Now Bob Ryan is piling on BB...

[Tunescribe]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

Here's mine:

Reading your column on Bill Belichick today, I was on the verge of pulling my hair out and laughing hysterically. A long-winded shot from the hip lacking in specifics, I expected much better from you. And your odd dig at Belichick's personal life was nonsensical.
You're not as well informed on "cameragate" as you presume to be, and it shows. Embarrassingly so. Coverup? How? Why is it such an impossible stretch to give at least a smidgen of credence to the team's story? Why do you consider cynicism such an indispensible journalistic trait? Good writing doesn't a cogent point ensure, Bob -- you should know that.
A double raspberry directed right to your kisser, Bob Ryan. I mean that sincerely.

 

[NEPatriot]

Bob Ryan needs to understand the following things:

1-Kraft knew what would happen if he hired BB. He also knew how every NFL team plays the game. To assume that 'cheating' is not part of the game is to assume Kraft is an idiot.
2-BB was the ONE who gave every PATs fan a reason to watch FOOTBALL. He is also the one who leads Pats to where we are today. Before BB arrives, Pats was real bad.
3-Without BB, Bob Ryan and his colleagues in Boston will write every article about their disappointment with Patriots team every year.

With that said, I don't see what his problem is and should Bob be thankful for seeing BB in Pats team.? I'm tired of hearing how bad BB is when his colleage, Tomase, at Herald is worse. Perhaps, he worshiped BB too much.?

 

[PatriotsReign]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

I posted this in another Ryan thread, but it belongs here. I doubt it will do any good, but here's my email to Mr Ryan;

Bobby, Bobby...Bobby,

I'll get right to the point, what "cover up" are you referring to. Bill Belichik has admitted right from the day they were caught what they were doing. Please explain this cover up specifically. Are you referring to Matt Walsh's statement that the Patriots efforts were covert?

So, did you actually assume that the Patriots were doing everything out in the open prior to Walsh's statement? Did you think Belichik was claiming he thought taping signals was ok? See Robert, it's like a tax loophole a friend tells you about that his tax guy told him about. You take the same exemptions even if you think they're shady because your buddy's tax guy said it was ok...but at the same time, you hope he's right if you get audited. After all, 6 or 7 of his buddies are doing the same thing.

Cover up?? Are you serious? That is not the issue nor has it ever been an issue. We've all known what Belichik's rationale was from the get-go and he hasn't wavered.

Watergate?? Wow Bobby!!...Wow! You've actually stooped that low!

Here's the deal, like it or not. Sports reporters aren't that important to the average fan. They don't influence the sport in any meaningful way. Reporters come & go and fans really don't notice...you're not part of sports.

Now some reporters (thankfully not you) even believe they have the power to run a coach out of town. I know you agree that's laughable, but some do believe it. Other reporters even "watch their fellow reporter's back" and write defaming articles in response to fans objections.

As you know, the day of reporters having that kind of power are over. The power is in the hands of the fans. Take Tomasse for example. If we want him out of town, he'll be gone. It's not even a question of "if", it's "when".

You have joined the national media forces who "were hoping for Matt Walsh to have something". Now that we know he had nothing, reporters are still writing articles as if something new was revealed...EVEN YOU! What should have taken focus off spygate has actually added to it due to the lies from guys like you & Easterbrooks.

I never thought I'd put you in Easterbrooks' class, but congratulations, you're there!

PatriotsReign
Raynham

 

[PatriotsReign]

Bob Ryan needs to understand the following things:

1-Kraft knew what would happen if he hired BB. He also knew how every NFL team plays the game. To assume that 'cheating' is not part of the game is to assume Kraft is an idiot.
2-BB was the ONE who gave every PATs fan a reason to watch FOOTBALL. He is also the one who leads Pats to where we are today. Before BB arrives, Pats was real bad.
3-Without BB, Bob Ryan and his colleagues in Boston will write every article about their disappointment with Patriots team every year.

With that said, I don't see what his problem is.

One of the best part of belonging to Patsfans.com is that this has become a reference to many in our local media. To know that guys like Bobby Ryan may be reading this thread is pretty heady stuff...

Ya know what I mean Bob?

 

[kkpat]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

I posted this in another Ryan thread, but it belongs here. I doubt it will do any good, but here's my email to Mr Ryan;

Bobby, Bobby...Bobby,

I'll get right to the point, what "cover up" are you referring to. Bill Belichik has admitted right from the day they were caught what they were doing. Please explain this cover up specifically. Are you referring to Matt Walsh's statement that the Patriots efforts were covert?

So, did you actually assume that the Patriots were doing everything out in the open prior to Walsh's statement? Did you think Belichik was claiming he thought taping signals was ok? See Robert, it's like a tax loophole a friend tells you about that his tax guy told him about. You take the same exemptions even if you think they're shady because your buddy's tax guy said it was ok...but at the same time, you hope he's right if you get audited. After all, 6 or 7 of his buddies are doing the same thing.

Cover up?? Are you serious? That is not the issue nor has it ever been an issue. We've all known what Belichik's rationale was from the get-go and he hasn't wavered.

Watergate?? Wow Bobby!!...Wow! You've actually stooped that low!

Here's the deal, like it or not. Sports reporters aren't that important to the average fan. They don't influence the sport in any meaningful way. Reporters come & go and fans really don't notice...you're not part of sports.

Now some reporters (thankfully not you) even believe they have the power to run a coach out of town. I know you agree that's laughable, but some do believe it. Other reporters even "watch their fellow reporter's back" and write defaming articles in response to fans objections.

As you know, the day of reporters having that kind of power are over. The power is in the hands of the fans. Take Tomasse for example. If we want him out of town, he'll be gone. It's not even a question of "if", it's "when".

You have joined the national media forces who "were hoping for Matt Walsh to have something". Now that we know he had nothing, reporters are still writing articles as if something new was revealed...EVEN YOU! What should have taken focus off spygate has actually added to it due to the lies from guys like you & Easterbrooks.

I never thought I'd put you in Easterbrooks' class, but congratulations, you're there!

PatriotsReign
Raynham

Awesome dude! U Rock!

 

[PatriotsReign]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

Awesome dude! U Rock!

No...I used to rock waaayyyy back in the 70's though!

 

[kappy]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

Here is my E-Mail to Mr. Ryan:

Bob,

At 34 years old, I have been reading your column's since following my local sports teams became important to me (I grew up in Sudbury, MA). When I started to read your column this morning, I thought I was getting into more drabble and whining like Greg Easterbrooks latest regurgitation of garbage on ESPN.com. You saved the allegiance of one loyal reader at the very end (I was getting worried), but once again, I think the media is missing the key point that was stated by the incompetent commissioner on Tuesday of this prior week, and restated again during the full 15 minute interview on CBS with Bill Belichick.

The fact that I wish more people were paying attention to in this whole witch-hunt is that stealing opposing teams signals is not cheating or against the rules- but recording opposing teams signals is against the rules. If the public understood this, which has been pointed out by the commissioner, his staff, the 'guilty' party, and several other sources, your column would not have been necessary (albeit still somewhat true). If the media was paying attention to the fact that every single NFL team has advanced SCOUTS (football professionals, not low-level AV nerds) observing and deciphering (but not videotaping) signals of opposing teams during every game (and that according to NFL rules, those scouts can relay their findings to the coaching staff during the game), this entire fiasco would not have escalated into the situation your article today so aptly describes.

Furthermore, think back to when this story first broke after the Jets game - if the commissioner had taken the time and tact to make this delineation, would the Patriots even be in this situation? If the commissioner had taken the time to tell the media and the public - "deciphering signals of opposing teams has long been considered 'gamesmanship'... every team in the NFL does it, and by itself it is not against the rules. However, the recording of opposing teams signals is (arguably) against the rules, and I have punished the Patriots accordingly...", I will let you speculate how the reactions by the media and public would have been different.

(Which brings us to another topic - what gives the commissioner and his staff the right to laterally modify an existing rule in the NFL bylaws? Before you provide the canned "is was a clarification of an existing rule" response, realize that if the existing rule was sufficient, it would not need clarification. I am fairly certain that any modification made to the bylaws would need the approval of the competition committee or other panel before being implemented. (As a contrasting situation, and maybe I am wrong, I doubt the President of the United State could 'clarify' an existing law with a memo sent out the the Senate.)

Finally, I would like to thank you for your continued insight, diligence, and educated opinions into my Boston Sports teams. You are one of the few Boston columnists whose work does not invoke a sense of anger or foul taste left in my month, and allows me to feel like I am back home from 3000 miles away.

Go Celtics! (What the #$%& is wrong with them, anyways?)

SK
San Deigo, CA

 

[Bill's Girl]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

The only reason this story won't die is because of the media. Ryan callled Patriots fans biased, but I don't think that is the case. No one was more upset about these allegations than Patriot fans, but rather than jumping on the media band wagon and asking for BB's resignation or his blood...we waited for the facts and reacted to them.

It has been a very hard offseason as a Patriot's fan. I am still not over the SB loss and admit to being frustrated with BB's silence, but he was doing what he always does.....waiting for the last word before responding with intellect. Despite my obvious "bias" I believed what Bill had to say in the CBS interview. He placed all the blame on himself (Like he always does) and praised his players and staff for their hardwork.

Ryan is just another cog in the 24/7 media coverage age that we live in.....everyone needs a story. In most cases these reporters need more than one story....one for the paper, one for sports radio, one for ESPN, and on and on.

Controversy is the only way that these people get the attention they crave, and while everyone's emails to Ryan posted on this thread were well written and dead on point, they serve Ryan's purpose perfectly....keeping this story alive and giving him an over-inflated sense of himself. He is turning into the next Borges.

 

[arrellbee]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

OK - for a laugh, here was my two cents worth for your reading pleasure - sent to Bob Ryan this morning:
=======================================

First, I regard - well, at this juncture, perhaps it is may have become more pertinent to say I did regard - you as a very competent journalist in the general sense as well as in the sports venue.

But this whole affair with the taping is about the most gross injustice I can imagine.

The initial blame is on Goodell who apparently decided what the rules were without bothering to read them. That is reprehensible in the Nth degree. But it is what any realist comes to expect of politicians and lawyers and bureaucrats. They refuse to read any English paragraph or exposition in a grammatical sense - they spend their whole lives trying to twist the meaning of everything that is written.

The secondary blame is on the sports media who also do not seem to be able to read an English paragraph and point out to Goodell what a travesty his whole ruling was - and now I guess that includes you.

Let's simply go back to the basics of what apparently is the actual text of the NFL Constitution/Bylaws and the infamous memo. You willing to do that ??
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[the bolding and underlining are my emphasis]

'In the league's Constitution & Bylaws, it reads: "Any use by any club at any time, from the start to the finish of any game in which such club is a participant, of any communications or information-gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, shall be prohibited, including without limitation videotape machines, telephone tapping, or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game." '

OK. By it's wording, the proscription in this paragraph IS in relation to: that might aid a team during the playing of a game." Ask any English professor if this paragraph can be construed in a more general sense and they will tell you that the last phrase limits the whole paragraph. You probably don't want to go to that trouble, so use a common sense test. If you read it as a general prohibition, note that information-gathering equipment is not to this day prohibited in general - as we all know, teams make full tapes of the games !! So, to reiterate, this paragraph can only be applied in the context of:: that might aid a team during the playing of a game."

Now, let's go to the infamous September 6, 2006 memo.

'In a memo to NFL head coaches and general managers on Sept. 6, 2006, NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson wrote: "Videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room, or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game." '

Are you beginning to see something here ?? This paragraph is completely limited in scope by the last phrase: accessible to club staff members during the game. In plain English, you can't generalize beyond that phrase.

-----------------------------------------------
OK. You are a journalist - you tell me how Goodell with the acceptance of the media treats these written rules in a manner which requires truncating the paragraphs and leaving out the highlighted phrases ??

Bob - this is not a crackpot rant. This is a serious question. Think about it carefully.

Best regards,

 

[SoCal Pmen]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

I might be reading the article in a different way but the underpinning of it is that the Patriots will forever be despised or hated because of Belichick and what he did. To this, I have to agree. We were already a hated team because of the three Super Bowls, the coach that doesn't give good sound bites and the model quarterback that can't do no wrong. This just gave pundits even more ammo against the team.

However, I do agree that he exaggerates his point and takes some uncalled for shots against Belichick.

Time will heal wounds and if the Patriots go on to win another Super Bowl or several, the speculation that the video taping helped them will subside considerably amongst those in the media.

 

[PatriotsReign]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

I might be reading the article in a different way but the underpinning of it is that the Patriots will forever be despised or hated because of Belichick and what he did. To this, I have to agree. We were already a hated team because of the three Super Bowls, the coach that doesn't give good sound bites and the model quarterback that can't do no wrong. This just gave pundits even more ammo against the team.

However, I do agree that he exaggerates his point and takes some uncalled for shots against Belichick.

Time will heal wounds and if the Patriots go on to win another Super Bowl or several, the speculation that the video taping helped them will subside considerably amongst those in the media.

The title of his article was "cover up" and there was no cover up. I don't understand why there have been so many negative articles regarding Belichik when everything he said was confirmed by Walsh.

The media has acted as if the Walsh story ADDED to the Patriots misery when in fact all stories should have read,

"Walsh reveals nothing, video gate closed"

 

[DarrylS]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

Unfortunately Ryan will view this as people reading his column, and will interpret anything we do as isolated homers who disagree with him, the same people described in the Maserotti article.. I wonder if the tree falling in the forest and no one hears is a better method??

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

Unfortunately Ryan will view this as people reading his column, and will interpret anything we do as isolated homers who disagree with him, the same people described in the Maserotti article.. I wonder if the tree falling in the forest and no one hears is a better method??

Disagree GJA. Personal agendas posing as "journalism" always need to be responded to. The emails sent to Ryan that have been posted here have been far more well reasoned, articulate and fact based than anything the mediots have written on the subject.
From day 1 Spygate has ALWAYS been about the sinner and not the sin with the mediots..
They always need to be responded to by the public when they're on their personal mission to destroy someone simply because he refuses to repent for his football sins in front of the drunks, pedophiles, bigots and wife beaters/cheater who make up the congregation at the church of St. Media.

PS - Read with great amusement this morning how Pompous Peter: King of the Mediots has been reduced to Trent Dilfer as his source for commentary. Trent Dilfer?? Trent Dilfer??
Pompous Peter: King of the Mediots still isn't getting his Foxborough calls returned I see.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

Apparently his point is that its not the crime but the cover up...

I question what "cover up" activities have taken place.

There was no attempt to assert that they were in compliance with the rules post 2006 memo

Belichick continued a practice that had been allowed under the rules by his interpretation with others doing that futher back then him - and we've documented instances going back 40-50 years before now.

So why wouldn't he interpret the rules that way when so many others had done so for so long? There was no cover up about that.

So not only was there no "crime" to speak of - only an obscure rule change - there was no attempt to cover it up.

Fault Belichick if you will for pushing the interpretation of the rules as far as they will go but that's part of why I think he's a good coach. I want him to continue to push the rules as far as he can.

 

[DarrylS]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

Disagree GJA. Personal agendas posing as "journalism" always need to be responded to. The emails sent to Ryan that have been posted here have been far more well reasoned, articulate and fact based than anything the mediots have written on the subject.
From day 1 Spygate has ALWAYS been about the sinner and not the sin with the mediots..
They always need to be responded to by the public when they're on their personal mission to destroy someone simply because he refuses to repent for his football sins in front of the drunks, pedophiles, bigots and wife beaters/cheater who make up the congregation at the church of St. Media.

You miss my point, and I did not articulate it well, I agree that many of the responses on this board are more intelligent and better written than the articles written by the mediots. Look at our recent history, Borges used to be our resident contrarian and he made a good living off of it.. when I confronted him on some of his writings he dismissed me first as a little girl and as a fan who did not understand. Fast forward to Felger on the Radio, he thrives on the conflict he generates. Recently Maserotti wrote a damning column on the state of the Patriot Nation.. and now Ryan. All of these columns point to the view that if you post an oppositional article then your column will be read.. thus if you respond you validate the reason for the column being written, if you ignore it their positions are not validated. Ryan et al are huge ego people and feed off of how they are viewed by the people who read their papers, they are not concerned about whether they are popular or not.. but more concerned that they are read by the masses.

 

[363839]

I was watching FBN and they've been running a special about one of the Oakland Raiders teams. Howie long was saying in an interview that there is
a sign in the lockerroom that states...Rule 1-Cheating is encouraged Rule 2- See rule one.
So what's all this about the integrity of the game?
The Pats biggest sin is that they're too good.
The league wants to set them back a notch to keep with
their desire for parity.
The whole "walk through tape" was a desperate set up job to
try and distract the Pats from that game. Timing was no coincidence.
Too many people did not want the Pats to have that unblemished record and they got their way.

Bob Ryan is in the National Media and plainly does NOT have the pulse of this fan base.

 

[oldskool138]

So Bob Ryan wants to take shots at BB's personal life. I should write an article about his alcoholism. That seems fair.

BB is never going to win over the sports media in this town. It's a Herculean task unless your name is Doc Rivers. I don't care if he ever does. Just. Win. Football. Games.

 

[bobcalkin]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

OK - for a laugh, here was my two cents worth for your reading pleasure - sent to Bob Ryan this morning:
=======================================

First, I regard - well, at this juncture, perhaps it is may have become more pertinent to say I did regard - you as a very competent journalist in the general sense as well as in the sports venue.

But this whole affair with the taping is about the most gross injustice I can imagine.

The initial blame is on Goodell who apparently decided what the rules were without bothering to read them. That is reprehensible in the Nth degree. But it is what any realist comes to expect of politicians and lawyers and bureaucrats. They refuse to read any English paragraph or exposition in a grammatical sense - they spend their whole lives trying to twist the meaning of everything that is written.

The secondary blame is on the sports media who also do not seem to be able to read an English paragraph and point out to Goodell what a travesty his whole ruling was - and now I guess that includes you.

Let's simply go back to the basics of what apparently is the actual text of the NFL Constitution/Bylaws and the infamous memo. You willing to do that ??
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[the bolding and underlining are my emphasis]

'In the league's Constitution & Bylaws, it reads: "Any use by any club at any time, from the start to the finish of any game in which such club is a participant, of any communications or information-gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, shall be prohibited, including without limitation videotape machines, telephone tapping, or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game." '

OK. By it's wording, the proscription in this paragraph IS in relation to: that might aid a team during the playing of a game." Ask any English professor if this paragraph can be construed in a more general sense and they will tell you that the last phrase limits the whole paragraph. You probably don't want to go to that trouble, so use a common sense test. If you read it as a general prohibition, note that information-gathering equipment is not to this day prohibited in general - as we all know, teams make full tapes of the games !! So, to reiterate, this paragraph can only be applied in the context of:: that might aid a team during the playing of a game."

Now, let's go to the infamous September 6, 2006 memo.

'In a memo to NFL head coaches and general managers on Sept. 6, 2006, NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson wrote: "Videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room, or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game." '

Are you beginning to see something here ?? This paragraph is completely limited in scope by the last phrase: accessible to club staff members during the game. In plain English, you can't generalize beyond that phrase.

-----------------------------------------------
OK. You are a journalist - you tell me how Goodell with the acceptance of the media treats these written rules in a manner which requires truncating the paragraphs and leaving out the highlighted phrases ??

Bob - this is not a crackpot rant. This is a serious question. Think about it carefully.

Best regards,

Another good synopsis of the facts that we, on this board, have known for a long time. Don't expect anyone in the media to respond to them though. As Jim Nantz said, the meadiots have long since stopped reporting on the original story and are now reporting on the layers of their own opinions piled on since. The fact that these opinions are based largely on a lie which has now been proven is irrelevant. If you go back to the original coverage of the story the reaction was clearly based upon the concept that the tapes were being used in the game.

 

[Garbanza]

The Boston media needs to be worried. The tide is turning - people are just plain 'ole getting sick of their arrogance and percieved power. And, although I am a yahoo, hero worshiping, suck up, I have friends who are die hard Red Sox Fans, Celtic Fans who have the same sentiments. There will be a revolt of the masses. It will happen. Watch.

Anyway, after reading Ryan's article yesterday, I could not help but think of two points:

1) We yahoo, hero worshiping suck-ups are displaying the same behavior that Mr. Ryan, Mr. Masarotti, Mr. Callahan, etc., are. We are defending something or someone. Pats fans defend the integrity of the team they love against what sometimes seems like unfair shots. These scribes/talking mediots defend one of their own - a fellow journalist (I use the term loosey). The hypocricy of the media blows my mind sometimes.

2) Forever tainted. Funny - this all came to a head via a false story from a bumbling bufoon blinded by ambition......do any of you remember any spygate fervor before the rams Walk-thru fiction came to be the day before the game? "Never forgotten" - seems to me that it was a non-story until the FALSE RAMS WALK THRU broke out. So, this "taint" is being perpetuated by the mediots - through a FALSE STORY! Does anyone else get just so frustrated by the hypocricy/idiocy of this all?

 

[oldskool138]

Re: E-mail to Bob Ryan

Another good synopsis of the facts that we, on this board, have known for a long time. Don't expect anyone in the media to respond to them though. As Jim Nance said, the meadiots have long since stopped reporting on the original story and are now reporting on the layers of their own opinions piled on since. The fact that these opinions are based largely on a lie which has now been proven is irrelevant. If you go back to the original coverage of the story the reaction was clearly based upon the concept that the tapes were being used in the game.

Jim Nance = the only Patriot running back to lead the league in rushing in consecutive seasons

Jim Nantz = reporter for CBS Sports.