TheRazor

For the first time this season I have finally tasted that famous "humble pie", and suffice to say, I wont be asking for seconds. Bill Belichick is a lousy baker, it tasted horrible, and I will not be leaving a tip.

I would also like to apologize to all the players, coaches, NFL staff, and fans across the league for the deplorable actions of my hometown team; videotaping football games for scouting purposes. Although, as reported by many NFL coaches, and NFL insiders, that this practice, stealing/ decoding hand signals is common place, videotaping was and is against the NFL rules, hence the New England Patriots were breaking rules, and more over "cheating" by doing so, regardless of reasoning behind it, and the frequency of the practice of scouting defensive coaches hand signals.

It was against the rules, and gave the Patriots an unfair advantage.

I now understand how everyone must have felt. There are all sorts of rules and regulations the NFL employs, and it dosnt matter what the rules are, even the riddiculous ones, they must be followed. The rules are in place for a reason, and there are plenty of them. From the Coaches, and the film crew on the sideline, to the players on and off the field, rules need to be adhered to, and penelities need to be applied when these rules are broken.

On the field, when rules are broken by players, there are many penelities that can, and are frequently handed out, in the form of flags, loss of yardage and down, and in extreme cases fines, ejections, and/or suspensions, and when these rules are over looked, and a team that is on the down side of these rules that are broken, it is easy to understand the feeling of being "cheated", for example: The last two minutes in the Superbowl, when Eli Manning was being sacked, the ref should have called the obvious "holding" the Giants' offensive line commited , which has been caught on tape for anyone interested in seeing exactly what Im talking about.

Rules were broken, flags should have been thrown, penelities should have been issued. Blatent rules being broken deserve severe penelities. The offensive lineman, at certain points, were behind the defenders with their hands on their throats, holding their shirts, and grabbing on the defenders face masks. These "holding" rules were not enforced. This oversight of rules that were broken may have cost the New England Patriots the championship, and now I can empathize with the feeling of being "cheated" and it sucks, and so does the pie.

The rules should apply to all, or none.

oldskool138

While I don't agree with your appology for Spygate, I do agree with your other points. But only if you include the blatant non-call of OPI when the Giants WR pushed off and caught a pass for a long gain earlier in the game.

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"You're all a bunch yahoos, hero worshipers and gutless suck-ups." - Tony Massarotti

PatriotsRule99

Did you know that the play before the last touchdown was an illegal pick-play?...IDK what a Pick-play is (I have the gist of it) but it was illegal. And in the "Great Escape", Seymour had to let go of Manning to prevent his head from being ripped off (facemask). There was a guy shoving his hand up a Patriots facemask (facemask) and an O-lineman was holding a Pats defender (holding). Now, Im a big fan, but I dont know each and every penalty: would they have piled on the penalties? (Assuming the ref called them all, which would have been the right thing to do). That would be like...30-40 yards FROM THE SPOT OF THE FOUL, which would have been huge...

P.S. I liked your "article", very well written.

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stinkypete

If the offense didn't play like crap for all but 2 drives I'd agree with you.

I love to blame officiating as much as the next guy, and I still think the 2006 AFCC against Indy was tainted by absurd calls and non-calls, but the Pats got beat in this one.

pheenix11

Humble pie is being generous. It was more like a shyt sandwich.

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VJ11

Well, apart from the fact that the refs can't see everything that is going on in those situations, those non-calls go both ways. In the NFL it seems holding by an OLineman must be very obvious (like a wrestling take-down), or when the refs see someone do something borderline repeatedly. When multiple penalties are called against one team in a live situation, the other team has the option to accept each penalty individually. However, in some situations the lesser penalty is waived off and just the bigger penalty is applied. Penalties that are in the personal foul category are automatic 1st downs, or spot fouls going the other way, so they could end up costing the offense 20+ yards in stead of just 15.

I'm more upset about those fumbles that were wrestled away from the defender's grasp. Pierre Woods fumble recovery in the first half would have been HUGE, and a first down inside the Giants 30. That could have resulted in a 14-3 lead, and pretty much knock the wind out of the Giants, and give the Pats a much-needed morale boost.

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FloridaHerb

I'm more ashamed of fans who don't have the balls to stick up for their team, if they had won the Super Bowl would you be apologizing?

I highly doubt it.

I support this team, I don't do it because it's my "hometown" team anymore I do it because I grew up in New England and I do it to honor and connect myself to the New England people.

What do you have to be ashamed of? Nothing!

What will you have to be proud of when this team comes in a year, two years or five years and wins again in the Super Bowl? Nothing!

BB did what he could to give the team a competitive edge, plain and simple. If it had not been for the Patriots recent accomplishments they never would have faced this kind of scrutiny and if you can't accept that as a fact then you're in total denial.

Close the windows, pull down the shades and keep an eye on the NFL Weather Channel, we'll notify you when the weather is fair again and you can safely root for "your team".

DropKick Flutie

Great post, but as everyone knows, they don't and shouldn't call ticky-tack holding penaltys at the end of close, championship games. Holding happens on every play.

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The sorrow of losing 4 Superbowls in a row > The sorrow of going 18-1
Proud Buffalo Bills fan for 32 years.

marcus

TICKY TACK HOLDING PENALTY.
Thats your opinion.
A game changing play with blatant holding which clearly had an immediate imapat on the progression of the play.

Never the less, a championship team finds a way to overcome crappy non calls and the Patriots did not.

DropKick Flutie

They would be stupid to call a holding penalty inside the last two minutes of a Superbowl. Ask a Seahawk fan... they got straight up robbed. The refs won't let that happen again.

When it counts, let the men play.

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The sorrow of losing 4 Superbowls in a row > The sorrow of going 18-1
Proud Buffalo Bills fan for 32 years.