Pats caught cheating, face "severe sanctions"

The $.25M against the Pats org. was just to make sure they know they're still ultimately responsible for what goes on in their house.
Bill Bel. did this, he should suffer only. I don't like the draft picks thing because it hurts the innocent team.
But in a way this makes up for the selling and buying of caoches,with draft picks, they did a few years back.

Stoney & Wojo said today that Marinelli noticed the camera in Foxboro last year, asked an official if that was legal and was told "no". They warned the Pats and they stopped using the camera for a little while but then resumed. They also mentioned that the Lions' field-to-booth headsets went out a couple times during drives.

Bill Bel. must be a gluton for punishment. Lord knows the coaches don't offer him adequate stimulus.

The Cowboys' QB Coach, Wade Wilson, who is currently serving a 5 game suspension and was fined $100,000 for violation of the league's substance abuse policy, is questioning why Belichick wasn't suspended.

ESPN - Cowboys' Wilson: Belichick discipline inconsistent - NFL

I can kind of see his point. I never really thought of a suspension as punishment, but it would make sense. Players and coaches (see the Lions' Naked Wendy's Drive Thru Coach from last year) alike are suspended all the time, so why not Belichick? Wilson was fined nearly a 3rd of his salary, while $500,000 to Belichick is only 12% o his $4.5 million salary.

What are your thoughts? Do you think that Wilson has a point or do you think he's just being a cry baby?

I think the violation is worthy of a suspension. If the evidence is that strong, I suggest at least suspension for the rest of the season. That would send a greater message to the NFL and it's fans than a small checkbook hit to one coach.

Belichick just got re-signed for undisclosed dollars and term. IMO anyone that believes the Pat's ownership wasn't aware of his coaching technique has their head in the sand.

Donaghy got bounced from the league for his infraction. What makes Belichick so special...Super Bowl titles? How legit are they?

Goodell wimped out, just like Stern.

Gambling and video taping are two different things.
Wade W. took the growth hormone for diabetic reasons. Almost legit if you ask me and he doesn't play. Maybe they were worried he would sell it to players.
I think the punishment was too stiff.

i totally agree. everything's in public view, what's the big deal?

If they would have bugged the other team's locker room, then I think it would have been a big deal.

What they did is no different than if they would have hired a savant to sit and memorize the other teams signals.

The fact is the NFL has specific rule that states that you cannot videotape the other team's signals. A memo went out to all of the teams explaining the rule. Belichick deliberately and blatantly broke an NFL rule. Whether you think it is a good rule or not doesn't matter. The guy tried to cheat and got caught.

There are all sorts of rules. They don't all carry the same penalty when they are violated. The penalty for breaking this rule wasn't spelled out.

So the commish had to make a judgment call for how serious it was.

I'm just saying that I don't think it was that serious.

When you consider the Pats record since he got there, it looks far more serious.

Here's a few bits from his bio:

I'd like to see the Pats stats when trailing at halftime during his regime.

Bill Belichick - Official New England Patriots Biography

Is it against the rules to watch the other teams signals without a video camera?

I say no...but should video review be allowed? I say no again.

I think the rule only stipulates that you can't video tape the other team's signals.

So, the reason that I think it is a dumb rule is because they could have accomplished the same goal, within the rules, if they would have just hire a couple guys to watch the other team's signals and then decode them. The video camera just makes it slightly cheaper to do. But when you consider the payroll of the organization, what is another $100,000 or so to spend on some signal watching goons?

Maybe they should just make it illegal to look in the general direction of the other team's sideline. That would totally eliminate all indiscretion.

There's nothing wrong with looking once. But there's a HUGE difference with recording signals. It could be rewound a 100 times in a short period, compounded by the ability to review video of defensive sets in the plays following.

IMO, it's a dumb rule. But it is a rule non the less. A rule that was clearly explained to all teams. The Pats broke that rule, so they deserve to be punished.

I agree that they should be punished. My question is whether or not the penalty was proportional to the violation. 2 first round draft picks is pretty severe.

The video makes it easier to decode, but it is still very possible without it. You just get a couple guys watching and writing down the other team's signals. It would be incredibly easy to then match them to the plays that followed and break them down. I would be surprised if there are not teams doing it exactly that way. And I'd be surprised if the Patriots don't just convert to that method. They will still get the exact same advantage that they have been getting from the video, and it will be legal.

The biggest effect here is that teams are just going to be more aware of their signal calling. They might even throw out some bogus signals to throw the other team off. But at the very least, they are going to have to change them more often.


What if the commish would have fined them $1 Billion and forced them to travel by bus from now on? Wouldn't that send a bigger message?

I agree, the punishment was kind of severe for the actions (but it was only 1 first round pick, not 2 and only if they make the playoffs this year, otherwise the penalty is a 2nd and 3rd rounder. Either way, still a hefty penalty).

I completely agree, that's why I think it's such a lame rule. They can still have the exact same results, it'll just take more effort to get there. The only issues I even have with it is that they knowingly broke a clear rule despite the fact that it was emphasized recently. It isn't like Belichick wasn't aware of the rule, he blatantly disregarded it. I think that fact combined with the fact that Goodell is trying to make an example of them is the reason for such a high penalty.