So exactly WHEN did it become illegal to tape from sidelines? - New England Patriots Forums

juny · 05-09-2008, 04:47 PM

sorry to add another post about this, but all i've seen is the reinforcement memo of 2006, but not when this policy took effect. depending when this rule took affect some of these older tapes wouldn't be 'illegal'.

JoeSixPat · 05-09-2008, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juny

sorry to add another post about this, but all i've seen is the reinforcement memo of 2006, but not when this policy took effect. depending when this rule took affect some of these older tapes wouldn't be 'illegal'.

I'm not sure but the issue pre-2006, given the wording of the rule was that taping was illegal for anything related to the game taking place THAT day.

Other teams were doing the same thing. The coach of the Cowboys admitted he did it, though you haven't seen one person call their Super Bowls tainted.

All teams admit they tape from elsewhere in the stadium as well - and it is perfectly legal, from what I can tell, for them to video tape signals being called using a telephoto lense and telescopic mike and (if it were possible) sync up the video and use that for THAT game - which is different from what the Patriots were doing pre and post 2006.

So here you have a situation where teams even today can continue to "legally cheat" as long as they do it from the stands.

Everyone asks why Belichick did it from the field - my answer is quite simple - to intimidate the other teams. MangIdiot knew this and blew the whistle, thinking it would intimidate the Patriots and cause a distraction. It did - and they responded by going 16-0 that season.

***NEPatriot*** · 05-09-2008, 06:07 PM

When.?

it all started when the son of a b*****, Ratmargini, spoke and everything went to hell. Of course, asholes Specter and media have added more fuel to it to make the matter even worse. Somewhere and some place, Tomase suddently showed up with his rubbish as he proved to everybody that he was an opportunist. In the end, we are in the middle of a gun fight with no place to run or hide.

stcjones · 05-09-2008, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeSixPat

I'm not sure but the issue pre-2006, given the wording of the rule was that taping was illegal for anything related to the game taking place THAT day.

Other teams were doing the same thing. The coach of the Cowboys admitted he did it, though you haven't seen one person call their Super Bowls tainted.

All teams admit they tape from elsewhere in the stadium as well - and it is perfectly legal, from what I can tell, for them to video tape signals being called using a telephoto lense and telescopic mike and (if it were possible) sync up the video and use that for THAT game - which is different from what the Patriots were doing pre and post 2006.

So here you have a situation where teams even today can continue to "legally cheat" as long as they do it from the stands.

Everyone asks why Belichick did it from the field - my answer is quite simple - to intimidate the other teams. MangIdiot knew this and blew the whistle, thinking it would intimidate the Patriots and cause a distraction. It did - and they responded by going 16-0 that season.

SO....doesn't all this sh## that Walsh is dragging out.....IRRELEVANT??? All these tapes took place BEFORE THE RULE went into place!!!

JoeSixPat · 05-09-2008, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stcjones

SO....doesn't all this sh## that Walsh is dragging out.....IRRELEVANT??? All these tapes took place BEFORE THE RULE went into place!!!

Well, if there's nothing on or about the tapes that Belichick didn't disclose, then - yeah.

And thus far it sounds like the NFL doesn't think there's anything new.

They sure can't fault Belichick for not handing them over though - obviously Matt Walsh stole them... hence at least one of the reasons he thought the Pats might sue him.

LuthierJr · 05-09-2008, 08:31 PM

I'd like to know a concrete answer to this as well. Also I hear it kicked around a lot, but I'm not 100% on it. Is it legal, prior to last season and as of right now, to tap opposing teams signals regardless of the location?

juny · 05-10-2008, 12:44 AM

On a side note, isn't still legal to tape the opposing signal caller, just not from the sideline. all of this is moot now with the defense also getting a radio now.

TealSox · 05-10-2008, 12:50 AM

I've been saying this from the beginning...

If the Pats did anything, they broke the rules of cheating. In my opinion and experience, cheating has been a part of football since the beginning. Only then it wasn't considered cheating. Coaches tried to get any advantage they could by almost any means and I would be surprised that any winning team doesn't try to gain some sort of advantage.

Was it cheating when the 49ers would shut down the audio at the beginning of the game causing the other team's offense to use hand signals rather than call plays in? So what does that mean about Joe Montana? Is he any less of a QB?

doubledowntrent · 05-10-2008, 03:59 AM

Can someone dig up an answer to this question? Because if there wasn't a rule about taping until before last season then it isn't considered cheating for the rest of the years.

LuthierJr · 05-10-2008, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doubledowntrent

Can someone dig up an answer to this question? Because if there wasn't a rule about taping until before last season then it isn't considered cheating for the rest of the years.

Exactly. I want to know the answer to this too. Was it (links/reference would be nice), in prior years, still against league regulations to videotape defensive signals period and just BB interpreted the rules differently (to mean that you could tape them only if it meant use in future games) or was it, in fact, not against the rules to tape the signals.