Goodell to SI: Deceived by Belichick

[groundgame]

For the elitist Goodell you should not discount the religion factor.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Recently the Jets were found guilty of "CHEATING" in such a manner as to possibly cause injury to a player. What was the league's response? A slap on the wrist and a lot of detective work to find tape on the Patriots doing it> Did Charlie Casserly or Jay Glazer go out of their way to spread the story about the jets taping in 06; did they comb game tapes to see other teams taping from the sidelines? THen a player from his beloved Jets called a Pats player an A-hole and another player from the Jets threatened a Pats player's career: the league response, warn all of the teams left in the playoffs although every other team accounted itself with the decorum expected. The Jets team was responsible for so many indiscretions this year that it's hard to recall all of them yet the league seemed unconcerned about it, a complete 180 from their hyper controlling interest in all of the other teams.
IN 08 Goodell in his press conference stated that other teams "scouted" signals but the Pats did it illegally. Probably the stupidest comment on the whole farce yet he was never called on it. Kind of like saying "my kids helped themselves to candy from the drugstore but your kids stole it." The questions that were never asked are, "Isn't a stolen signal a stolen signal" and "why are some methods acceptable?" Along with. "During the 06 season the Jets were asked to stop taping the Pats yet continued to do so and claimed the Pats gave them permission, why would the Patriots allow the Jets to do this if it was such a
an advantage?" So it seems obvious to me that either the Jets lied or the Pats were cruxified over something they consider trivial.

All good points and you accurately called this for what it was "a farce". The Jets lied and does anyone get the feeling that this was a set up between the Jets/Tanenbaum/Goodell? He won't punish the Jets (or Dolphins "that's football" or Broncos-$50k for that matter) but comes down like a ton of bricks on an infraction, allowing a dynasty to forever be labeled cheaters while every other indiscretion gets blown off or swept under the rug. Goodell is a creep, someone needs to start digging up dirt on him.

Destroying the tapes did nothing but make it worse. It will be a sad day when Belichick retires but maybe we'll at least get the real story behind this.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Some of the original tapes were leaked on the internet in 2007, I saw footage before. It was nothing. The guys being filmed even WAVED BACK at the amateur cameraman. Videotaping sideline hand signals is STILL LEGAL even now in a dozen spots in the stadium, just not from the opposing sidelines.
"Spying" is a completely exaggerated term as well, given that hand signals are publicly viewable by everyone in the stadium, and also the TV audience often.

I am completely convinced Goodell destroyed the tapes, because revealing them would show how biased and un-objective his punishment was. I also remember the Patriots, Kraft, Belichick were barred from saying anything after the tapes were destroyed, giving them zero chance of telling their side of the story.

 

[Ron Sellers]

Some of the original tapes were leaked on the internet in 2007, I saw footage before. It was nothing. The guys being filmed even WAVED BACK at the amateur cameraman. Videotaping sideline hand signals is STILL LEGAL even now in a dozen spots in the stadium, just not from the opposing sidelines.
"Spying" is a completely exaggerated term as well, given that hand signals are publicly viewable by everyone in the stadium, and also the TV audience often.

I am completely convinced Goodell destroyed the tapes, because revealing them would show how biased and un-objective his punishment was. I also remember the Patriots, Kraft, Belichick were barred from saying anything after the tapes were destroyed, giving them zero chance of telling their side of the story.

That is one thing I am completely sure of, even if I have no physical proof. Fans of other teams - and members of the media - keep repeating 'what was on those tapes; it must have been very incriminating', yet they refuse to answer when asked what they say on the leaked tape or the tapes shown at the Walsh hearing that would lead them to assume there was something different.

In this case of King's current story on SI, shame on him for not noting that the Pats were barred from commenting on the topic at that time - though let's face it, King has proven many times over the years that he is not one to do much, or any research on his opinions. Somehow or another he has developed a great network of sources over the years; but time after time he has shown his own personal knowledge of the game to be severely lacking, despite his being held in high esteem by the rest of the media.

 

[RyanP421]

This is unfair to Belichick.

Goodell is a tool in a ll this.

Four things:

One, Belichick let it be known that he did not feel he was afoul of the rule. The memo went out a year before. In the interim, the Jets were caught taping and the NFL was OK with it. Belichick's conclusion may have been that the memo had no teeth and that the rule in the NFL rulebook was applicable (no use of gametape during the game).

Two, Belichick did Goodell a service by not getting into a public war over this by pointing out all sorts of backroom stuff (i.e. what other teams were taping, the NFL's stance on taping with regard to the Jets, Phins, etc.) The ridiculousness of being fined for taping from a location, whereas taping is legal elsewhere. Goodell is slamming Belichick for not opening up about the situation? Goodell is the one who destroyed the videotapes. Belichick was left no choice. How was Goodell deceived if Belichick was not at all contrite about what was done?

Three, I know Belichick was not contrite because on the night before the Super Bowl, Costas interviewed Goodell, and during that interview, Costas asked Goodell whether Matt Walsh was credible. Goodell backed him but said no videotapes of a Rams' walkthrough were produced. (I'd guess Goodellw as concerned with being sued by Walsh. But when it came to Belichick, Goodell out and out called Belichick a liar. He said, "I didn't believe Belichick." Well, if he didn't believe Belichick during the period BEFORE the fine was handed out, then how in the world did he expect Belichick to apologize? Belichick, according to Goodell, lied to him. What is going to apologize for if Belichick's statements to Goodell are deemed lies? That's silly, and it contradicts Goodell.

Four, Goodell knows that when Belichick retires, he's going to write a book and he's going to de-pants Goodell for the fool that he really is. And all this stuff coming from Goodell now is just fodder for that very day.

Where did yous ee that the Phins and Jets were caught???

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Some of the original tapes were leaked on the internet in 2007, I saw footage before. It was nothing. The guys being filmed even WAVED BACK at the amateur cameraman. Videotaping sideline hand signals is STILL LEGAL even now in a dozen spots in the stadium, just not from the opposing sidelines.
"Spying" is a completely exaggerated term as well, given that hand signals are publicly viewable by everyone in the stadium, and also the TV audience often.

I am completely convinced Goodell destroyed the tapes, because revealing them would show how biased and un-objective his punishment was. I also remember the Patriots, Kraft, Belichick were barred from saying anything after the tapes were destroyed, giving them zero chance of telling their side of the story.

They should force the issue have cameramen in every one of those legal areas from the very start of the season to the very end,

 

[Koma]

Where did yous ee that the Phins and Jets were caught???

RyanP421, read through this thread and check the links on the first page (post #5). It has the background info and links to the articles.

 

[Sciz]

I saw a great quote on this subject on another forum:

Goodell is playing checkers; Belichick is playing chess.

:lol2:

 

[Koma]

Recently the Jets were found guilty of "CHEATING" in such a manner as to possibly cause injury to a player. What was the league's response? A slap on the wrist and a lot of detective work to find tape on the Patriots doing it> Did Charlie Casserly or Jay Glazer go out of their way to spread the story about the jets taping in 06; did they comb game tapes to see other teams taping from the sidelines? THen a player from his beloved Jets called a Pats player an A-hole and another player from the Jets threatened a Pats player's career: the league response, warn all of the teams left in the playoffs although every other team accounted itself with the decorum expected. The Jets team was responsible for so many indiscretions this year that it's hard to recall all of them yet the league seemed unconcerned about it, a complete 180 from their hyper controlling interest in all of the other teams.
IN 08 Goodell in his press conference stated that other teams "scouted" signals but the Pats did it illegally. Probably the stupidest comment on the whole farce yet he was never called on it. Kind of like saying "my kids helped themselves to candy from the drugstore but your kids stole it." The questions that were never asked are, "Isn't a stolen signal a stolen signal" and "why are some methods acceptable?" Along with. "During the 06 season the Jets were asked to stop taping the Pats yet continued to do so and claimed the Pats gave them permission, why would the Patriots allow the Jets to do this if it was such a
an advantage?" So it seems obvious to me that either the Jets lied or the Pats were cruxified over something they consider trivial.

Good post and good points. I asked something similar in the thread about Alosi's resignation. ESPN had Mike Fish digging for more dirt throughout the 2007 season. Mortensen termed the story "the tip of the iceberg." But they can't show the same enthusiasm when another team gets in trouble

I looked at timeline of the original story in 2007:

9/9 - Patriots vs. Jets, Estrella is detained
9/13 - Belichick issues his apology statement and says that he will have further comment after the league makes a decision.
9/14 - NFL announces penalties against the Patriots

Based on the time stamps of the stories, Goodell took action less than 24 hours after Belichick's statement and press conference. If he felt that strongly about it, he couldn't call Kraft and urge him to have Belichick speak?

And what was the rush for? This was all decided in less than a week, but it took the league 4 months to figure out if Brett Favre called and texted Jenn Sterger. And, even then, they couldn't determine if he did.

Since Goodell apparently holds a grudge against Belichick for this incident, some of his actions during this time deserve more scrutiny:

- The leak of Estrella's tape to Fox. The league said they would investigate, but the results of that investigation were never made public.
- The destruction of the tapes. Everyone wanted to know what was on them and the league's explanation ("so that our clubs would know they no longer exist and cannot be used by anyone") did little to satisfy curiosity. Add in the fact that Goodell did not personally see the material before it was destroyed (it never left Foxboro) along with his willingness to show the Matt Walsh tapes and the decision makes even less sense.
- Ignoring Specter. Specter sent 2 letters to Goodell on this subject and Goodell took over 2 months to respond. This opened the door for Specter's grandstanding before Super Bowl 42.
- Refusing to put the issue to bed. Throughout the entire affair, Goodell repeatedly said that if more evidence was found, the Patriots would be subject to additional discipline. Even after meeting with Matt Walsh, he still left the door open if something else came up. This just led to speculation that there has to be more out there.

- Inconsistency. In addition to the situation with the Jets noted above, the Broncos were found to have taped another team's practice this season. As a result, the team and head coach were fined $50K each. The team wasn't ordered to turn over all of their scouting materials and the league accepted their version that was a one-time incident by a rogue employee.

Ironically, in his response to Specter, Goodell wrote "I am confident that neither the Patriots, nor any other NFL team, will engage in this type of conduct again." But when one team did, their punishment very light.

 

[upstater1]

Where did yous ee that the Phins and Jets were caught???

He said, he said: Jets say they had go-ahead, Belichick says no - NFL - ESPN

NFL: Dolphins did no wrong vs. Patriots - NFL - ESPN

 

[SVN]

patriots - Goodell has only himself to blame for feeling 'deceived' - WEEI | Kirk Minihane

good weei article

ut what makes me uncomfortable is the idea that the commissioner of the NFL may not like the head coach of your New England Patriots very much. And who knows what that could mean over the next decade. Nothing? Sure, maybe. But who knows?

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

patriots - Goodell has only himself to blame for feeling 'deceived' - WEEI | Kirk Minihane

good weei article

this brilliant commenter says it all...

"And secretly videotaping an opposing team's coaching signals is wrong."

Bad reportage ruining an otherwise decent article. The videotaping is/was NOT wrong or prohibited. What was prohibited in Goodell's memo was videotaping from the location that Patriots out in the open chose to use. Why this important distinction is so hard to understand for folks paid to write about football depresses me.

It is clear that both back then in 2007 and now in 2011, that self-important beta male Goodell is piqued at anything he perceives is lack of complete and utter obedience to his overlord authority. What a wimp. Couldn't spend the time for a phonecall to Belichick or to Kraft if not satisfied with Bill's alleged non-compliance at the time? Grow a pair Goody.

 

[DEVIOUS 1]

Bad reportage ruining an otherwise decent article. The videotaping is/was NOT wrong or prohibited. What was prohibited in Goodell's memo was videotaping from the location that Patriots out in the open chose to use. Why this important distinction is so hard to understand for folks paid to write about football depresses me.

Amen to this.

As this is the most frustrating thing to me about Spygate. These are supposed professional journalists that mis-represent facts, and engage in rampart speculation and innuendo.

Who decides what they consider gamesmanship and cheating?

Apparently they do. Even if it's absent of facts to back their claim.

So it seems to me anyways. A large segment of the media decides who they can forgive, and make excuses for, and who to scapegoat, and drag through the mud. And the criteria for this is what exactly? How much access is granted? Or how gracious an interview you are?

Give me a frigging break.

Voice of the fans my a**.

More like a fraternity of little girls.

 

[Jackson 2]

Amen to this.

As this is the most frustrating thing to me about Spygate. These are supposed professional journalists that mis-represent facts, and engage in rampart speculation and innuendo.

Who decides what they consider gamesmanship and cheating?

Apparently they do. Even if it's absent of facts to back their claim.

So it seems to me anyways. A large segment of the media decides who they can forgive, and make excuses for, and who to scapegoat, and drag through the mud. And the criteria for this is what exactly? How much access is granted? Or how gracious an interview you are?

Give me a frigging break.

Voice of the fans my a**.

More like a fraternity of little girls.

If it were little girls, wouldn't it be a sorority? Otherwise, I like your sentiments.

 

[DefenseRules]

Funny when asked about it at his annual presser today, Goodell had nothing to say about his accusation against BB. Of course, Bob Kraft was sitting in the front row at the time too. Interesting indeed. I really have no respect for that guy.

 

[SVN]

Goodell says that he is proud of vick ..someone who lied to his face about dogfighting but he cant let go over BB not flogging himself in front of the media in 2007 for a far lesser crime.

 

[SVN]

It Is What It Is Peter King on D&H: Roger Goodell never went back to Bill Belichick for explanation

kings interpretation is even more strange

Said King: “I asked him, I said, ‘Did you go back to him and did you ever contact him about it?’ And he said, ‘No.” And I think his whole thing was, at that point — and I’m interpreting here — his whole thing was at that point, the wounds are wide and the wounds are ugly. To exacerbate the wounds at this point is not something I want to do.

 

[DEVIOUS 1]

It Is What It Is Peter King on D&H: Roger Goodell never went back to Bill Belichick for explanation

kings interpretation is even more strange

I interpret that as Roger realized he railroaded BB, and if he pushed BB any further, BB might be inclined to push back.

So the skeptic in me has to ask the question......What was Goodell afraid BB would do?

 

[DarrylS]

I interpret that as Roger realized he railroaded BB, and if he pushed BB any further, BB might be inclined to push back.

So the skeptic in me has to ask the question......What was Goodell afraid BB would do?

Folks like Jimmy Johnson and **** Vermeil have come out in defense of BB, this stuff happened all of the time.. and if the Jets sideline was in view of the Patriots Press Box there would not have been any taping from the sidelines.. it would have happened from above.

Someday we will know the whole story, and there are many from the inside who know the real deal..

 

[AQPE]

If Goodell believed Belichik hadn't lived up to an agreement all he had to do was call him back in or issue a memo to him telling him he had to do so or face punitive action, that he didn't demonstrates he is full of crap on this matter.

Bingo ... we have Bingo!