Belichick intimates Spygate was much ado about nothing

[robbomango]

"He got a competitive edge" "he didn't get a competitive edge" :spygate:

"everyone does it" "he got caught so that's no excuse" :spygate:

 

[The Scrizz]

Mangini takes a ton of crap and rightfully so, but this was pushed on the Jets side by scumbag, no-nothing, bean-counter Tannenbaum.

 

[Jackson 2]

While it may have been much ado about nothing, never forget it was a total own goal by Belichick.

By having the guy out there filming only days after Goodell sent a letter to everyone saying not to do it, he basically flipped the bird at Goodell -- and flipped the bird at someone, who being pretty new, had to be seen as not taking stuff from anyone -- who then retaliated in kind.

So while Goodell overreacted, Belichick was being arrogant and stupid.

As a card-carrying "In Bill We Trust" guy, I'll disagree with the "stupid." The rest is right on the money.

 

[DaBruinz]

They gained a competitve advantage or they wouldn't have been doing it. If they wanted the footage of signals to try and find tendencies, they would have filmed it from the coaches box discretely. Instead they filmed it out in the open as blatantly as possible to get in the heads of the signal callers on the other side. They are trying to influence the signal caller. If they signal in the same defense a few times per game, the coaches are going to get ancy and want to call something else or change their signals at halftime.

They were taping to learn the tendencies of the opposing DC for future games. The problem with what you say is that there was no way for them to view the tapes during the games since there is no play-back equipment allowed in the locker-rooms during the games. And the NFL has people IN the locker-rooms, during the games to ensure that..

Also, there is no recording devices allowed in the coaches box. And that is something that the NFL checks before and during the games.

Finally, it's well known that teams change their signals at half-time. BB has said as much. So has Brady.

 

[zoostation]

And don't forget. Several teams had cameras on the field prior to 2007. The rule was enforced that off-season. Several other teams had the same advantage during the early part of the decade.

So the Patriots turned into the poster child of the NFL for having the camera on the field for about 22 minutes of football against the NY Jets. That was the game that introduced the Brady/Moss tandem. My $ says the Patriots would have won that game leaving half the team back in Foxboro.

The other teams in the league now have a built in excuse for getting their a@@ kicked for the last 10 years.

 

[RJB87]

If ya ain't cheatin' ya ain't tryin' *chews gum with with a scowl*

 

[DaBruinz]

While it may have been much ado about nothing, never forget it was a total own goal by Belichick.

By having the guy out there filming only days after Goodell sent a letter to everyone saying not to do it, he basically flipped the bird at Goodell -- and flipped the bird at someone, who being pretty new, had to be seen as not taking stuff from anyone -- who then retaliated in kind.

So while Goodell overreacted, Belichick was being arrogant and stupid.

I am pretty sure that it was proven that the letter that ESPN referenced was sent out prior to the 2006 season, not the 2007 season. And, as a result, it was proven that it hadn't been "only days" since Goodell sent out a letter.

In fact, the ESPN Timeline says that the letter was sent out on Sept. 9th, 2006. Over a year before Matt Estrella was caught with the camera on the sidelines..

Timeline of events and disclosures during Spygate saga - NFL - ESPN

So, How can BB have been "arrogant and stupid" when he had actually reported the Jets for taping from the sidelines at the end of 2006 and nothing was done to them? Expecting the same treatment that the Jets got is hardly "arrogant and stupid".

 

[Mayday Malone]

I am pretty sure that it was proven that the letter that ESPN referenced was sent out prior to the 2006 season, not the 2007 season. And, as a result, it was proven that it hadn't been "only days" since Goodell sent out a letter.

In fact, the ESPN Timeline says that the letter was sent out on Sept. 9th, 2006. Over a year before Matt Estrella was caught with the camera on the sidelines..

Timeline of events and disclosures during Spygate saga - NFL - ESPN

So, How can BB have been "arrogant and stupid" when he had actually reported the Jets for taping from the sidelines at the end of 2006 and nothing was done to them? Expecting the same treatment that the Jets got is hardly "arrogant and stupid".

One billion times this. We got slammed for one quarter of football, when there is actual proof that "everyone does it". I laugh at the running it up bugaboos, because in my eyes Bill hasn't run it up enough yet to quell my anger over the whole conflict to begin with.

 

[JoeSixPat]

If anything the fact he says that you disguise your stuff like a 3rd base coach does means that film would actually be valuable in decoding signals, so I don't see what you're getting at.

Correct. The Coaches are being filmed - by the broadcast and by the opposing team.

Everyone knows this and its legal.

I'm not sure why other team's fans are shocked by this and wonder why they think coaches are covering their mouths when calling in plays.

 

[ProudestRyno]

My favorite stat about "spygate"...

Even though filming the opposing defense was supposedly done to give our offense an advantage, in the years prior to "spygate" our offense was only above average, yet since "spygate" we have outscored every team in the NFL by over 200 points.

From 2001-2006, we scored over 385 points once and averaged 384 pts/season

From 2007-2011, we've scored at least 410 points every season, had the 1st and 8th highest scoring teams of all time and averaged 480 pts/season. Nearly 100 points more per season than prior to "spygate".

Wow, that filming the defense stuff really helped.

Not sure how you can compare those...

Different teams, different circumstances, the NFL has changed to more passing, scoring league. Just completely different circumstances.

 

[RJB87]

God bless Spygate. I hope opposing teams are so scared when they play us that it forces them to spend time completely re-doing their signals that week. The less time they spend on us the better.

 

[Mogamedogz]

Patriot fans are our own worst enemy when it comes to spygate. We are the only people still talking about this nonsense.

I just dont get what the end game is here. are we trying to convince OURSELVES that it didn't matter?? Because nobody else seems to give a turd.


:bricks:

 

[Koma]

I am pretty sure that it was proven that the letter that ESPN referenced was sent out prior to the 2006 season, not the 2007 season. And, as a result, it was proven that it hadn't been "only days" since Goodell sent out a letter.

In fact, the ESPN Timeline says that the letter was sent out on Sept. 9th, 2006. Over a year before Matt Estrella was caught with the camera on the sidelines..

Timeline of events and disclosures during Spygate saga - NFL - ESPN

So, How can BB have been "arrogant and stupid" when he had actually reported the Jets for taping from the sidelines at the end of 2006 and nothing was done to them? Expecting the same treatment that the Jets got is hardly "arrogant and stupid".

Exactly. One of the myths of the whole camera-gate story is the "Belichick got the memo a few days before the '07 opener and decided to ignore it" angle.

In addition to nothing happening to the Jets in 2006, nothing happened to the Patriots after one of their cameramen was removed from Lambeau.

Belichick should have sought clarification about the memo when it first came out in 2006. He didn't and he paid the price for that. I don't think he expected the price would be so high, though.

Based on how other team infractions have been handled since then, the penalties assessed to the Patriots seem excessive. And I still can't believe that the league adopted the "With a green vest, you can film anything" rule this year.

 

[stcjones]

Amen man....exactly how I feel about it....great post

Its been OBVIOUS since day one for anyone who knows anything about football that this was "much ado about nothing". 2 key facts never get mentioned (at least enough) in all this.

1. Trying to steal signals has NEVER been illegal in the NFL.

2. Nothing the Pats did on the day they were "caught", couldn't have been done with someone using binoculars and a clipboard instead of a camera and tape recorder.... only less efficiently....and it would have been fine with the NFL.

The policy against filming was just as stupid as a law saying its alright to steal, but just not with a gun. BB was just pointing out this obvious hypocracy. He erred in anticipating the reaction from the league. He erred in not fully explaining his side of the issue. He wasn't the only one to blame, but his error damaged the team. We can't get around it. We can only hope that some day the full story will be told.

BOTTOM LINE - The Pats gained NO competitive advantage from that filming, Certainly nothing short term, and anything they gained long term by tracking tendencies could have been gained LEGALLY but by less efficient methods.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

'Spygate Much ado about nothing' is not a headline and is not profound. It is a basic truth that is known by anyone that can identify yellow journalism, anyone that has healthy skepticism for those who parrot what yellow journalists repeat ad nauseum, anyone that can discuss sports and not let their emotions rule their speech center.
One would have to go back as far as the dreaded Y2K hype to find a story that had so little basis in truth but was even more accepted by the unwashed masses.
Looking back at the Spygate episode (while noting I absolutely believe Robert Kraft to be a great owner), Kraft is one of the big catalysts of the Spygate blip becoming such a grand affair. While I have no problem with him in the very beginning being the good soldier and accepting the NFL/company line, VERY quickly he should have broke from it and looked out for his coach and his franchise. He allowed Goodell/the NFL to give de facto validation of the story that the Patriots were unmitigated cheaters and their SB victories were gained unfairly. The Patriots needed to spring a campaign of factual information to combat the disinformation. It would have allowed the few cooler heads in the media a foundation to take the counter point to the growing "story". However, Kraft decided to just accept it and do nothing. The story continued to grow and grow with absurdly inaccurate information and ugly undeserved adjectives. It ultimately reached a point where the Patriots could not realistically combat the deafening roar of the yellow journalists and the large masses of fans who disliked the Patriots for how much they won AND the way they won it (no big mouthed stars, fewer mega contracts, TEAM always comes first, speak to the media sparingly).
I believe Kraft thinks 'I'll never buck the tide of my brotherhood, the NFL'. Maybe that is the best way to believe but nonetheless the Patriots reputation was brutalized unfairly to pay for the loyalty to that brotherhood.