Besides, the game was such a mismatch and such a bore, it needed something to add a little excitement…

coondawg on November 8, 2007 at 6:54 AM

Boy you guys are naive. The NFL steps in and says “Zip it”. No discussion, it will be taken care of. It isn’t the win or loss, most gambling is done on point spreads.
The commish. hates to wake up to a horses head in his bed.

(point made by the NBA refs who “missed” some calls, heard about that for a week, then buried)

SSSSSHHHH, don’t kill the goose.

Recording the oppositions isn’t against the rules. It’s done in the open. That’s why teams have dummy signals and dummy signal callers. That’s why signals are coded. That’s why teams change signals regularly.
TheBigOldDog on November 8, 2007 at 12:25 AM

Good challenge.
First of all, it is illegal to tape the oppositions for the purpose of stealing signals, just as it is against tapping into the electronic conversations. It is specifically spelled out, no tapping from the sidelines. And if you look at the videos, they tape the signals, then pan up to the scoreboard for the play, time, and down. They now have a game plan and understand the signals of the opposing team. After assembling a book, they can take that into the games. BTW, this is not the first time, it is the first time of being actually caught. Last year there were complaints of signal stealing by them. They were forewarned this may be happening and they (NFL) deliberately began watching for it. Catching them in this one game does not prove it was just one game, after they had been doing this for the past seasons? Can’t prove it…Oh yeah, and every shoplifter and thief when caught always says this is the first time.
So now they start the season with a book of plays, their signals, and when they use those signals. And the other teams now have to adjust to the theivery of the PATS.
You may call it “part of the game”, but it is outlawed, just like filming the other teams practices is outlawed.
Like I said, the NFL can’t make a big deal out of this. The money spent on gambling and advertising is so huge they have to bury (and that means the other coaches and owners) this as no big deal. I assure you it is a big deal. Point spreads are determined sometimes by one play. Forget the outcome, one play can mean the loss of millions of dollars to the wrong people, or gain of million to the right people.
Without these rules, might as well be watching wrestling.

JetBoy on November 8, 2007 at 9:06 AM

This is just the beginning of the Jets losing again and again to the Pats, get used to it and learn to be humble, LOL Mancini has had his days and he is toast, ha, ha, ha. I love to see you whine jet boy, you sound like hillary being piled on by the big boys, lol

Oh, wait. 9-7, 3rd place in the AFC East. The Patriots took the division that season.

Nevermind.

Why do you think coaches cover their mouth when they call in plays?

That may be true about taping signals of opponents, but what other dirty tricks may Belichick have used to take an unfair advantage.

Ah, yes. Surely there’s something WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT that’s making them crush everyone they play by approximately 20 points on average, scoring an average of 40 or so points in the process. I suspect that Karl Rove is involved.

He is a classless slob and has no respect for the game, so anything is possible.

Yeah, that’s why he never says a bad word about anyone in public and has a team full of highly paid athletes following his program almost flawlessly and collecting Lombardi trophies like they were part of a dishware promotion at the supermarket. Because he’s a slob with no respect for the game.

Belichick Derangement Syndrome much, drewas?

If certain teams can’t uphold integrity, then the whole NFL looks bad.

If certain teams can’t play football worth a damn, then the whole NFL looks bad.

That may be true about taping signals of opponents, but what other dirty tricks may Belichick have used to take an unfair advantage. He is a classless slob and has no respect for the game, so anything is possible.

BUT

Once a cheater always a cheater. That is just the way it is.

Some other comments stated that the violating the slary cap by the 49ers didn’t tarnish their legacy. Well, it did in my book. Throw in the Broncos as well.

Ultimately, besides the chiding the Pats deserve, the NFL deserves a fair amount of blame for things like back-end penalizing of teams that used unfair advantages to get ahead. Violating the cap helped earn the Niners and the Broncos several Super Bowls between them. They might have won anyway, but like the Pats, we will never know the degree that the cheating hasd on the ultimate outcome.

About Shula? I didn’t even know he was still alive.

They would not have cheated if they told the student to do it from the stands.

Shula is just pissed because if his team hasn’t already been stomped, he knows it will be. He wants to put an asterisk there because he knows the Patriots are head-and-shoulders above the rest of them this year.

The only worrying game this season will be Patriots vs. Colts the sequel, and everyone knows it.

Of course they shouldn’t get an ‘asterisk’. That’s stupid. Even if you KNOW what defense they are playing, you still have to execute. It may give you some advantage, but it’s like getting the advantage of seeing someone getting ready to blitz before the snap (fake sometimes), or sending someone in motion to see if it is man-to-man or zone coverage (is that cheating too?)

I think the whole ‘cheating’ thing is stupid. The Patriots are making a mockery of the entire league because they are better than everyone else.

I think it would be more appropriate to put an asterisk next to Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon’s NASCAR championship this season. JJ’s crew chief was SUSPENDED for cheating the first two races of the season. But who cares about NASCAR anymore except the multimillion dollar corporations who want to protect their commercials?

the HATEriots among you are like BDS sufferers mixed with truthers.

coondawg on November 8, 2007 at 6:54 AM

Imagined hatred…I don’t hate the Patriots. But anyone simply ‘breaking a rule’ while playing football is penalized downs, yards, a combination of both, etc. You don’t get your organization fined after the game or lose a first-round draft pick for the next season for breaking the rules. Those penalties are reserved for cheating.

The Patriots, like George Bush, have performed magnificently, defending this nation against other unworthy NFL teams and totally dominating the opposition. They deserve all glory and your vote.

Like the 300 who welcomed the morning with “Spartans: Prepare for Glory,” the Patriots must prepare for glory in each game and through their hard work they achieve it….

What I am getting at is this – and I am not bashful about saying it -

TOM BRADY FOR PRESIDENT

Don Shula can jump in a lake with the Democrats…

That said, I don’t think the Pats will go undefeated – the season is longer, the gap from best to worst is much narrower than it was when Miami ran the table…

Besides, the Dolphin community is still ticked off by the Great Snowblower Caper of 1982… Game winning field goal made easier by a worker (a convict on work release, if memory serves) clearing the spot for John Smith’s field goal. Maestro Shula was not happy.