moosekill

I guess anyone can be a moderator on this site.

Armen Da Pats Fan

You're gahdahm right!

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JR4

I think you may be buying into the media hype going on and the
tons of jealous lynch mobsters out there.

Acutally Belichick may have been right but the Comish was really being pushed into this outcome.

Here a response from a JETs fan who also a Tax Lawyer
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The argument, I take it, is that (1) the rule's reference to "a game" is the SAME game in which the taping occurs, and (2) so long as the information is not used during such game the gathering of such information is not prohibited.

I actually don't think it's that absurd an interpretation. Indeed, that's the kind of distinction on which many tax positions (I'm a tax lawyer) are based. Indeed, it's interesting to note that the rule only applies to a game in which the team gathering the information is a participant. Presumably it's clear that the rule is not violated if the Pats send an assistant to a Jets-Ravens game and videotape the Jets coaches relaying signals for use in a later game. So, this supports the conclusion that the rule was designed solely to prevent teams from using certain devices to gather information to gain a SAME-GAME advantage.

The real focus, I think, should be on the term "might". The rule prohibits the use of certain devices to gather information that "might" be used to gain an advantage during the game. The Pats presumably contend that, because they didn't actually gain such a same-game advantage, the rule wasn't broken. (Whether they actually did get such an advantage is unknowable, but the Commissioner can't assume they did.) I think the Commissioner properly took the view that the rule is designed to prevent the gathering of information (through certain devices) that potentially COULD be used for a same-game advantage and that the rule was drafted in this way so that it would not be necessary to resolve the difficult factual question of how, and when, a team actually used the information.

Nevertheless, it is not all that outlandish for the Pats to take the position that the rule is ambiguous and, therefore, pending clarification, they should not be punished for taking a reasonable view.

(Of course, if the Pats actually gained a same-game advantage, there's no interpretation that could help them. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if they did; but since I understand that hasn't been proven, it's not appropriate to simply assume it.)

And for anyone here who thinks I have some obligation to take the party line, or "get their back", or not side with "them" against "us", sorry: I have the right to offer my honest opinion.


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Grizzafted

Yeah, *****ing enough already. You're being way oversensitive about this. You act like Brady was paying refs or something.

According to Belichick they never even used the film in-game.

Stop Being A Jerk

First, I don't think many people are saying that the Patriots didn't do anything wrong and shouldn't have been punished. That's all obvious and anyone denying it probably isn't thinking clearly.

But I think it's just as obvious that the media and bloggers and so on are piling on because they hate the Patriots and Belichick. It's obvious particularly because of the punishments they recommend, apparently in earnest. What they're asking for is like recommending life in prison for someone convicted of stealing cable. The reaction to this (e.g. calling for asterisks, forfeits, etc.) is not in keeping with the severity of the crime. Not even close.

There are only two explanations: they're actually stupid enough to believe what they say; or Patriots-haters are trying to tear down a team they despise. I think it's the latter. And I don't want to say that, because it sounds like excuse-mongering at its worst. But it's not. Not in this case. Because what else is there? The seriousness of this infraction is so overblown, for so many obvious reasons, that their stubbornly-held convictions border on inanity. When presented with these reasons, as we Pats fans have done, fruitlessly, along with a handful of others who have the ability to separate what they wish from what is right, I imagine these Patriot-haters, their collective fingers stuck in their ears, singing proudly, "La la la la la I can't hear you!"

And every player on every team that has ever lost to the Pats is going right along with it, still looking for any excuse they can find for losing over and over again to that "talentless" team. That's the worst part. It gives this whole farce a certain level of veracity that wouldn't otherwise be there were it just the media and no-nothing fans spouting off as is their custom. The players know it's not as big a deal as it's being made out to be. Their teams are probably guilty of it. But they also know that the fans and media will lap it up like sick dogs lap up foetid water. And that, in turn, will take some of the blame off them (blame laid there, by the way, by the very same media and fans, who are unwilling to believe that a team with one Pro-Bowler could possibly beat them without cheating). Players love when the blame is taken off of them. So these cowards, who didn't claim any cheating previously, pretend to jump on the already crowded Pats-hating bandwagon, baiting fans and media alike, then snicker to each other as soon as the microphone is taken away.

I'm embarrassed. I'm mad because this has given people something legitimate to hate about the Patriots. I'm mad because, whether we like it or not, the media and players and all the way down to internet posters (who, you can be sure, will never let this go), are going to make sure that this stays around; are going to make well and truly sure this is a big enough story that the legacy of this team is permanently tainted. They don't like that Belichick doesn't answer stupid questions. That the Patriots don't fit in with their flashy (in the case of the media), arrogant (players) or fantasy football-bred (internet posters) ideals for what a football team should be. It might be funny if it didn't have a real-world effect on real people, most importantly on the players who worked their asses off to accomplish what they have. As it stands, though, it's mostly petty and pathetic, three groups of individuals teaming up to find their various forms of vengeance. Whether the Patriots beat their team or wouldn't give the juicy story that reporters these days seem to rely on in place of insightful journalism, they all have their motives. And due to the unique setup of pissed-off fans, media and players, they all feed each other like symbiots, giving each other courage and reassurance to say something even more ridiculous.

Personally, I think the punishment given was about right. Maybe a bit harsh, but there was a warning about this very thing before the start of the season and Goodell is known for being a ball-breaker. I'm sure both those factors had some effect. The bottom line is I can accept it.

Mostly this whole thing is a shame. For the Patriots' sake, the Krafts', for Belichicks' and his players, for the fans. Because it didn't need to happen. It especially didn't need to happen this season, after the warning had been given and while the Patriots have their best team ever, looking to further their legacy as one of the the league's greatest ever dynasties. Instead we've given the media, that entity which loves to tear down, and the fans, who only like to read about people being torn down, the very thing they've been looking for all along.

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Why you gotta play it like that?

Fixit

Please stop proselytizing. You sound like an idiot.

We're not proud of the situation, but we also have some perspective on it. It's about a video camera, not the Lindbergh baby.

Pats726

Fly the black flag if you please...whatever...

Armen Da Pats Fan

You're gahdahm right!

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Armen Da Pats Fan

LOL!

Great tragedies in US modern history:

1) 09/11
2) The Civil War
3) Kennedy assasination
4) Serial killers
5) Bill Belichick's fall from the pedastal

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primetime

I think in the grand scheme of things, the Civil War and slavery were a little higher on the tragedy scale than 9/11. But this Belichick scandal outpaces them all.