PFT creating controversy?

[Rob0729]

I know it is a shock.

From PFT on the end of Spy Gate:

POSTED 10:46 p.m. EDT, September 20, 2007
RESOLUTION TO PATS' SCANDAL HAS A STRANGE FEEL

Okay, so the NFL has received from the Patriots all materials related to the videotaping of defensive signals, and has destroyed them. The matter apparently is closed.

In all candor and with all due respect, however, something about this doesn't feel right. The destroyed materials had no real value, since any head coach or defensive coordinator who ever had played against the Belichick-led Pats would have surely revamped his defensive signals before facing them again. Even with the materials destroyed, any coach who would assume that a team that cheated in the first place by making the tapes wouldn't cheat by squirreling away a copy of the destroyed tapes doesn't deserve to have a job in the league.

But what of the ongoing rumors of other transgressions, such as the placement of microphones on defensive linemen? NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the AP, "We have no evidence to support that claim."

That's fine. No sanctions can ever be imposed on a matter of this nature without evidence. The real question, though, is what the league is doing, if anything, to search for such evidence.

Over the weekend, former Oakland receiver Tim Brown said on FSN's Pro Football Preview that an audiotape was sent to the the Raiders in 2002 containing clear sounds of quarterback Rich Gannon calling out audibles and adjustments during the teams' epic 2001 divisional playoff game. On Sunday, Gannon reiterated the contention while calling the Raiders-Broncos game for CBS.

It sure sounds like the early stages of "evidence to support that claim."

Still, we can't blame the NFL for closing the book on this one quickly. The league has no greater incentive to fully investigate the potential depths of the Patriots' rabbit hole than the Falcons had to insist on an archaeological at Michael Vick's property.

In these situations, nothing good can come of finding something bad.

Gregg Easterbook of ESPN.com addressed the potential ramifications of this scandal in his most recent Tuesday Morning Quarterback column, in a compelling look at a P.R. problem that could bring about a reduction in the league's popularity.

And that's why the best outcome might be to find a way to move on/move out regarding the whole cheating thing without screwing up what has become a very, very good thing for a lot of people. Us included.

We don't bust our butts on this site because we dislike the NFL and want to see its fan base shrink. I vividly remember as a kid being irritated by the notion that baseball was America's pastime, and being elated when it became clear that the NFL was the new king of the hill. But despite all of that, there's still a little voice in our guts telling us it's only right for the truth to come out (whatever it might be), and that even if the proof creates a short-term embarrassment the long-term interests of the sport will be vindicated.

So in the absence of a governmental body that has jurisdiction to poke its nose into these affairs, the onus falls on the "real" media to start turning stones in order to determine whether the skeletons in the closet have any meat on their bones. If there's anything to the whispers that resonated through the grapevine last week, there undoubtedly will be at least one former employee of the Patriots who no longer works in the NFL and has no aspiration to return -- and who has enough first-hand knowledge to make this story about something more than a guy with a video camera recording images that are in plain view of everyone during an NFL game.

Whether the "real" media is engaged in any such efforts remains to be seen.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

Ok, on the Raiders thing. Why would the Pats illegally record audio of Gannon calling the audible and then send it to the Raiders? If Belichick is this evil genius doing all these covert espinage, would he send evidence that he is doing to the team he is spying on even by accident? I don't get how this is proof of the Pats audiotaping signals. It could easily have been the audio feed from the network since they do record sounds from the field all game even if they don't broadcast it.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

I know it is a shock.

From PFT on the end of Spy Gate:



http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

Ok, on the Raiders thing. Why would the Pats illegally record audio of Gannon calling the audible and then send it to the Raiders? If Belichick is this evil genius doing all these covert espinage, would he send evidence that he is doing to the team he is spying on even by accident? I don't get how this is proof of the Pats audiotaping signals. It could easily have been the audio feed from the network since they do record sounds from the field all game even if they don't broadcast it.

He's a gutter whore, nothing MORE. If a tape exsisted, it would have surfaced back in 2002. No way they just would have tossed in in the garbage and said "gee, that really sucks". If TB and RG knew about it (the tape) all the players did, and there is no way it was quieted by that many people for so long, only to have is surface at this point (after tapegate broke).

100% crap. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

He's a gutter whore, nothing MORE. If a tape exsisted, it would have surfaced back in 2002. No way they just would have tossed in in the garbage and said "gee, that really sucks". If TB and RG knew about it (the tape) all the players did, and there is no way it was quieted by that many people for so long, only to have is surface at this point (after tapegate broke).

100% crap. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

IANAL, but it seems that Mr. Florio has forgotten the definition of laches.

As you said, if said tape existed, we'd have known about it in 2002.

 

[Rob0729]

Even if the tape existed, wouldn't Florio, as a lawyer, know little things like proving chain of custody or obtaining proof that the Patriots actually were the ones who recorded the tape. Remember the Dolphins bought a tape supposably off the internet that had clear audio of Brady's audibles.

If the Raiders could produce the tape right now, how does the league prove that the Pats were the ones who recorded it? Fingerprints and DNA wouldn't last over nearly six years. Why would the league even believe that a tape that the Raiders had in their possession for nearly six years and never gave it to the league was mysteriously sent to them and recorded by the Patriots?

If this is the allegation with the hardest evidence floating around out there, it isn't surprising the league closed the case.

 

[Lansdowne]

What doesn't "feel right" to Florio is that this scandal is over and done with. He would probably prefer to keep stirring the pot. He doesn't want this to go away.

 

[RayClay]

I know it is a shock.

From PFT on the end of Spy Gate:



http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

Ok, on the Raiders thing. Why would the Pats illegally record audio of Gannon calling the audible and then send it to the Raiders? If Belichick is this evil genius doing all these covert espinage, would he send evidence that he is doing to the team he is spying on even by accident? I don't get how this is proof of the Pats audiotaping signals. It could easily have been the audio feed from the network since they do record sounds from the field all game even if they don't broadcast it.

He was no different from any other officer in the ward room, they were all disloyal. I tried to run the ship properly, by the book, but they fought me at every turn. The crew wanted to walk around with their shirt tails hanging out, that's all right, let them. Take the tow line, defective equipment, no more, no less. But they encouraged the crew to go around scoffing at me, and spreading wild rumors about steaming in circles, and then old yellow-strain. I was to blame for Lt. Maryk's incompetence and poor seamanship. Lt. Maryk was the perfect officer, but not Captain Queeg. Ah, but the strawberries, that's where I had them, they laughed at me and made jokes, but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, with geometric logic, that a duplicate key to the ward room icebox did exist, and I've had produced that key if they hadn't pulled the Caine out of action...")

 

[DarrylS]

Used to respect PFT, for what it was a rumor thing where you might get some information on the NFL.. however, after their flaming of this situation, I still visit, but view things more skeptically. The title of this thread, PFT creating controversy is what they do.. it is about generating hits..

 

[cubicle_6]

There was nothing compelling about Easterbrook's pathetic column
that PFT credits.
There continues to be ridiculous lack of understanding how
a team's offense works given that Easterbrook still thinks it possible that the Patriots were stealing signs in the Charger game.
It's unbelievable.
These people don't stop to think how could that be?
If they did, they's understand it's just not realistic.

 

[Cramden]

What doesn't "feel right" to Florio is that this scandal is over and done with. He would probably prefer to keep stirring the pot. He doesn't want this to go away.

Exactly. "Spygate" to Florio has been like the OJ trial was to Geraldo Rivera.

 

[cartmen]

what I am shocked by is that those guys are still grumbling over a playoff game that happened 6 years ago. The Defense had a good game but I wouldn't call it dominating. The offense was actually pretty mediocre in that game and thanks to a tuck rule call we got another shot at it. GET OVER YOURSELVES!! you still had a shot at preventing them from getting anywhere near the 31 yd line to tie it up and you couldn't

Why aint they ratting on the Bucs the following year they lambasted them made it look like they were in the huddle with them. Bunch of babies !

 

[signbabybrady]

can't this stuff just go away, haven't people realized its not helping anyones image. It's not like mangini is coming out of this clean, he sounds like a baby and a sore loser....and so do people like gannon who are just mad they lost to us.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Something doesn't feel right or smell right about this "clear sound" tape. That game, was played in the middle of a snowstorm. When have any of us ever been in a snowstorm when the wind wasn't howling or at least blowing enough to get detected by the microphone? They could barely see out there (except for Wiggins with 10 catches) and we're supposed to believe there is an audiotape with "clear sounds". GMAFB. I wrote to Florio, let's see if he either responds or calls someone to task. Someone else preferably for a change.
Just my $0.02,

 

[BigSee93]

The fact that PFT credits Easterbrook,pretty much sums up their agenda. PFT is looking more like the "National Enquirer" of the NFL...

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Exactly. "Spygate" to Florio has been like the OJ trial was to Geraldo Rivera.

and it ended up like Al Capone's vault........

 

[MetalBleachers]

Why aint they ratting on the Bucs the following year they lambasted them made it look like they were in the huddle with them. Bunch of babies !

That's the thing: in 2002, Callahan didn't change his team's audibles going against Gruden, the coach who essentially created that offense. Amazing that we're nitpicking alleged audible recordings six years later.

Raiders are still mad about Tuck Everlasting. They forget that their running D fell apart in OT, and that they would have lost to the Steelers the next week. My, these grapes are sour.

 

[Bella*chick]

Oh, please. He's just mad because his "bombshell" fizzled completely.

If he wants to whine about how something "feels wrong" about this, then why isn't he asking the simple, common sense question of why this would come out SIX YEARS after it happened. And during a time when everyone and their dog was gleefully taking advantage of slinging mud at the Patriots.

This guy is really not very bright.

 

[patchick]

What doesn't "feel right" to Florio is that this scandal is over and done with. He would probably prefer to keep stirring the pot. He doesn't want this to go away.

That's it exactly -- and to an extent, I don't blame him. BUT, I think he's risking killing the golden goose of his site by inserting so much of his own opinion and hypothesizing.

Mike Florio is not a football expert. People did not flock to his blog to read his opinions on the game. They came because he offered a steady flow of insider gossip and innuendo, the stuff that circulates the back rooms of the NFL but fans are seldom privy to. Insofar as he delivers that gossip and innuendo the site is great, even though a significant amount of it turns out to be wrong. (I defended him in the "Moss might be cut" case, even though it was asinine, because it was believable that the rumor existed.) Such is life on the grapevine.

But then the trouble starts. Florio attracts a huge audience, is invited as a guest on sports talk shows, and starts to believe his opinion actually matters. Worse yet, he makes it very, very (purposefully?) unclear whether any given statement is his own opinion or something he's heard from somebody with actual knowledge of the game. And the more he does that, the less and less worthwhile his site is. Any football fan off the street can run his mouth off about what he thinks "sounds right," and nobody wants to read that crap.

Golden goose, Mr. Florio. Read up on it.

 

[Oswlek]

Florio loses on this one.

1) Gannon was just on WEEI yesterday and he specifically called all the clamoring over NE "sour grapes" and said he didn't believe that it had any impact on the games, that game in particular. Do you really think he would have said that if he had a smoking gun of evidence to the contrary?

2) The only thing "compelling" about Easterbrooks TMQ was that it compelled several men in white coats to make their way over to his Buffalo home. Did Florio even read the comments on that article? For every one that agreed with Easterbrooks contentions, there were 20 others that pointed out logic flaws or complete factual inaccuracies. That TMQ was as grounded in reality as unicorns and pots at the end of rainbows. Oh, did I mention that Easterbrook is a Bills fan and has never failed to take shots at NE before. Florio comes off as a complete idiot by even mentioning that article in a positive manner.

The league has closed the book because the story is over. Interestingly enough, Florio tries to point out the league's clandestine intentions when his couldn't be more clear.

 

[upstater1]

Pretty funny stuff. You know Florio is aware of the Dolphins' story against the Patriots last year, but he leaves that part out because of his vendetta.

 

[Bella*chick]

Florio loses on this one.

1) Gannon was just on WEEI yesterday and he specifically called all the clamoring over NE "sour grapes" and said he didn't believe that it had any impact on the games, that game in particular. Do you really think he would have said that if he had a smoking gun of evidence to the contrary?

2) The only thing "compelling" about Easterbrooks TMQ was that it compelled several men in white coats to make their way over to his Buffalo home. Did Florio even read the comments on that article? For every one that agreed with Easterbrooks contentions, there were 20 others that pointed out logic flaws or complete factual inaccuracies. That TMQ was as grounded in reality as unicorns and pots at the end of rainbows. Oh, did I mention that Easterbrook is a Bills fan and has never failed to take shots at NE before. Florio comes off as a complete idiot by even mentioning that article in a positive manner.

The league has closed the book because the story is over.

LOL about Easterbrook. Actually, his article did compel me to cancel my ESPN Insider subscription and quit that site forever.

Did someone say Florio was a lawyer? I wonder where he got his JD....Bubba's Law School and Tackle Shop? I agree with patchick that he may felt like a minor celebrity through all this and is sorely disappointed that it ended so quietly.