| Marks said:
But yes, I do hate them. They might not be the only cheaters in the league, but they're the most prolific cheaters. Belichick has cheated more than once (spying on practices, deflategate). And the Pats are basically the Chicago Blackhawks of the NFL...i.e. No fans till they started winning championships...and of course the most vocal fans on social media. |
practice recording has been done by other teams.
Former Dallas Cowboys Coach Jim Johnson: "These players don't know what their coaches are doing, and some of the coaches have selective amnesia because I know for a fact there were various teams doing this. That's why the memo was sent to everybody. That doesn't make Belichick right, but a lot of teams are doing this."
Here is the rule:
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. All video shooting locations must be enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead. Any use by any club at any time, from the start to the finish of any game in which such club is a participant, of any communications or information-gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, shall be prohibited, including without limitation videotape machines, telephone tapping, or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game (ESPN.com and boston.com).
Bill Belichick
"My interpretation was that you can't utilize anything to assist you during that game. What our camera guys do is clearly not allowed to be used during the game and has never been used during that game that it was shot. Once we were penalized, the practice was immediately stopped."
Goodell says of the taping, they were "routine,", but against the rules after a memo had been sent out. The memo detailed above.
There was clearly no cheating, and the rules weren't written well on top of that. Furthermore, several coaches have admitted to taping in the past, before the rule above was written, but found that they didn't help whatsoever with any advantage.
Now, as far as deflategate, the Falcons themselves had 3 underinflated balls during the superbowl. All quarterbacks have the ability to set the psi to whatever they wish, so long as they stay within the boundaries. Sometimes, things just happen, and Tom Brady certainly played much better in the second half, than in the first during the AFC game. The second had all regulation psi tested equipment. These things happen. That the Patriots were so vehemently targeted, is what you should be concerned about, given that the Falcons also had underinflated balls, and recouped much of their game through long hail mary passes. If you're going to have a rule, which is "a fine of 100k dollars for underinflated balls", then stick to that. Not 4 games suspension. Not 1m dollar fine. Not the loss of draft picks.
It's so obvious to anyone that the Pats are being targeted. In part, I suspect because of Goodell's supposed leniency on the Pats during "spygate".
