MY EMAIL TO PETER:
Peter, it's completely disingenuous for you to say that when other teams get caught doing what the Patriots did, the media will report it. In point of fact, they HAVE BEEN caught. I've even written to you in the past to get your opinion. Len Pasquerelli wrote an article on the Dolphins doing it in 2006. The NFL's Steve Alic responded by saying "That's football." When Mangini also admitted taping against the Patriots, he claimed that he had permission to tape though the Patriots denied it. So, you're telling me the NFL says you can break the rules if you have permission? Well, Matt Estrella could have also said he had permission (whether he did nor not). The Patriots did nothing that the Jets and Dolphins haven't already admitted doing.
As for whether it's cheating, I heard Goodell say today that stealing signals is permissable. Stealing them by tape is not. So, essentially, it's the technological violation that tripped the Patriots, not the actual stealing of the signals. Again, stealing signals ISN'T cheating. Taping them is. That's why fans are parsing your cheating comment.
As for the idea that the largest fine in NFL history somehow supports your point-of-view, that's giving Goodell a lot of credit. If he hadn't fined them at all, then would it have meant the Patriots hadn't cheated? No, they still committed the same exact act. In fact, Goodell admitted to Costas before the Chargers game that the major issue was not that the Patriots were stealing signals, but that "they did it out in the open." He's more concerned with appearances.
Someone will have to explain to me why paying the league's best QB and RB under the table to circumvent the salary cap (as the Broncos did) is a lesser violation than taping signals which are permissable to steal by other means.
Are you just making this argument because of the unprecedented punishment, or are you actually weighing the impact of the advantage gained from either form of rule-breaking?
The fact is, most media pundits including yourself were imaging the Patriots would be stripped of a third rounder initially. It was only shortly before the punishment was meted out that suddenly everyone ratcheted up expectations.