NFL chat thread

[Tim McG]

Hey!

My Niners are undefeated!

[connoisseur series500]

Things are heating up regarding the NE Patriots intercepting defensive calls. This from Patsfans.com

These are the defensive calls allegedly stolen by the Pats. They are reprinted exactly as written in the Jets' Defensive playbook:

"Green 0: This is the one where Moss is effectively triple covered. DO NOT catch him. Run behind him, fail to stop him catching ball and allow him to run into endzone. The O will have no answer to this one. Make sure they don't work it out beforehand or they may throw the ball short or long".

"Green 01: Leave All Pro wide receiver open on a slant. Do not tackle when he catches ball, until he has made significant yardage. Top Secret; if the O finds out, they will throw the ball into coverage".

"Blitz Green 2: Send loads of people against Brady, but DO NOT get to him. Leave receivers covered one on one. Tackle only after they have made decent gains. The genius of this play is that it lulls the O into a false sense of security. We DON'T cover them, which is highly confusing for the O".

"Goal Line Green 6: Allow rangy and athletic TE to get open at back of endzone. Act like rabbit in headlights as Brady throws TD to Watson."

You can see that the Jets defensive plan was clearly known to the Pats. It CERTAINLY could NOT have been down to brilliance on the part of the Pats and true suckiness on the part of the Jets D, who failed to do pretty much anything right all game.__________________

[alocispepraluger102]

the next jets-pats affair should be a doozy!

we wouldnt be lucky enough to have it be a late game.

[Shawn]

If the Patriots are in the habit of doing this...wouldn't Mangini already be aware of these practices? Of course my next question would be why would the Pats need to do this since they out-class almost every other team in the NFL, they can beat pretty much anybody without the subterfuge.

[Noj]

I've known the Pats were a bunch of miserable cheaters for a long time.

[Shawn]

Adam Schefter: NFL determined Patriots have violated rules

NFL.com Wire Reports

NEW YORK -- After looking into claims a New England Patriots employee was videotaping signals by Jets coaches on New York's sideline during the season opener, the NFL has determined that the Patriots have violated rules governing the usage of video tape on sidelines, reports the NFL Network's Adam Schefter.

Schefter also reports that the league plans on summoning New England coach Bill Belichick to its offices in New York this week to discuss the matter, and that possible punishment being considered by the NFL include fines, loss of draft picks and suspensions.

The investigation was first reported by ESPN.com, which said that NFL security confiscated a video camera and tape from a Patriots employee during New England's 38-14 victory Sunday. The employee was accused of aiming his camera at the Jets' defensive coaches, who were sending signals out to the players, sources told the Web site.

"The rule is that 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," the league said in a statement from spokesman Greg Aiello. "Clubs have specifically been reminded in the past that the videotaping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals on the sidelines is prohibited.

"We are looking into whether the Patriots violated this rule."

The story was first reported on the Web site of Jets Confidential, which said the Jets chief of security alerted NFL security about the issue during the game.

"With anything along those lines, those are all league-related matters, and anything that deals with an issue like this or anything on a team-by-team basis, those all go to the league," coach Eric Mangini said in his news conference Monday.

When asked if the Jets had in fact notified the league, he said: "It's all a league matter."

Patriots spokesman Stacey James declined comment. New England cornerback Ellis Hobbs said he was unaware of the controversy, and unwilling to believe his team had cheated.

"We put too many hours in as individuals and a team to have to go out and cheat," he said. "If it's true, obviously, we're in the wrong. But I'm standing behind my team, my coaches. I don't think we do that stuff."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

[alocispepraluger102]

if belichek is as amiable as usual at league offices, the penalty might be severer(sic).

[connoisseur series500]

I've known the Pats were a bunch of miserable cheaters for a long time.

Raider fans probably wish that their coaches would take the effort to even consider some cheating.

[Noj]

Hell, try something. Put the o-line and d-line on the Balco diet.

[rachel]

it's a proven fact

10 out of 10 pittsburgh fans can't read or write

aloc is a steeler fan.

At least we know how to punctuate.

Rachel grew up in the 'burgh.

[connoisseur series500]

Hell, try something. Put the o-line and d-line on the Balco diet.

And sign top draft picks before the end of preseason?

[Noj]

Hey, that's all on Jamarcus. The largest offer ever made to a number one has been on the table for some time. Maybe it was his best bet to wait this long so he's guaranteed to not start while the Raiders have such an atrocious offensive line. Next, fake a few injuries and miss most of the season then demand a trade.

[connoisseur series500]

O.K. The details haven't yet been revealed about cameragate, but as a Pat fan, I'm not too happy with Bill Belichick right now. This coach is widely considered a genius yet his drive to outwork his opponent and cover all details means that he must also outdo them in the espionage business as well. As one sportswriter said on the radio this morning, "Smart people do dumb things." Mark this one firmly in the "dumb" category.

In the long run, this episode will be viewed as trivial and it will die down, but you wouldn't know it from the huge media outcry. The truth is that the Pats are working their way towards most hated team, if they haven't already reached that status. One writer says it's likely because they've gotten so much good press over the years. Well, I guess. As a fan, I cannot begin to know how other people dislike the Patriots. They've had such a goodie image over the years, and now all the negative news serves as a type of rebalancing. Makes sense.

I'll close with this wonderful quote from Bill Simmons which typifies what has made the Patriots great over the past seven years. This is the kind of thing we Pat fans want to remember and not this horrid striving to win at all costs:

Part of the charm of the 21st century Patriots -- at least for me -- was that they remained consistently good without any real financial advantages. The hard salary cap prohibits an NFL team from saying, 'We need a good receiver, let's offer Chad Johnson $110 million over five years,' and even when a team with deep pockets (like the Redskins) splurges on free agents with big signing bonuses, it's a short-term boost that hurts them long-term. For an NFL team to win 79 games and three Super Bowls over a six-year span and have its most talented roster in Year 7, it requires a superhuman effort from the coaches and the front office. You have to nail the draft, you have to determine who's expendable and indispensable on your roster, and you can't make any major mistakes in free agency. And this needs to happen year after year, without any slips. So for a team like the Patriots to remain competitive for more than five years ... it's practically impossible. I never thought they got enough credit for that. They didn't win for the past six-plus years because they cheated; they won because they out-thought and out-drafted everyone else.

Edited September 13, 2007 by connoisseur series500

[connoisseur series500]

Here's a quote from Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated back in 2002:

It's no rumor, pal. "Our guy keeps a pair of binoculars on their signal-callers every game," says Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. "With any luck, we have their defensive signals figured out by halftime. Sometimes, by the end of the first quarter."

Giants coach Jim Fassel thinks it's all lip service. "If someone is that smart," Fassel grouses, "he should be curing cancer, not coaching football."

Interesting that the coach who thought this exercise was a waste of time is now out of the league having failed in several coaching assignments, while Shanahan is viewed as one of the better coaches today.

Still, I am not happy about Bill Belichick allowing himself to be put in this position. I thought he was above all that. Seems like Eric Mangini is an equal dick. He treated Pete Kendell in a humiliating manner during the preseason and he will now be viewed as a rat for letting the media get involved in something that was tacitly allowed within the coaching fraternity. He started a controversy to divert attention from the major butt-whipping his team received at the hands of BB and the Patriots.

Edited September 13, 2007 by connoisseur series500

[Aggie87]

[T.D.]

This whole thing has been magnified by the extreme animosity that prevails between the Pats and NYJ. It's become a really toxic rivalry over the years, especially off the field, which is a little weird...

[alocispepraluger102]

bill:

http://www.allthingsbillbelichick.com/arti...collegechum.htm

[Aggie87]

$500K fine to Belichek

$250K fine to Patriots

loss of either next yr's 1st round pick (if they make the playoffs this year) or 2nd & 3rd round picks (if they don't make the playoffs)

[connoisseur series500]

$500K fine to Belichek

$250K fine to Patriots

loss of either next yr's 1st round pick (if they make the playoffs this year) or 2nd & 3rd round picks (if they don't make the playoffs)

Very stiff penalty.

What do you mean "if they don't make the playoffs?"

[Aggie87]

$500K fine to Belichek

$250K fine to Patriots

loss of either next yr's 1st round pick (if they make the playoffs this year) or 2nd & 3rd round picks (if they don't make the playoffs)

What do you mean "if they don't make the playoffs?"

Their words, not mine!

[Kevin Bresnahan]

There are pictures circulating on Patriots discussion forums of a New York Jets cameraman filming the Patriots sideline while their defense is on the field. Once this gets further up the chain of command, I expect more punishment will follow... for the Jets.

See him? Right around the 25 yard line?

or here right around the 18?

[Aggie87]

My only comment is that I hope they catch anyone that's cheating.

But in this particular case, how is it known that it's a Jets photographer, and not an NFL camerman doing work for the NFL Network or something? Has someone actually checked that particular cameraman's credentials and determined he was from the Jets, and that he was taping the Pat's playcalls?

[alocispepraluger102]

$500K fine to Belichek

$250K fine to Patriots

loss of either next yr's 1st round pick (if they make the playoffs this year) or 2nd & 3rd round picks (if they don't make the playoffs)

Very stiff penalty.

What do you mean "if they don't make the playoffs?"

the cool running, suave conn man is blowing steam.

this happened just because the jets coach was once a pat insider.

Edited September 14, 2007 by alocispepraluger102

[Kevin Bresnahan]

My only comment is that I hope they catch anyone that's cheating.

But in this particular case, how is it known that it's a Jets photographer, and not an NFL camerman doing work for the NFL Network or something? Has someone actually checked that particular cameraman's credentials and determined he was from the Jets, and that he was taping the Pat's playcalls?

There's a close up of the guy on the patsfans.com forum, but I can't seem to link it here. It shows what looks like a Jets logo on his shirt and he is on the Jets sideline. He's clearly not outside media because they are required to wear orange vests.

The funny thing is, this guy's photo was floating all over the web yesterday, including touchdown.org, with everyone thinking it was a "smoking gun" picture of the Patriots cameraman. That shot had him filming the Jets coaches when the Jets offense was on the field. It turns out that in looking at the film, the guy filmed the Patriots sideline when their D were on the field and the Jets sideline the other times.

[connoisseur series500]

Yeah, but nobody grabbed his tape. The Pat's spy had his tape confiscated as evidence. Nothing will happen to the Jests.