FloridaPatsFan

Good points.

From what I have heard about Belechick is that he tapes EVERYTHING. Even practices....So if he sends the league all of his crap, they could be watching the stuff until Christmas.

So they probably went through random tapes and concluded that it all amounted to the same stuff as the Jets game.

AndyJohnson

He actually implied that when Aiello said there was no such evidence, he was really saying 'since we burned it'. Then he goes on to describe his wonderful relation ship with Aiello, however, the quotes from Aiello suggests he thinks Easterbrook is a moron.

Fixit

Verily, the Football Gods said, "Read me."

http://kissmesuzy.blogspot.com/2006/...etentious.html

vyrago

Easterbook's ridiculous obsession prompted this response from Bill Simmons in his week 3 picks column:

(That reminds me, after CameraGate was played up for more than a week on every major network and Web site, this story was practically buried on Thursday night. That's right, it's the "we have no further evidence that the Patriots cheated and this investigation is closed" story. Sorry to disappoint everyone, although it was worth it to see Gregg Easterbrook's impression of Joe McCarthy this week. Can we all move on now?)

He Ban Me

Speculation? Sure, but certainly you can understand where folks would interpret this entire episode (post Costas interview) as odd. One minute, they are waiting for files. The next they are all burned, case closed?? And no one is inquiring WTF??? Maybe I read it wrong, but as of Sunday, League was awaiting the files, BUT the FINES had been handed out. YET the punishment was supposedly due in part not only to the Jets game, but past transgressions as well (sounded like that is how Aiello stated it)?? How would they know the VOLUME of those past transgressions before having files in hand?

Hey, it seems to be over, but the ending is certainly questionable.

Patsfanin Philly

I was waiting for him to roll two steel balls in his hand mumbling about strawberries, strawberries..........

dryheat44

I don't see much strange at all. He's schtick has always been "I'm smarter than you and every NFL coach, I understand football better than you and every NFL coach, and I'm a better, more moral person that you and every NFL coach."

Seriously, I started reading him six years ago (stopped reading him last year), and he's been a preachy know-it-all from day 1.

__________________
When it's third and 10, you can have the milk drinkers and I'll take the whiskey drinkers every time. -- R.I.P. Max McGee

robertweathers

A reliable source told me that the Kraft Group is a loyal EMC client. These guys buy EMCs Centra SAN gear like it's going out of style. Think about it. If he has EVERY Pats game. EVERY pres-season game. EVERY practice. EVERY other team's pre-season and regular season. PLUS the bootleg stuff??? Ellis Hobbs says that they team shows him 3 sometimes 4 angles of plays so times everything by 3/4. Then there are the network feeds. It's staggering. So how the hell is the NFL able to determine which video is sanctioned and not-sanctioned? They have a better chance of finding Jimmy Hoffa.

__________________
“I'm not really concerned about the other 31 teams,” - Bill Belichick

"If a player has talent and doesn't succeed, that means that they either don't want to be successful or I have failed as a coach." - Bill Belichick

Patriotic Fervor

The two are not mutually exclusive, you know.

But it probably went down something like this. It's as good a theory as any. I like it.

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....and that's the way I see it!

Grizzafted

I think it's a good article and maybe the first example of intelligent journalism in this whole affair so far. We're certainly not getting anything like this from Peter "simpleton" King or John Clayton, both of whom are professional embarassments.

Take off the homer glasses, guys. It's a compelling story, and I think it's good for a journalist to be asking tough questions. What I don't like about the article is this: A) it weakens itself by using demagogic language like "Beli-cheat" and B) there's a yellow-journalism slant to it; i.e. "dark shadows exist in scary places even though I haven't produced anything to imply that but innuendo."

I think it's entirely possible that there was footage of defensive coordinators who coached the Eagles, Rams, or Cats. I also think that behind closed doors, most of the league understands that the benefit derived from tapes like that is minimal, and that it would only have affected a few plays, if any, especially in the Super Bowl, where DCs have two weeks to put together new blitz packages and secondary looks. The vast majority of the league, I think, views the taping as bush league but not a big deal. But the problem for the NFL is that public opinion and incendiary sports journalism won't buy that. They'll run with the story to push viewership, and because it's a very compelling story. In essence, if there were tapes that relate to the Super Bowl games, it would be a disaster for the NFL even though it's unlikely that they had any influence on the games themselves. Under those circumstances, I think it's entirely likely that they would destroy the tapes and sweep it under the rug. What corporation wouldn't? Remember that the NFL is a product, guys, and the track record of US corporate ethics isn't exactly stellar.

I think Easterbrook is trying to make a name for himself here, but that's what journalists do. I'm a huge Pats fan, but I'm a bigger fan of the league itself and what it represents about America. I'd love to know more of the behind the scenes politics that surrounded this situation, which did, in case you forgot, result in the largest punishment the NFL ever gave out to anyone, ever.

Go Pats.