Fox Sports Mike Rosenberg: Goodell is letting the Patriots off too easy

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...s-off-way-too-easy?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=5

Another guy whining about more severe punishment,Must be a jets fan.

After looking at his picture,doesn't he look like he could be an offspring if Dan Marino and Marty Feldman could have had a baby together?

 

[BelichickFan]

I stop reading articles as soon as I read the word "cheating" - which, of course, means I never finish any of these articeles. It's not cheating.

 

[JoePats]

If you gave other coaches the chance to record opposing teams' offensive and defensive signals during games for an eight-year period, and at the end they would lose a first-round pick and their teams would get fined, would they say it was worth it?

I think almost every coach in that league would say yes.

I don't agree with this. First of all, according to Jimmy Johnson, the Pats are not the only team to tape signals in the first place. Second, every team steals signs as it is. Third, there is evidence that the Pats did not use the tapes for sign stealing purposes during the game (2nd halves taped, multiple angles of the same play).

I give the writer credit for the point that some continue to make (which is ridiculous) that the fact the Pats had SF's pick is irrelevant when deciding on a penalty.

But besides that, this is simply the media, with no new scraps, re-writing a column from 8 months ago simply because there is nothing new to bash the Pats on.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Goodell's boxed himself into a nasty corner.

In October, he made a very misguided attempt at "helping" the Patriots by fudging the full extent of the Pats extracurricular activities over the years and by destroying the tapes and avoiding the spectre of their being endlessly replayed on ESPN and the internet, no doubt, in part, out of deference to the Krafts and their many contributions to the league.

Now, the details are out and the media gets to replay a whole bunch of tapes anyway. So, a story that should have died in October continues to live on. (Reiss' article in yesterday's Globe laid this chronology out pretty clearly.)

So, does Goodell (a) admit that he was wrong by "limiting" the Patriots October punishment (nothing has changed factwise--the Pats apparently copped privately back in the fall to everything that the Walsh tapes show) and now impose more severe punishments for the same "crimes" he's already punished or (b) does he stand up to the abuse he is receiving from the media and that he will receive from Specter and say that the matter has been resolved?

Unfortunately, I'm going with (a).

 

[DefenseRules]

Again SPYGATE 2 started because of a BS report from the Boston Herald about a filiming the Rams walkthru that does not exist. What more do these people want? :bricks:
Is Goodell supposed to punish the team some more for something he already punished them for? These Media "HACKS" have lost their minds.

 

[NEPatriot]

what kind of punishment does he want Goodell to do to Pats.?

It's a spygate week. Tomorrow is going to be the last day for all sport columnists to write about this incident.

 

[BelichickFan]

So, does Goodell (a) admit that he was wrong by "limiting" the Patriots October punishment (nothing has changed factwise--the Pats apparently copped privately back in the fall to everything that the Walsh tapes show) and now impose more severe punishments for the same "crimes" he's already punished or (b) does he stand up to the abuse he is receiving from the media and that he will receive from Specter and say that the matter has been resolved?

Unfortunately, I'm going with (a).

That can almost not happen. He can't go back and say "I picked a punishment, nothing has changed and now I'm going to punish them more just because".

Again SPYGATE 2 started because of a BS report from the Boston Herald about a filiming the Rams walkthru that does not exist. What more do these people want? :bricks:
Is Goodell supposed to punish the team some more for something he already punished them for? These Media "HACKS" have lost their minds.

Right, to our knowledge there's nothing more here to see. Nothing has changed.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

That can almost not happen. He can't go back and say "I picked a punishment, nothing has changed and now I'm going to punish them more just because".
...

your assumption that this is a rational process is appealing but unrealistic, IMO. this is a politcal and media process. logic, fairness and rationality have little to do with it.

 

[BelichickFan]

your assumption that this is a rational process is appealing but unrealistic, IMO. this is a politcal and media process. logic, fairness and rationality have little to do with it.

My assumption is that Jolly Roger doesn't want to look like a total imbecile - and changing the penalty for no reason whatsoever would make him look limp and totally useless.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Again SPYGATE 2 started because of a BS report from the Boston Herald about a filiming the Rams walkthru that does not exist. What more do these people want? :bricks:
Is Goodell supposed to punish the team some more for something he already punished them for? These Media "HACKS" have lost their minds.

i wish you were right, but you assume that people are out for the truth, which they are not. reading the national media indicates that this is morphing into a story about "seven years of cheating that is more extensive than we thought it was and that Goodell didn't fully disclose to us in the fall." if that's the storyline, we lose.

 

[Deus Irae]

Goodell's boxed himself into a nasty corner.

In October, he made a very misguided attempt at "helping" the Patriots by fudging the full extent of the Pats extracurricular activities over the years and by destroying the tapes and avoiding the spectre of their being endlessly replayed on ESPN and the internet, no doubt, in part, out of deference to the Krafts and their many contributions to the league.

What are you basing the notion that the tapes were destroyed to 'help' the Patriots on?

 

[bradmahn]

If you gave other coaches the chance to record opposing teams' offensive and defensive signals during games for an eight-year period, and at the end they would lose a first-round pick and their teams would get fined, would they say it was worth it?

I think almost every coach in that league would say yes. This is a huge advantage. And that's why the punishment did not fit the crime.

Jimmy Johnson has said the effect taping had for his team was minimal - so much so that he stopped doing it because it wasn't worth it. Belichick said (and I paraphrase), on a scale of 1 to 100, the benefits of taping were a one.

So why would you forsake the opportunity to draft a player who will actually help you on the field for eight years (if the pick is a good one) so that you can gain a slight advantage in preparation for something that was, and still is, legal?

Rosenberg's premise for "More Punishment!" is based on his own very ill informed assumptions. How can any rational, thinking person call for a harsher punishment when they have so little knowledge of the actual incident or the benefits gained from such illegality?

If Bill was using the tapes after the games were played (which all evidence would suggest) and we know that coaches change their signals from game to game or even quarter to quarter, wouldn't the most likely reason for taping be to pick up on trends in signals for particular coaches and staffs? Meaning they never actually knew what the opposing defense was, they were still merely making a guess as to what the defense was going to be. Their guess was simply more educated than others (educated illegally for the last year and a half, mind you).

The punishment was excessive (in my mind), but I understand why: Belichick disobeyed the new commish's own declaration, which could not happen because it flies in the face of the hierarchy that is the NFL power structure. Goodell jumped the gun and was pandering to the media uproar, but the punishment is what it is for the same reason that any newly crowned autocratic leader punishes opponents and critics harshly - to prevent further dissension.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

My assumption is that Jolly Roger doesn't want to look like a total imbecile - and changing the penalty for no reason whatsoever would make him look limp and totally useless.

Goodell's in damage control mode now. he's going to look bad no matter what he does.

if he doesn't pile on the pats, 95% of fans and Arlen Specter will say that he's the imbecile who failed to adequately sanction the patriots for what we "now know" was the full extent of their misdeeds.

if he piles on, he'll be forever cursed on this board and in new england, but the rest of the country (fans, sponsors, mediots) will say, "well, he might be an imbecile, but at least he did the right thing in the end."

in the end, if the cba falls apart and there's a strike, Goodell will have little capital on which to fall back and his tenure will likely be mercifully short. he'll have a little more capital if he screws the pats than if he doesn't, so i think that's the choice he's more likely to make.

 

[BelichickFan]

If anything, hindsight dictates that a lighter penalty was warrented.

Why ?

Back in September is was a reasonable argument (though I would have disagreed) that the Patriots' success was in no small part due to the camera. No-one could say for sure. What happens if Jolly Roger takes away a #3 pick then the Patriots go 6-10 because they aren't that good and Belichick is a schmuck without his camera ?

Now it's May. Despite the tragedy we watched in February, the Patriots played their best season ever (not ultimately most successful but, on average, the best). Without the camera. We led the league in scoring. Led the league in point differential. Went 16-0 in the regular season for the first time ever.

We now know how little the camera meant. Jolly Roger didn't back in September. (Recent) history now tells us that the camera wasn't the be all and end all of our coaching staff; it was just a tool, a tiny little tool that added a very small amount of information.

Rather than worrying about additional penalties we should be expecting Jolly Roger to lighten the penalty now that time has shown the camera was largely irrelevant.

 

[NEPatriot]

Goodell doesn't have the gut to tell Specter to back up and it is the reason we still see this spygate on the news. Our congressman and senators get a way from doing a lot of things because they are big shots in Capital Hill.

A cop will give you a traffic ticket if your car goes over the speed limit. Our senators can get away from it.

 

[Rob0729]

This article goes to prove why the Patriots cannot win a PR battle. This guy like many other media people have been hoping for more dirt to bury the Patriots. All this talk that people wanted Matt Walsh to speak so Spygate can be put to rest is all BS. They wanted Walsh to speak to reveal more dirt on the Patriots so they would be punished more and this would explode to the Watergate of the NFL with Walsh as its Deep Throat.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

What are you basing the notion that the tapes were destroyed to 'help' the Patriots on?

fair question and i should have worded that a little more carefully but that's what happens when i blog out here and should be working.

it's an hypothesis and is based on the fact that, at the time, the Pats benefitted from there not being a 24/7 replay of the signal stealing on ESPN and the internet. i think the story died a lot faster because the tapes weren't being played over and over again. but, that's an opinion and i should have said so more clearly. i do, however, strongly believe it.

my original statement should also have acknowledged that Goodell also benefited from this, because the tapes would have embarrassed the league and he didn't have to field a barrage of media questions and commentary.

 

[bakes781]

Rather than worrying about additional penalties we should be expecting Jolly Roger to lighten the penalty now that time has shown the camera was largely irrelevant.

I wouldn't hold your breath on that ever happening. lol

Bottomline is this was unchartered territory, so who's to say what the fair punishment should be. In terms of the current policies in place the punishment dealt was the greatest ever handed down, so that certainly sets a precedent going forward. The pressure on Goodell is enormous, but only for the fact that it's the Patriots. Any other team & this story would have lasted about as long as that report of half the Panthers' SB roster being on roids/hgh.

 

[NEPatriot]

Pats or BB haters will never be satisfied until they see that BB leaves Pats because it is the only way that they can see their teams win and get their personal avengence.

 

[BelichickFan]

I wouldn't hold your breath on that ever happening. lol.

That's for sure. It's not happening. But it should - last year proved how important the camera was.