Patriots(-6.5) at Jets

[OCBucksFan]

Heard on SportsCenter that Mangini arrived at the Jets with inside knowledge about how the patriots cheated, but it took until now to catch them.

That means Hoodie's "genius" has actually been linked to cheating for this season and the two beforehand. Why would we assume he hasn't been cheating for much longer than that?

Yeah, there's been hints and accusations for the past couple of years. The Packers said they were stealing their signals last year but didn't have any proof. I don't really know what BB was thinking, maybe he had just gotten away with it for so long that he assumed the league didn't care?

Either way I don't think much will come of it, they won't take away their first or second round draft picks, the Players Union will have a fit about that, and they aren't going to make them forfeit the game, Vegas and various other odds makers will cry and it will bring the credibility of the league into play.

If they suspend BB what's to stop him from just picking up the phone and calling someone on their cellphone? And taking away a few third and fourth round picks is a joke, the Pats didn't sign anyone past the second round last year. So a fine? Yeah, I am sure Kraft will cry as he's writing that check...

 

[jwinslow]

I don't really know what BB was thinking, maybe he had just gotten away with it for so long that he assumed the league didn't care?

I thought sportscenter had a quote like 'I didn't realize it was against the rules, but I'm sorry to everyone affected by this'.

 

[OCBucksFan]

I thought sportscenter had a quote like 'I didn't realize it was against the rules, but I'm sorry to everyone affected by this'.

It's funny, he had a different interpretation of the rules, the rule is pretty straight forward.

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.

Don't really know how you can interpret that any other way...

ESPN - Belichick issues apology in wake of signal taping - NFL

Ten minutes before his regular availability, Belichick issued a one-paragraph statement apologizing to his team and confirming that he has spoken to Goodell about an "interpretation" of league rules that ban videotaping of the opposing sideline.

 

[tibor75]

one dumb argument I've heard supporting the pats is that it doesn't really matter. You don't gain that much by doing it.

Uh, so I guess the Patriots were just doing it for the heck of it?

 

[Bucklion]

one dumb argument I've heard supporting the pats is that it doesn't really matter. You don't gain that much by doing it.

Uh, so I guess the Patriots were just doing it for the heck of it?

Yep, pretty common in sports to say "it doesn't matter"...it's the same argument people use with Bonds and all the baseball players: "Well, steroids don't help you hit a baseball anyway" Er, yeah, obviously zero benefit, everyone was just taking them because they all thought their balls were too big

 

[sandgk]

Seems Arlen Specter won't let this thing go away easy .. not satisifed with Goodell's explanation for why the tapes and records showing the Patriots video taped the Jets were destroyed.

Senator asks why NFL destroyed tapes
WASHINGTON - With the Super Bowl fast approaching, a senior Republican senator says he wants the NFL to explain why it destroyed evidence of the New England Patriots cheating scandal.
"I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., in a Thursday letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the matter could put the league's antitrust exemption at risk.
"Their antitrust exemption has been on my mind for a long time," he said in a Capitol Hill news conference.

Now just why did Specter get his knickers in a twist - because of this:

He (Goodell) said destroying the tapes was "the best way for me to make sure the Patriots had followed my instructions."
Locking up the evidence proved not to be an option.
"We thought we had locked it up, and it got out five days later," Goodell said. "That was one of my concerns."

...


After its investigation, the NFL said it destroyed all materials it received from the Patriots.
In a Jan. 31 letter to Specter which the senator released Friday, Goodell said the tapes and notes on the investigation were destroyed to ensure that the Patriots "would not secure any possible competitive advantage as a result of the misconduct."

Fair enough - but who can blame a football fan and politician like Specter for a little bit of grandstanding as the Super Bowl approches? I mean, he is an avid fan, right?

In the meantime, Specter said he might miss Sunday's big game. "I may play squash while it's on," Specter said.

Wonder if he'll secretly tape the game - you know, just so he can see the commercials and half-time show?