The Truth About Spygate: Punishing Success and Promoting Parity | Bleacher Report
Click the above link and read the article. While I don't agree with the premise that it was all about punishing the success of the Patriots, it is a well investigated report about spygate. It is a little long but worth the read. If you want to call the Patriots cheaters get the facts straight. Here are a few facts.
1. The league never said the Patriots cheated. The word "cheated" has been used by the media and fans of other teams.
2. ESPN falsely reported that the Patriots were taking the film in the first half half of a game and using them in the second half to interpret the defensive coaches signals. This is a logistical impossibility. Your trying to tell me that you can take a half hour of film, decipher which signal is true and which ones are decoys, match them up to defensive plays and come up with an offensive game plan to counter it all in the 15 minutes of halftime. I don't think so. And by the time the QB gets to the line and scans the defense the he has to audible on his own. The radio in the helmet is shut off when there is 10 seconds left to the play clock.
3. No where in the rules or bylaws of the NFL does it state that coaches signals cannot be filmed. This is biggest mistake that people make when trying to slam the Patriots.
4. The rule that New England supposedly broke has to do with camera placement. If they would have filmed from the stands there would be no problem.
5. I think that the reason that the Patriots were fined so heavily is that Herr Goodell was mad that they ignored a memo that the league office sent them. A memo that got the rule wrong. A memo should not trump the NFL rulebook. This is just my opinion.
6. The term "spygate" is inaccurate. Camera man was out in the open and the Patriots never hid the fact that they were filming.
7. The year before the Dolphins were caught using audio tape of Brady's audibles and used it to beat the Patriots. They even bragged about it afterward. Goodell said that was OK. Seems like a double standard.
There are other relevant facts out there, but if you read the Bleacher Report article and still want to call them cheaters then your just another hater.