Fun read: Michael Hurley destroys Spygate article in NY Post

[sb1]

@PP_Rich_Hill: Pats fans should Fav for future reference RT @michaelFhurley: Seriously though, read my Spygate story. It was fun. http://t.co/dTsieJgYcG

----
Great stuff. It's not surprising that tabloid trash like the Post would come out with an article like that.

Also enjoyed how he clowned that Steeler fan who authored a book of dopey Spygate conspiracy theories that haters love to quote... gotta love it....I do wonder if that Steeler fan has any take on his team winning* their Super Bowls by cheating with illegal PEDs or the refs help...

 

[Fencer]

Steeler fans say PEDs weren't illegal back in the 70s.

 

[Mike the Brit]

"The Patriots would have been within their rights to look at these people and take notes of their signals, but it was the use of video cameras that made it illegal. So they were punished, more for their arrogance in repeatedly refusing to obey the rules than anything else."

Agree! Agree! Agree!

 

[DarrylS]

Do not let ESPN know about this... they will have to revise all their talking points.

 

[sb1]

"The Patriots would have been within their rights to look at these people and take notes of their signals, but it was the use of video cameras that made it illegal. So they were punished, more for their arrogance in repeatedly refusing to obey the rules than anything else."

Agree! Agree! Agree!

I think the problem was BB stuck to the status quo after the memo came out, because he was arrogant enough to think he could wordsmith/lawyer his way out of it when caught. Which is what he tried to do.

Arrogance can be a good trait but in this case it did him in. Playing lawyer is not something he is paid to do. I'm sure he wishes he just fell in line on this with every other team, as we all do.

 

[fnordcircle]

They say: Pats haven't won anything since Spygate.
I say: But look at the stats, Spygate was about taping defensive signals so how do you explain that the Patriots are vastly superior offensively after spygate?
They say: They are probably cheating some other way.

Point is: Nobody will ever change anyone's mind because it is convenient for us to believe that Spygate wasn't that big of a deal and it's convenient for people who hate the team to believe that it was a big deal and is the tip of the cheating iceberg.

 

[Halifax_Pats_Fan]

Do not let ESPN know about this... they will have to revise all their talking points.

no doubt they are already working on a piece to be aired either tomorrow or Thursday...

The people who hate New England will always be convinced, even though many reputable people in the league know better. Talk really is cheap...

 

[BTTA]

I think the problem was BB stuck to the status quo after the memo came out, because he was arrogant enough to think he could wordsmith/lawyer his way out of it when caught. Which is what he tried to do.

Arrogance can be a good trait but in this case it did him in. Playing lawyer is not something he is paid to do. I'm sure he wishes he just fell in line on this with every other team, as we all do.

Yes, I agree the penalty was in fact a result of BB being arrogant, but in probably in his response on the phone to the Commissioner, not in his abuse of the rules.

Did it mention anywhere in that story that NFL memos are not actually enforceable? That the only thing a team is obligated to respond to are actual rule changes? That the Commissioner's office is not empowered to make up or adjust rules just because it feels like it?

 

[Gwedd]

Again, the Patriots were never accused of breaking the NFL game rules. They were never accused by the NFL of cheating. What they were accused of is breaking a rule in the NFL Operations Manual which states (among many, many, other things) where cameras may be placed prior to, during, and after a game. They never broke a single game rule, did nothing that could, in any way, influence a game on that day.

To add to all this, a good chunk of what was on that tape was shown to the public, shortly after it was seized and BEFORE it was shown to reporters. Jane Skinner, formerly of Fox News, is, "GASP!" Roger Goodell's wife. If one wants a REAL story of intrigue, look into how it was possible for a tape, supposedly locked in the Commissioner's desk, to end up in the hands of Fox Sports, and be broadcast live during their pre-game show



But haters gotta hate. Jealousy is the saddest form of respect by one fan base for another.

 

[Koma]

Steeler fans say PEDs weren't illegal back in the 70s.

The "enlightened" Steelers fan conversation goes like this:

Other fan: Those great Steelers teams from the 70s were all pumped up on steroids.

Steelers fan: Well, that may be true, but steroid use wasn't outlawed until the early 80s, so what those teams did was okay.

Other fan: Alright. So, with the Patriots, the memo about sideline taping came out in 2006. That must mean that everything from 2005 and earli-

Steelers fan: THEY WERE CHEATING!!! THEY WERE CHEATING THE WHOLE TIME!!! THEY'RE CHEATING NOW!!!

 

[Sicilian]

Do not let ESPN know about this... they will have to revise all their talking points.

"Are the Patriots paying off certain media members to defend and revise Spygate history? Bojack McPerfecthair has the complete scoop. But first: Could Peyton Manning be the ACTUAL return of ************? Most certainly yes but the new evidence may still shock you! DA-DA-DAH! DA-DA-DAH!"

 

[bresna]

You would think that if a reporter went out of his way to debunk a story with false "facts" that he would at least get *his* facts right!

He says, "all the Patriots did was point video cameras at people who were openly standing on a sideline. The Patriots would have been within their rights to look at these people and take notes of their signals, but it was the use of video cameras that made it illegal".

Wrong!

All the Patriots did was tape FROM THE WRONG LOCATION. They taped from the sidelines. They were supposed to tape from the booth.

It was NOT the use of a video camera that made it illegal, it was the location of that video camera.

Hurley should revise that story and fix this to stop propagating bad info.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

I can think of a couple handful of posters on this message board that could have written a better reply to "destroy" spygate references.

but as someone mentioned, there's probably only 0-5% of the "fan" population that might be open to hearing anything regarding that topic.

 

[upstater1]

Belichick's Pats vs Jets before spygate: 9-5
Belichicj's Pats vs Jets after spygate: 11-5 (should be 12-4 since last year's loss was highway robbery).

 

[Big-T]

"THEY DIDN'T SUE ME! SEE! PROOF THEY CHEATED!"

No guy, it's because you have no money so it would be pointless.

 

[Sciz]

What ever happened to that super old thread on here that went extremely in depth on why Spygate was a joke?

Not to take anything from Hurley's article (which is worthwhile), but there's an overwhelming amount of information in support of his stance. It's rare for somebody to attack this topic, so I wish that he would have gone for the home run rather than take the easy double.

 

[BlueThunder]

Why are we rehashing this tired old subject ?

Haters will hate...Patriots will keep on winning.....

 

[NYCPatsFan]

Again, the Patriots were never accused of breaking the NFL game rules. They were never accused by the NFL of cheating. What they were accused of is breaking a rule in the NFL Operations Manual which states (among many, many, other things) where cameras may be placed prior to, during, and after a game. ...

Well, if all they did was to break a rule in the operational manual, why do you think Mr. Kraft and BB meekly accepted the loss of a first round pick for such an innocous mistake? If you were in their position, wouldn't you be threatening to sue the NFL if you were convinced that you broke only a rule in the operational manual? (Actually, some of us fans were considering that at one point and we are toying with a cameragate website that will disclose the reality from the myths and misunderstanding. )

The very fact that both explained (and apologized?) in a closed door meeting with the other owners indicates that something else is going on that none of us fans would ever know about.

I hoped that the Pats shut Goodell up by sending him all the tapes and assumed that the tapes would have shown evidence of others making similar mistakes. Goodell destroying the tapes in such an arrogant manner and then imposing such a big fine was stunning.

 

[meatface]

To these Spygate claimers it doesn't matter what happens, they are still claiming that the only reason the Patriots won the super bowl in 2001 is because they must have been taping the Rams, despite no evidence of that in any way. If TB and BB win the super bowl they will just claim that the Patriots must have been cheating, it doesn't matter to them if there is no evidence they have already been convinced of their own rightness.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

You would think that if a reporter went out of his way to debunk a story with false "facts" that he would at least get *his* facts right!
He says, "all the Patriots did was point video cameras at people who were openly standing on a sideline. The Patriots would have been within their rights to look at these people and take notes of their signals, but it was the use of video cameras that made it illegal".
Wrong!

All the Patriots did was tape FROM THE WRONG LOCATION. They taped from the sidelines. They were supposed to tape from the booth.
It was NOT the use of a video camera that made it illegal, it was the location of that video camera.

Hurley should revise that story and fix this to stop propagating bad info.

You beat me to it.
It really gets me wicked pissed to read time and again inaccurate reporting of the precise memo restriction that the Pats were accused of violating. Camera PLACEMENT violation. Not videotaping.