LieGate

[PatriotsDaily.com]

Move along, folks. Nothing to see here.

Commissioner Goodell is satisfied. Satisfied that the New York Jets’ tripping incident (“Thighgate” I think they’re calling it now) has been resolved fairly and judiciously, just as he was satisfied two weeks ago with the Broncos videotaping incident. He even let his old team determine their own punishment. He bravely stepped into the fray, said “OK with me” as he turned away. Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Roger.

Read the rest:

Lie Gate

 

[jmt57]

Nice column and summary of the events Dan.

 

[Gwedd]

Un. Frikkin'. Believable.

They should have fired that coach, fined Rex $500,000 and lost their 1st round draft pick.

 

[NE39]

Personally, I could care less what fans of other teams say. I think it is funny when they bring that stuff up, because it is their frustration more than anything. It is funny as hell to see them get all bent out of shape after the Pats roll over their team again.

Personally, I don't get this whole thing about "Thighgate". Even if Ryan had told those players to stand there, they weren't doing anything illegal. You have have guys stand where they want within the team area. The guy shouldn't have stuck his knee out there (and he should have been fired for being so stupid), but the fact they were all lined up at the edge of the coaching box isn't illegal. I don't think the Jets did anything wrong.

I moved on from the whole "Spygate" saga long ago, and could care less what anyone thinks of what the Pats are doing. I just like watching the games. We don't need this drama every time someone brings this up. Big whoop what they think.

 

[baba booey]

Even if Ryan had told those players to stand there, they weren't doing anything illegal. You have have guys stand where they want within the team area. The guy shouldn't have stuck his knee out there (and he should have been fired for being so stupid), but the fact they were all lined up at the edge of the coaching box isn't illegal. I don't think the Jets did anything wrong.

It looked like they had something planned, the way the second guy lowered his shoulder.

 

[Synovia]

Personally, I don't get this whole thing about "Thighgate". Even if Ryan had told those players to stand there, they weren't doing anything illegal. You have have guys stand where they want within the team area. The guy shouldn't have stuck his knee out there (and he should have been fired for being so stupid), but the fact they were all lined up at the edge of the coaching box isn't illegal. I don't think the Jets did anything wrong.

Yes, it is. The rulebook specifically says that coaching staff are not allowed to interfere with players. By lining up and trying to redirect a gunner, they are directly interfering with a player.

 

[hambone1818]

Yes, it is. The rulebook specifically says that coaching staff are not allowed to interfere with players. By lining up and trying to redirect a gunner, they are directly interfering with a player.

Also, for some reason it isn't being mentioned anywhere but I believe that area of the field is designated for coaches and player substitutes only. Inactive, practice squad players aren't mentioned as a part of that 'allowed' group of personnel.

So to me, it comes down to this: the Patriots had a guy filming in an area he wasn't allowed to film; as an employee of the team it wasn't illegal for him to film, only illegal in that area. The net benefit? We'll never know I guess, but if Belichick is to be believed they did it to aid in splicing together film, as a time-saver. Meanwhile, the Jets had guys standing in an area where they weren't allowed to stand; they were allowed on the sidelines, just not in that area. The net benefit? A true on-field benefit as they helped to hold up a gunner from his progress, and topping that the coach standing at the end of the line injured said player.

I'm failing to see the difference, and why one warranted a Senate investigation and the other doesn't even call for the league to look into it.

 

[Pujo]

It would be appropriate to punish Ryan and the team if it could be proved that he coached that behavior, but it would be damn near impossible to get solid evidence of that and I would not want Goodell handing out punishment without evidence, even if it is the Jets. No doubt Spygate was blown out of proportion, but it's not the last time that the NFL will blow something out of proportion and the last thing we need is precedent being set that the commissioner can discipline without proof of wrongdoing (on the team's part, clearly there was proof of wrongdoing by Alosi). It will come back to bite us in the ass.

Personally, I think the resolution to tripgate was pretty appropriate. Someone could reasonably argue that Alosi should have been fired, though I don't think he got off with a slap on the wrist, either (remember, lots of people argued that BB should have been suspended for Spygate; luckily he wasn't). But would we want to lose another draft pick ourselves if one of our assistants does something stupid?

 

[Pujo]

Hey, do you guys remember a play during a Pats game a few years ago where an opposing player went out of bounds on the sideline and Belichick quickly scooted to get in his way? What should Belichick's punishment have been for that?

 

[hambone1818]

It would be appropriate to punish Ryan and the team if it could be proved that he coached that behavior, but it would be damn near impossible to get solid evidence of that and I would not want Goodell handing out punishment without evidence, even if it is the Jets. No doubt Spygate was blown out of proportion, but it's not the last time that the NFL will blow something out of proportion and the last thing we need is precedent being set that the commissioner can discipline without proof of wrongdoing (on the team's part, clearly there was proof of wrongdoing by Alosi). It will come back to bite us in the ass.

Personally, I think the resolution to tripgate was pretty appropriate. Someone could reasonably argue that Alosi should have been fired, though I don't think he got off with a slap on the wrist, either (remember, lots of people argued that BB should have been suspended for Spygate; luckily he wasn't). But would we want to lose another draft pick ourselves if one of our assistants does something stupid?

Shouldn't there at least be a league investigation? Clearly there were six men standing in a line, all looking at the gunner. Just down the field you have Rex Ryan, staring at the gunner--and this is all happening while the ball is downfield being returned. Alosi clearly didn't move despite seeing the player flying toward him, as any normal sideline person would, and the guy second in line also leaned his shoulder in, bracing for impact. They weren't there to get a great view of the action, it was pre-meditated.

Frankly, I don't care about this thing much at all...but after the way the Patriots were treated three years ago I want blood, I want investigations, I want Senate hearings, I want witnesses brought in, I want 24/7 coverage from ESPN, and I want Rex Ryan to miss his afternoon snack talking to the creaky old bones of Arlen Specter.

 

[Synovia]

Personally, I think the resolution to tripgate was pretty appropriate. Someone could reasonably argue that Alosi should have been fired, though I don't think he got off with a slap on the wrist, either (remember, lots of people argued that BB should have been suspended for Spygate; luckily he wasn't). But would we want to lose another draft pick ourselves if one of our assistants does something stupid?

I agree with this. They were cheating, but thats about as far as it goes. I just wish the refs had seen it, and given them a 15 yarder like they're supposed to.

 

[Synovia]

Hey, do you guys remember a play during a Pats game a few years ago where an opposing player went out of bounds on the sideline and Belichick quickly scooted to get in his way? What should Belichick's punishment have been for that?

A 15 yard penalty.

 

[Wolfpack]

Personally, I could care less what fans of other teams say. I think it is funny when they bring that stuff up, because it is their frustration more than anything. It is funny as hell to see them get all bent out of shape after the Pats roll over their team again.

Personally, I don't get this whole thing about "Thighgate". Even if Ryan had told those players to stand there, they weren't doing anything illegal. You have have guys stand where they want within the team area. The guy shouldn't have stuck his knee out there (and he should have been fired for being so stupid), but the fact they were all lined up at the edge of the coaching box isn't illegal. I don't think the Jets did anything wrong.

I moved on from the whole "Spygate" saga long ago, and could care less what anyone thinks of what the Pats are doing. I just like watching the games. We don't need this drama every time someone brings this up. Big whoop what they think.

I agree with half your post and disagree with the other half.

The part I agree with is that a lot of people need to move on from "Spygate". I can't believe how much it still gets mentioned in this very newsgroup. The very people who try and tell us all it is no big deal are the same ones who bring it up every chance they get.

The part I disagree with is the significance of whether or not the coaches were "ordered" to stand where they did. If they were told to stand there, it adds an element of premeditation to what Alosi is trying to claim was a complete spur-of-the-moment type of thing. He didn't do anything illegal by standing where he was, but it is illegal to deliberately throw a cheap shot at a completely defenseless player which could easily have been career ending.

 

[Wolfpack]

I agree with this. They were cheating, but thats about as far as it goes. I just wish the refs had seen it, and given them a 15 yarder like they're supposed to.

In that case the right call would have been to have offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties, since the Dolphins player should have been flagged for running downfield while out of bounds.

 

[Synovia]

In that case the right call would have been to have offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties, since the Dolphins player should have been flagged for running downfield while out of bounds.

Its a 5 yard penalty for intentionally running out of bounds on a punt/kickoff. Its not a penalty if you're blocked out of bounds, which he was.

 

[nabwong]

Let's move on.

 

[JAYHAWKS34]

Let's move on.

move on? Just like everyone moved on from spygate that easily, at least that didn't cause physical harm

 

[Haley]

Let's move on.

This would be extremely foolish now that the jets have admitted that the phalanx was ordered from within the organization.

 

[Pujo]

Frankly, I don't care about this thing much at all...but after the way the Patriots were treated three years ago I want blood, I want investigations, I want Senate hearings, I want witnesses brought in, I want 24/7 coverage from ESPN, and I want Rex Ryan to miss his afternoon snack talking to the creaky old bones of Arlen Specter.

Oh sure, and that would be it, the NFL would compensate for blowing Spygate out of proportion by blowing this out of proportion and then everything would be even and nothing would ever be blown out of proportion again. No, I don't want to see another team get the same treatment the Patriots got, as shabby as it was, and even if it's the Jets. Compounding one overblown response with another only leads to more such responses in the future. This has nothing to do with taking the moral high ground, I just know that if the league keeps screwing people, we may well get screwed again.

 

[Pujo]

This would be extremely foolish now that the jets have admitted that the phalanx was ordered from within the organization.

The Jets admitted it was ordered from within the organization? Care to provide a link?