And now ... Shiftgate! Patriots violate 'unwritten rule'!

YOUGOTMOSSED said:

They're so much like their division rivals the "Ratbirds." Fake tough guys who cry like little girls when things don't go their way. Pathetic!

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Just so you know, there are 4 representatives from the AFC on the competition committee (the real power behind the rule changes). Three of those four reps are Mike Tomlin (Pitt), Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore) and Marvin Lewis (Cincy). Expect crying to become the standard in the NFL.

It's because of things like that that I wish Belichick would take an active role on that committee.

BREAKING NEWS: THE NFL HAS SUSPENDED DAN MARINO FOR FOUR GAMES FOR HIS FAKE KNEEL AGAINST THE JETS (11/27/94)

Uncle Rico said:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...england-patriots-ben-roethlisberger/72050820/



Now, I got this link from a Breer Tweet ("Patriots will likely hear these complaints all year. Visiting teams now have license to raise concerns.") Really, "license to complain"? When is the media going to call out these teams for whining, for making excuses when they lose? Has any Patriot EVER whined like that after a loss.?This wussification of the league is the real embarrassment.

Maybe Dr. Phil can have a show each week where he interviews the latest team to lose to the Patriots, and he can re-assure them that their lives still have value.

Oh -- the comments on Breer's Tweets are pretty funny:
https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/642304327646859265

Edit: Actually, the comments on the USAToday's guys timeline were better:
https://twitter.com/IAmJamesStewart/status/642300616388276224

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I expect an emergency meeting of the competition committee. New rule: Patriots have to stop using the rule book to take advantage of other teams and being mean to them. Why is it with these teams being the whiny little b******s , especially that Pennsylvania, Maryland, Indiana, & New Yawk corridor.

Ivan said:

BREAKING NEWS: THE NFL HAS SUSPENDED DAN MARINO FOR FOUR GAMES FOR HIS FAKE KNEEL AGAINST THE JETS (11/27/94)

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Although that's funny, you know that if Brady and the Pats did that they would've gotten all kinds of flack for it.

wish we played in the AFC north. get rid of the garbage browns and place us in that division.
we could destroy the steelers on a yearly basis ( two times a year )

You know, I grew up with the Steelers - my much older brother-in-law was a huge fan of the Steel Curtain, the toughness, the power, the strength of that unit.

Those guys must be shaking their heads at this franchise post-2000. All they freaking do is whine, from Cordell Stewart to this current incarnation.

I remember the '06 AFCCG, when Indy turned up the heat on a sick, flu-stricken, Pats defense. Didn't hear a whine, just anger at themselves for losing. Maybe I'm not remembering it right, but that's what I recall.

Best quote from the USA Today comments: "You never hear excuses from winners."

skinnydog said:

I saw Brady calling for a quick snap when the Steelers forgot to cover Gronk. Very unfair and in violation of fairness and unwritten codes of conduct like the NFL boy scout code of fair play. I expect next time Brady will point it out to the opposing team and not hurry so much. Maybe there should be an on field ref to help the other team figure out what play the Pats are about to run.

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No huddle becomes illegal in 5, 4, 3....

Remember the defense the Pats used against Buffalo a few years ago (could be 1o) where the defense never set, they just wandered around looking like they had no idea what they were doing? ILLEGAL! MEAN!
NOT FAIR!
If the Pats had used the Wildcat first, it would now be ILLEGAL!

At some point, the NFL will amend the rule book and penalize New England for making their opponents "sad"

Gronkowski123 said:

wish we played in the AFC north. get rid of the garbage browns and place us in that division.
we could destroy the steelers on a yearly basis ( two times a year )

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But do you want to play the Ravens twice a year? I don't.

Mark. said:

But do you want to play the Ravens twice a year? I don't.

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sure, baltimore has never beaten a fully healthy pats team.
plus we get to humiliate/outsmart john harbaugh.

My memory may be off, but didn't the D-line make the exact same shift earlier in the game on Johnson's touchdown?

Not only had the Steelers seen the shift on tape before the game, they'd seen it about 20 minutes earlier in the same game!

Rat said:

My memory may be off, but didn't the D-line make the exact same shift earlier in the game on Johnson's touchdown?

Not only had the Steelers seen the shift on tape before the game, they'd seen it about 20 minutes earlier in the same game!

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Collinsworth even said that the shift made it easier for the Steelers to get into the endzone on that third down.

RelocatedPatFan said:

That's not quite as good as the butt fumble, but that gif always makes me laugh.

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Theres nothing in the observable Universe as great as the Butt Fumble.

Hold up hold up . . . so now you can't shift? I've been seeing D-Lines (not just NE) do that since I started watching football decades ago. Why don't they just burn the damn rule book and start from scratch since EVERYTHING the Patriots do is somehow questionable? How many rules have they had changed because they use them? The ineligible receiver thing was in the rule book as legal for who knows how long. Then the Patriots use it to perfection, and just because a coach gets mad because he probably really didn't know it was there (as Brady alluded), the rule changes? No other reason! Think about that for a second and let it sink in.

I will repeat that I have NEVER seen a team be reprimanded for being excellent. Have the rules changed (pun intended)? Aren't we supposed to celebrate excellence and free thinkers . . . forward thinkers? The Patriots should be the paradigm that the NFL promotes to show the greatness of the sport. Instead, they reject them? They sully the brand? They try to destroy 15 (almost 16) years of the legacies of men who sacrificed everything to win? Think about how many players and coaches that have come through and made this organization better. It's sickening. STOP CHANGING THE RULES BECAUSE NE DOES THINGS BETTER!

Rat said:

My memory may be off, but didn't the D-line make the exact same shift earlier in the game on Johnson's touchdown?

Not only had the Steelers seen the shift on tape before the game, they'd seen it about 20 minutes earlier in the same game!

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In fact, the DL shifted away from the hole Pitt ran too, allowing Johnson to barely get into the endzone. Had the Pats not shifted, Johnson would have been stuffed and the Squealers probably would have tried a field goal

Rat said:

My memory may be off, but didn't the D-line make the exact same shift earlier in the game on Johnson's touchdown?

Not only had the Steelers seen the shift on tape before the game, they'd seen it about 20 minutes earlier in the same game!

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That's a very good point!

I guess it's an unwritten rule that opposing coaches and players shouldn't actually read the rule book.

P.S. Does anyone know where I can buy a copy of the unwritten rule book?

Spiral said:

I guess it's an unwritten rule that opposing coaches and players shouldn't actually read the rule book.

P.S. Does anyone know where I can buy a copy of the unwritten rule book?

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Borders and Waldenbooks.

1960Pats said:

Just so you know, there are 4 representatives from the AFC on the competition committee (the real power behind the rule changes). Three of those four reps are Mike Tomlin (Pitt), Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore) and Marvin Lewis (Cincy). Expect crying to become the standard in the NFL.

It's because of things like that that I wish Belichick would take an active role on that committee.

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It should be a requirement that every team gets a representation on that committee. Wonder why BB isn't on it.