that the Patriots could be guiltier of a rules violation they were already found to be in violation of! There is a very plausible theory on what the NFL didn’t want everyone to see on those tapes. One that does not implicate the Patriots further, but implicates other teams of the very same violation for which the Patriots were found guilty. However, we’ve seen the damage that “what ifs” and “perhaps” can do to reputations, and it would be irresponsible to perpetuate rumors to make a point. So we will just have to be satisfied in stating that the fact the league has not allowed the media to view the tapes does not mean that they reveal the Patriots to be extra guilty.

As for the suggested asterisk being attached to the Patriots’ accomplishments, if that is the case the asterisk is going to be a very common symbol next to some of the great dynasties in NFL history. Care needs to be taken before whimsically throwing such a severe label around. If, because of this debatably egregious infraction, the Patriots' successes are accompanied by an asterisk, then it is no small leap to say that the dynasties of the 70’s Pittsburgh Steelers, 80’s San Francisco 49ers and the 90’s Denver Broncos are equally or more tainted.

The Steelers of the 70’s were littered with admitted steroid abusers. Steve Carson (’77-’83) admitted it and stated before his death in 2006 that teammates' reluctance to come clean about their own usage left him feeling betrayed. Steve Furness’ brother suspected his steroid usage during his Steeler days (’72-’81) contributed to his premature death in 2000. Hall of Famer “Iron Mike” Webster, a mainstay at center on all four Steeler Super Bowl winners, admitted to anabolic steroid usage during his playing career. Former NFL player and coach Jim Haslett, who himself admitted to using steroids during his playing days, said that the use of these drugs among NFL players started with the 1970’s Pittsburgh Steelers. If videotaping coaches' signals is worth an asterisk, rampant steroid usage is worth a whole page of them.

In 2000, the San Francisco 49ers were collectively fined nearly a million dollars and lost third and fifth round draft picks for salary cap violations during their championship seasons. Then GM Carmen Policy was fined $400,000, assistant GM Dwight Clark was fined $200,000 and the team was docked $300,000 in addition to the two picks. No mention of asterisks being attached to their great accomplishments has been heard, but comparatively it most definitely should be if the Patriots’ rules infraction warrants one.

The Denver Broncos, who won two Super Bowls in the late 1990’s, were hit twice by the league for similar salary cap violations. In 2001 they were fined $968,000 and docked a third round draft pick for deferred payments made to Terrell Davis and Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. If that isn’t a “sad day for the league”, as Colts coach Tony Dungy labeled the Patriots’ rule breaking, than I don’t know what is. Then, again in 2004 the Broncos were fined $950,000 and another third round pick for circumventing the salary cap between 1996 and 1998, years encompassing when they won their two Super Bowls. Keep the asterisk stamp out for the Denver Broncos, if it’s being used for the Patriots.

If Don Shula wants to assign a taint to the Patriots, he’d better be willing to mark up the entire landscape of the league that made him an iconic figure, because there is major cheating, minor infractions and everything in between littered throughout the history of the NFL. He mentioned that the half a million dollar fine for Bill Belichick, the $250,000 fine for the team and the loss of the first round draft pick spoke to how severe their violation must have been. Yet when you look at the history of the NFL’s punishments, that leap does not seem to be quite so easy to make. We are talking about a league that fines players for anything from wearing the hat of an unauthorized sponsor (Brian Urlacher, $100,000), to not buckling just one of the four chinstraps on a helmet (Tom Brady, $1000). Clearly the size of the fine levied by the NFL does not necessarily reflect the functional severity of a violation.

Coach Shula also calls into question the validity of a potential undefeated season for the New England Patriots in 2007. He claims there would be an asterisk accompanying this great achievement if it came to bear. However, the Patriots were caught with the video camera before halftime of the first game of the season, and their logs of coaches signals were turned over to the league and destroyed. There is no reason to believe that any game was affected by their unfair advantage gleaned from the usage of this camera. It is faulty logic to say that any real, functional gain was achieved by the team that would call the results of the 2007 season into question.

Ironically, in 1970, the Miami Dolphins were convicted by the NFL of tampering, and penalized a first round draft pick, in connection to their hiring of a head coach away from the Baltimore Colts. That coach was one Donald Francis Shula. What color do you want YOUR asterisk, Coach?

 

This is clearly an attempt by Belichick to subvert the rules of the NFL by, well, errrm, I'll get back to you with that whole sorta bad guy thing.

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/playbook/2007/11/12/patriots-to-use-wind-energy-at-gillette-stadium


(imagine lots of smilies - they weren't available)

 

Dear Mr. or Ms. Kizmet

I'm sure you're probably right.

Now can we move on to something really important, like why the Raiders are heading for a 2 and 14 season with three dismal quarterbacks, while their first-round-pick, the 68-million-dollar man, sits on the bench. Hey, maybe they can buy Alex Smith from the 49ers.

 

Lots of teams cheat in a variety of ways, as do individual players.

The Patriots got caught and paid the price, as did their coach.

Did the cheating help? Can't see how, since the camera was confiscted before anyone could see the tape. (The purpose was to tape the opposing coaches' signals for use in THAT game.) Had the cameraman not been caught, however, it could have given the Patriots a big advantage. One would think this wasn't the first time, either. I think the stiff fines stem from the act--and the potential and previous damage--not the lack of damage in that game.

I think it's funny that the Patriots could go undefeated in the same year the once-might Dolphins could go winless. It drips with irony, and Shula's comments only make it worse. I wonder what an asterisk tastes like?

(NB: I'm not a Patriots fan. I come from a city with no professional football: San Diego.)

 

C'mon Rich, the Chargers looked pretty damn good against the Colts last week! They just need a decent head coach.

What's most ironic is the media's anti-Patriots bias is just fueling Belichick's desire for revenge. The old Bill Belichick would pull his starters in the first half once home field advantage was sewn-up. Suge Belichick won't do that;

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/071101&sportCat=nfl

 

I believe they had one, didn't they?!

He is a bad guy, a GREAT football coach (now. Remember the Browns stint?), but he is a bad guy. He is rude, arrogant, lacks loyalty, just to name some of his bad guy qualities. That said, those may be what make him a GREAT coach.


Here's hoping the home town team(Bills) don't get crushed(again) this Sunday night.

 

BTW - My beloved Pittsburgh Steelers now have the #2 seed in the AFC. The Steelers hold the tiebreaker on the Colts due to a better conference record.

...waving my Terrible Towel

Shawn

 

It's interesting that you should say so since there is ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE THAT THIS IS THE CASE! (I think I beat you on the upper case crap) If you can describe, in detail how any taped signals could be used within the same game then you should send a copy of your ideas to Goddel's office because the NFL, understanding in intimate dtail how these systems work, have determined that the taping gave them NO COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. (that's a quote from Goddel). You're just another person who wants to pull down a winner.

 

Your response is rude. Therefore, I feel no compulsion to refrain from the same.

Any reasoned person (not you) would read my post as one defending the Patriots. Not for what they did, but for the inconsequential impact it had on their success this year. (I also noted with glee the possibility that they could go undefeated while the Dolphins--Shula's old team--could go winless. But I guess you missed that in your haste to make an idiotic and incorrect point.)

By the way, if you're going to be this stupid, at least learn to spell the names correctly. (Not a typo, you just can't spell. Look it up for once.)

Here's how they could be used in the game, in case you haven't been paying attention for the last 30 years since the advent of videotape: the camera has a playback function. It can be handed to anyone for view immediately after recording. You would know that if you weren't connecting to the Internet with a Commodore 64 and a handset.

Goodell (G-O-O-D-E-L-L) concluded it didn't have any impact on the contest, true. But this was largely because the camera was confiscated in the first quarter, directly from the cameraman. It was never in the hands of the coaching staff. D-uh.

I think the Patriots were violating a rule, not cheating. But your idiotic response and defense makes me wish I did actually disagree with you. Because your insipid post is oh, so disagreeable.

P.S.: If you wrap the rabbit ears in tin foil it might improve your reception. And stay out of Best Buy--you wouldn't look good with that deer-in-the-headlights look on your face. Inshallah.

 

Sigh......it also helped a bit that my precious Colts threw six interceptions. Peyton Manning almost connected on more passes to the Chargers than he did his own Colts.

 

Right. Even the Chargers' players were unhappy with it all, despite the win.

They used to say that the only person who could hold Michael Jordan to under 20 points in a game was Dean Smith. I wonder if we're seeing the same thing with Tomlinson and his coach?

 

Levicoff is right. You are nothing but a whiner.

 

Just for clarrification, who are you talking too? Although I can surmise that this is most probably directed at Rich, it never hurts to be specific. And for the record, this comes off as a bit immature. You've done far better in the past........why wallow in the muck this time?

 

You're right. Thanks for the reminder.

 

C'mon guys, this was supposed to be for FUN!!!

 

Why do you DO this? You lump perp and target into one. Why not deal with the bad behavior when it first occurs (like Kizmet's out-of-nowhere flame), rather than waiting until someone fights back?

Clowns like Kizmet are the problem, not the people who stand up to them.

 

Ummmm......maybe because I'm not here 24/7, and I don't have a revolving light in my house that signals me when threads get nasty??

 

As of yesterday, the Celtics were the only undefeated team left in the NBA.

This just ISN'T NATURAL!!!

There's gotta be something in those beans...

 

Of course not. But when you do notice something like this, how about dealing with the source?

You start a funny thread, Kizmet gets nasty, and we end up here. You may not be able to do something about it, (delete offending posts? close accounts?) but I can. For me, anyway.

There just isn't any upside to this anymore. From now on, I am a one-issue poster: The University of Leicester's Centre for Labour Market Studies.

 

OK, so we're back on track. The Pats play the Bills Sunday night and even though the Bills have a good winning streak going there does not seem to be too much question about the outcome. Evidence? Aside from the current team records the line is consistently over 14 points. Can the bookies be wrong? Of course. That's why they play the game. Remember though, if you're betting against the Pats, be sure not to bet the rent money. My personal prediction: look for the NE defense to make some big plays creating a lopsided NE victory.