Tom Curran on fire

[Calciumee]

Josh McDaniels has jumped the shark. He's sinking fast in Denver and is willing to throw anything or one overboard to save his skinny little ass. What a ****y

I did read that if Broncos fire JMcD this year, then next year they will be paying for the new coach, Josh and Mike Shanahan still!

Got to wonder if they will stay with Josh for one for year, stupid thing to do, but possible!

 

[RodThePat]

So we all knew McDaniels is a failure as a Head Coach, but now we find out he fails as a human being too. Way to go, Josh!

 

[DarrylS]

Was hoping that when McDaniels was fired, NE might bring him back as OC... would suspect that that bridge has been burned.

Classless move by McDaniels.. ESPN will love it though.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

just when we thought this was all dead and buried, mcdaniels screws it all up... feel bad for him, because he was riding high when they beat us last year, now he has hit rock bottom... He is going to get fired... And now we will have to hear from the ny media all week instead of how big of game this is, is this spy gate crap...


But then again it could serve as a rally cry and we crush the jets....:rocker:

 

[BradyManny]

The whole thing needs some damn perspective and always did.

The fact of the matter is that by this time of the season, any team should have tape on about 600 or so plays of the opposition on both side of the ball. A handful of plays in a walkthrough is a fraction of what is to be garnered from that.

If you look back at the Spygate hoopla, most of the crap-stirring was from those with no experience in the game. [And if it was ex-players, it was those without any intelligence at all (Marshall Faulk).] The average football fan doesn't understand that with proper film-study, these guys generally know what they are up against more often than not. The Patriots video taping practice was just one small facet of their film-study.

And to be honest, their offense has gotten better without it, any way you look at it. The reality is that it might've been a waste of resources, not to mention something that could be used against them by a team with knowledge of said practice - which I am sure most did given how the Belichick/Parcells coaching tree is spread across the NFL.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

I never really understands this whole spygate crap anyway... why doesnt people realize the coaches get video tape every week... Belichick was just smarter than everyone else because he changed with the times... I think its been blown out way out of proportion in a lot of ways... So Belichick did during the game, but he didnt break it down at halftime there is not enough time... idiots...

 

[Hoodie]

This is a Broncos issue aka the implosion of McDouche. No way Scar jr acted alone but this matter is now closed by the NFL.

Yeah Big Mike, I wonder about this too. Why would Scar jr. tape the walk through on his own? why would the NFL simply accept this explanation? I think Scar jr. is the fall guy.

If memory serves, the Pats were punished for taping signals. The accusations of taping the SB walk through turned out to be made up by a guy desperate for attention. Right?

Broncos owner says McDaniels has a great career ahead of him in Denver, which of course means he's about to be fired.

 

[363839]

If memory serves, the Pats were punished for taping signals. The accusations of taping the SB walk through turned out to be made up by a guy desperate for attention. Right?

The technicality that got the Pats in trouble was camera location, not subject of filming.
That whole spygate thing was all about bringing a record setting and unbeatable Patriots team down by jealous adversaries.
It was a witch hunt, plain and simple.
The Pats have not violated any technicalities since then so I don't worry about what boogers JM may or may not be wiping on them,

 

[Hoodie]

The technicality that got the Pats in trouble was camera location, not subject of filming.

Right. It's coming back to me now. I've tried hard to forget it. The problem was camera location and videotaping, because as someone else pointed out, you can steal signals just not videotape them.

We all know it's about jealousy and probably some dislike of Belichick. Much ado about nothing then and now. But what got it started was Matt the lier and his claim that the Pats had videotaped the Rams walkthrough.

 

[363839]

Right. It's coming back to me now. I've tried hard to forget it. The problem was camera location and videotaping, because as someone else pointed out, you can steal signals just not videotape them.

We all know it's about jealousy and probably some dislike of Belichick. Much ado about nothing then and now. But what got it started was Matt the lier and his claim that the Pats had videotaped the Rams walkthrough.

The walk through taping rumor came after the fact. Right before the Super Bowl, in fact. That's when Matt Walsh the a$shole told somebody very important that he had some videos that the NFL would "..Really want to see" and that's when speculation ran to fever pitch.
This fan base was facing our team being stripped of it's championships and it's head coach banned from football.
Why the charge of slander was never levied at our accusers is beyond me. I suspect back room deals but I could be wrong.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The walk through taping rumor came after the fact. Right before the Super Bowl, in fact. That's when Matt Walsh the a$shole told somebody very important that he had some videos that the NFL would "..Really want to see" and that's when speculation ran to fever pitch.
This fan base was facing our team being stripped of it's championships and it's head coach banned from football.
Why the charge of slander was never levied at our accusers is beyond me. I suspect back room deals but I could be wrong.

Matt got immunity for his full complete testimony, which amounted to nothing. Suing the press for slander is usually a losing proposition and it would only be still in the courts now. The Commish probably told Kraft to stow it.

 

[Gwedd]

It's NOT illegal to videotape or otherwise record signals from the opposition.

The Patriots were fined because of the camera location. It was never about cheating. It was never about WHAT was being recorded or by WHOM. The Football Operations Manual lays out the specific places where videotape cameras may be placed, and one of the prohibited areas was the sideline.

Every team has someone somewhere recording the opposing team's sideline, especially the coaches, looking for signals, and any other intelligence info they can garner. It isn't illegal to film someone in public. Heck, Jimmy Johnson talked about every team doing this during one of the FOX Sports programs. He even talked about hiring lip readers to try and read the opposing coaches play calls and synch those up with the film study.

Just once, I wish one of those mediots like Peter King would STFU and actually READ what New England was fined for.

respects,

 

[Ron Sellers]

Curran has been bashed by many here, and deservedly so for incorrect reports and opinion in the past (for example, the column on Brady's knee before the start of the 2009 season) thanks to his sources feeding him poor and incorrect information.

However he does seem to quietly be doing a pretty good job this year with his columns on the Pats. If we're going to trash those in the local media we don't like (a favorite pastime of many folks here), then it's only fair to also point out those that are doing a good job too.

Good article by Curran.

 

[stcjones]

This is a very good post on the topic. But why then, if EVERY TEAM IS FILMING SIGNALS FROM EVERYWHERE EXCEPT the sidelines....did god-dell assess such huge fines and penalties against us?? I get why the average sore a##ed fan of other teams that.sucked b(tched and moaned, and all the ex-players that were jealous of what the pats had achieved.were crying...But WHY everyone came out screaming that were CHEATING or CHEATERS for employing a practice THAT EVERYONE does...is terribly unfair and ludicrous!!

Wouldn't you have at least thought more current coaches would have come out in defense of BB saying.:.."Hey they NEVER CHEATED they just had the camera in a position that was not allowed!"...instead everyone piled on.

Out of curiosity....what is the advantage of taping at field view Vs being a little higher up in stadium?

It's NOT illegal to videotape or otherwise record signals from the opposition.

The Patriots were fined because of the camera location. It was never about cheating. It was never about WHAT was being recorded or by WHOM. The Football Operations Manual lays out the specific places where videotape cameras may be placed, and one of the prohibited areas was the sideline.

Every team has someone somewhere recording the opposing team's sideline, especially the coaches, looking for signals, and any other intelligence info they can garner. It isn't illegal to film someone in public. Heck, Jimmy Johnson talked about every team doing this during one of the FOX Sports programs. He even talked about hiring lip readers to try and read the opposing coaches play calls and synch those up with the film study.

Just once, I wish one of those mediots like Peter King would (Please be quiet - edited) and actually READ what New England was fined for.

respects,

 

[O-T-I-S]

Spygate was the biggest load of horsecrap in the history of sports. It was merely a bunch of BS that ESPN used to create a story (and fill up their 12 hour long SportsCenter marathons with), and a ridiculous excuse for Patriots haters to use to cope with the Pats' success.

The whole thing was just one big mass of idiots misinterpreting what ACTUALLY happened and hearing what they wanted to hear, or what the media wanted them to hear. "Filming from the wrong position on the field" was misinterpreted as "CHEATING!!! TAINTED SUPER BOWLS!!!" because that's what people wanted to believe. Whatever. Anybody on the Pats sideline could have stood there and took notes of the opposing team sending signals in. It would've been the same thing. Too bad so many people are too stupid to realize that.

Anybody who tries to drag the Pats back into this is a moron. "Hey, I think I'll go piss off Bill Belichick and the Patriots. That usually works out great."

 

[Gwedd]

Out of curiosity....what is the advantage of taping at field view Vs being a little higher up in stadium?

It allowed the camera operator to view the signals being sent in, then swing the camera up to the scoreboard to see time/down/distance, etc. After the game, all of that could be spliced up with game tape of the plays to try and detect trends.

This is never something that could be used during a game, and if a team changes up it's signals, it might not be useful for their next meeting. However, is does help establish trends, so that is, say, a certain gesture always meant a run, then that would be useful to know.

Teams also counter-act this with having 2 or 3 persons on the sideline each making gestures, so the other team doesn't know for certain which one is the real signal. With the helmet speakers and the coaches miked up, it's not nearly as useful these days, but it's still done.

 

[Koma]

This is a very good post on the topic. But why then, if EVERY TEAM IS FILMING SIGNALS FROM EVERYWHERE EXCEPT the sidelines....did god-dell assess such huge fines and penalties against us?? I get why the average sore a##ed fan of other teams that.sucked b(tched and moaned, and all the ex-players that were jealous of what the pats had achieved.were crying...But WHY everyone came out screaming that were CHEATING or CHEATERS for employing a practice THAT EVERYONE does...is terribly unfair and ludicrous!!

Wouldn't you have at least thought more current coaches would have come out in defense of BB saying.:.."Hey they NEVER CHEATED they just had the camera in a position that was not allowed!"...instead everyone piled on.

Out of curiosity....what is the advantage of taping at field view Vs being a little higher up in stadium?

In my opinion, part of it was timing and part of it was the way the league became involved.

During the offseason leading up to the 2007 season, we had Pacman Jones' one man crime wave. There were some other players who got into trouble, like Tank Johnson, but Jones was involved in a lot of incidents in a short amount of time. As a result, Goodell came down hard on the players and, I believe, enacted that code of conduct policy.

When the Patriots were caught violating the guidelines of the videotaping memo, there was an expectation for Goodell to make an example out of the team the same way he did with players who had brushes with the law.

In terms of how the league became involved, I'd have to look up the details again, but my recollection is that the Jets went to the league before the season opener and told them what was going on and what they planned to do. Instead of just Jets personnel being involved, NFL security people were present also.

Apparently, in prior incidents, the league just let the teams police themselves. When the Packers wanted a Patriots cameraman to stop filming, their staff told him to move. When the Patriots didn't want a Jets camera crew to film from a certain spot, they had them move.

With the league involved right from the start and Goodell looking to make an example of a coach/front office, the Patriots opened themselves up for a harsh penalty.

 

[PAPatsjunkie]

I didnt want to start yet another spygate thread, but I do want to recommend Michael Lombardi's latest article: NFL.com news: Scandal aside, Broncos can't be so wishy-washy with McDaniels

It is mostly about the Broncos and McDaniels, but the last section is about stealing signals, he really explains everything that goes into trying to pick up on tendencies and that it all comes down to execution. I wish I could just autmatically forward this to all sportswriters.