"Playsheets from Hotels."

[Grizzafted]

Lost in all the (lmao AGAIN) breathless emotional meltdowns by members of the press and opposing fans, which I fully expect will culminate with a few of them running bare-*** naked into the woods shaking a stick and incoherently yelling about tarnished Lombardis is this --

How the hell does someone steal a playsheet from a HOTEL? Correct me if I'm wrong but don't hotel rooms have locked doors? Is Ernie Adams supervising a black ops intern training program somewhere in a cave under Foxoboro, where 19-year-olds are being trained to scale the side of Mariotts in ninja outfits and crawl through air ducts? That's a fairly strong allegation from ESPN that if everyone would catch their breath for a moment actually doesn't make much sense. The details of that would be insane if it's true. What, they're paying off friendly local hotel managers to double-print keycards, waiting until team dinners start and then slipping into people's rooms? That's a fairly big leap from holding a videocamera on the sideline in an NFL films T-shirt or putting a needle into a football in the pisser.

Some of this is just crazy. I'm starting to think that the reason that the Patriots have won so much the past two decades isn't because Belichick is some kind of savant genius football mind 1 percenter, or a rogue CIA operative, but because the rest of the league is full of mouth breathing neanderthals with whistles rattling around their skulls where their brains should be.

So 1. you're telling me the f*cking Rams went through their SUPER BOWL WALKTHROUGH WITH SOME DUDES IN PATRIOTS GEAR HANGING OUT AT THE OTHER END OF THE FIELD? if that's true that's absolutely insane, instead of staring into the horizon wondering "what if the Patriots cheated," Mike Martz should jump off a bridge for being so stupid as to not check the field before running his team's plays.

2. If the Patriots were able to steal playsheets in opposing locker rooms that means that people were LEAVING THEM LAYING AROUND UNATTENDED. Unless Ernie Adams has a locker full of Harry Potter-style invisibility ponchos, that means that coaches and players were in the habit of going to an opposing team's stadium and just sort of leaving the playbook out on the desk during halftime. Again, if you do that, you deserve whatever happens to you.

3. And this just endlessly goes without saying. If you aren't switching up your defensive signals before you see a team the 2nd time OR in a big playoff implicated game, you are an incompetent buffoon who should not be in the business of running a professional sports team.

at the end of the day, whether or not you think the Patriots "cheated" -- and that conclusion is going to have to do with any number of emotional and personal factors, including what jersey you keep in the closet -- what it looks like to me is that Belichick systematically exploited the foolishness and idiocy of other teams and the NFL. And why wouldn't you? In ANY other corporate, military, or advocacy situation that's called BEING GOOD AT YOUR JOB. Other teams leave their playsheet on the toilet? Tough luck, it's ours now. You can't switch your signals up? Well they're f*ckin ours now. You ran a practice with our people still there? Your bad.

A lot of this is just about kicking the edges of other teams sloppiness and unprofessionality. Could you imagine a Belichick team leaving the playsheet out in the opposing team's locker room?

And ESPN needs to explain themselves with this "playsheets from hotels" thing because that sounds like the Patriots were organizing break-ins with interns or whatever. Unless other teams were making a habit of leaving the sheets out at the hotel buffet line or pool, that means that there was some kind of larceny happening which is absolutely ridiculous to contemplate logistically.

 

[hovis]

Obviously the Pats have a team of honeypots and honeydicks ready to "do their job."

 

[FrodoBagginz]

People really need to watch the Documentary (no longer a movie) "Idiocracy". It's becoming reality right before our eyes.

 

[Grizzafted]

i've worked as a freelance journalist in the past and there are parts of that ESPN report that an editor who works on foreign policy or 'hard news' would never, EVER let slide. i'd get a draft back with a red comment box that said "How would they get the playsheet from a hotel room? What does 'rummage around' a hotel actually mean?"

 

[supafly]

Lost in all the (lmao AGAIN) breathless emotional meltdowns by members of the press and opposing fans, which I fully expect will culminate with a few of them running bare-*** naked into the woods shaking a stick and incoherently yelling about tarnished Lombardis is this --

How the hell does someone steal a playsheet from a HOTEL? Correct me if I'm wrong but don't hotel rooms have locked doors? Is Ernie Adams supervising a black ops intern training program somewhere in a cave under Foxoboro, where 19-year-olds are being trained to scale the side of Mariotts in ninja outfits and crawl through air ducts? That's a fairly strong allegation from ESPN that if everyone would catch their breath for a moment actually doesn't make much sense. The details of that would be insane if it's true. What, they're paying off friendly local hotel managers to double-print keycards, waiting until team dinners start and then slipping into people's rooms? That's a fairly big leap from holding a videocamera on the sideline in an NFL films T-shirt or putting a needle into a football in the pisser.

Some of this is just crazy. I'm starting to think that the reason that the Patriots have won so much the past two decades isn't because Belichick is some kind of savant genius football mind 1 percenter, or a rogue CIA operative, but because the rest of the league is full of mouth breathing neanderthals with whistles rattling around their skulls where their brains should be.

So 1. you're telling me the f*cking Rams went through their SUPER BOWL WALKTHROUGH WITH SOME DUDES IN PATRIOTS GEAR HANGING OUT AT THE OTHER END OF THE FIELD? if that's true that's absolutely insane, instead of staring into the horizon wondering "what if the Patriots cheated," Mike Martz should jump off a bridge for being so stupid as to not check the field before running his team's plays.

2. If the Patriots were able to steal playsheets in opposing locker rooms that means that people were LEAVING THEM LAYING AROUND UNATTENDED. Unless Ernie Adams has a locker full of Harry Potter-style invisibility ponchos, that means that coaches and players were in the habit of going to an opposing team's stadium and just sort of leaving the playbook out on the desk during halftime. Again, if you do that, you deserve whatever happens to you.

3. And this just endlessly goes without saying. If you aren't switching up your defensive signals before you see a team the 2nd time OR in a big playoff implicated game, you are an incompetent buffoon who should not be in the business of running a professional sports team.

at the end of the day, whether or not you think the Patriots "cheated" -- and that conclusion is going to have to do with any number of emotional and personal factors, including what jersey you keep in the closet -- what it looks like to me is that Belichick systematically exploited the foolishness and idiocy of other teams and the NFL. And why wouldn't you? In ANY other corporate, military, or advocacy situation that's called BEING GOOD AT YOUR JOB. Other teams leave their playsheet on the toilet? Tough luck, it's ours now. You can't switch your signals up? Well they're f*ckin ours now. You ran a practice with our people still there? Your bad.

A lot of this is just about kicking the edges of other teams sloppiness and unprofessionality. Could you imagine a Belichick team leaving the playsheet out in the opposing team's locker room?

And ESPN needs to explain themselves with this "playsheets from hotels" thing because that sounds like the Patriots were organizing break-ins with interns or whatever. Unless other teams were making a habit of leaving the sheets out at the hotel buffet line or pool, that means that there was some kind of larceny happening which is absolutely ridiculous to contemplate logistically.

They'll never explain themselves, as their main job was to follow the NFL's orders and empty the chamber at the NEP.

Fortunately for us, they cannot build a "way back" machine and form a sting operation in the hopes of catching them in the act.

In other words, ESPN "did their job" and created more doubt, just the same as they always do. Water cooler discussions and talk show hosts are already taking full advantage. The people here in Pittsburgh are completely insufferable at this point. They are loving this. It's actually been worse in 24 hrs than deflategate ever was, in my opinion anyways.

Those who are going to the game shouldn't pass up the opportunity to make some nice signs about Vick and the fact that he drowned and electrocuted dogs for sport. To me, that's way worse than any fake news outlet (6 wrong stories lately just off the top of my head) could ever report.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

i've worked as a freelance journalist in the past and there are parts of that ESPN report that an editor who works on foreign policy or 'hard news' would never, EVER let slide. i'd get a draft back with a red comment box that said "How would they get the playsheet from a hotel room? What does 'rummage around' a hotel actually mean?"

This is why I cringe whenever anyone refers to these clowns as journalists. They're not. They're sports writers. It may seem like a subtle difference, but it's not. There's nothing journalistic about Tomase or Mort or Silver or any of the other million monkeys banging away at their keyboards.

As for the allegations, just lazy, and stupid. It's pretty obvious how some of this stuff starts, yet somehow not obvious enough for the sports writers. Coach X leaves his play card in the hotel room after checking out, goes back to get it hours later, finds it "missing." Actual cause: housekeeping cleans rooms so other guests don't have to stay in the filth you leave behind. Only conclusion Coach X can make: The Patriots must have STOLEN IT! But I don't know...if it is really that important, maybe you don't forget it?

Still, the Patriots have been running the same offense for quite some time now. Brady has talked about how he started running some of the plays back when he first became a starter. And I've found old entire Patriots playbooks online somehow, yet you don't see us crying about it after every loss. And that's what separates this team from the rest, the mental toughness to focus on the task at hand and not accept excuses for everything.

The Jets cry that we tape, but we say nothing when they tape. And when the Dolphins claim they bought a tape to get all of our audibles after a big win against us, we didn't use it as an excuse or cry about it. When the Fins broke out an exotic Wild Cat formation against us, we didn't complain to the refs or moan about the unfairness of it like the Ravens. The football was massively over-inflated for the Jets game but nobody complained publicly. This team just finds a way to compete, while others find a reason to quit. And that's what makes them champions.

This has been the off-season from hell and the NFL has tried their hardest to suck all the joy out of it. Really? Carson Palmer but not Tom Brady on the Super Bowl 50 ad? **** you Goodell, and **** you NFL. But you better get your **** together. You better get Blandino warmed up to call in questionable calls. You better find more ridiculous lies to feed your ESPN puppets. Because we're the ****ing champs, and we're ****ing pissed, and if the best you can do is try to champion the Colts, you're ****ed.

 

[turkeyneck]

Say you're a knucklehead football player. You foul up in the walkthrough. Coach says "Did you study the play sheet?" Uh-oh! You didn't. "No, Coach. I couldn't. Somebody stole it. Yeah, that's the ticket. Cheatriots stole it." And a new Pats cheat myth is born.

 

[Ross12]

Lmfao, this is an amazing post. "Harry Potter-style invisibility ponchos"... Well done, sir. I award you a Winner medal.

 

[Wordsmyth]

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

 

[Wordsmyth]

BB's Marauder's Map!

 

[Big Bucks]

This hotel thing sounds like made up paranoia tin foil hat stuff that Head coachs make up to explain defeats against us to there GM and Owners.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I'm catagorically dismissing it. No names. No alerting the league. No evidence. If it happened then it should be investigated. If it didn't or can't be proven then STFU or make yourself public and face the people you accuse. Coward.

 

[Froob]

I'm still awaiting proof that Ernie Adams is even a real person, let alone some sort of sorcer playbook stealing scheme. Ernie was probably made up by BB to pysch out other teams. Ernie is ALWAYS watching!

 

[Grizzafted]

Look there's obviously a "where there's smoke there's fire" thing going on here....but the question is what the definition of "cheating" is.

"Cheating" at a card game is straightforward - you sneak an Ace in your sleeve and swap it out. and then somebody shoots you from the other side of the table.

what's been going on, whether with spygate..and even if we say f it, Deflategate did involve some kids draining the tiniest bit of air (less than 10%!) from the ball. this is not some backyard thing we're talking about here, millions of dollars are on the line, jobs, fan support, prestige.

the closest i can get to the sort of pesudo-metaphorical social ideal of 'honorable competition' that parallels how people talk about the NFL, is the military. (which is ridiculous because people's actual lives and bodies are at stake there, but still). the US military -- and every military on earth -- employs every and any possible tactic to understand their opponent's logic and thinking and capabilities, at every turn. they devote entire wings of their operations to gathering any small piece of information they can about their enemy. if you can't keep your code safe, signal gatherers will crack it and pop champagne. same goes on our side, we spend millions of dollars writing better codes and switching them constantly. that's their job. is it "cheating" or dishonorable? No. it's appropriate actions given the stakes of the situation.

obviously football is much, much different and i hate making the military comparison. but even in the corporate world, billions are spent every year on corporate espionage. the NFL is one of the biggest businesses in the world, and coaches salaries make them de facto 1 percenters. here's a thought: maybe you should HOLD ON TO YOUR PLAYBOOK A LITTLE MORE CLOSELY GIVEN THOSE STAKES AND THE FACT THAT YOU ARE INVOLVED IN AN ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISE WORTH BILLIONS.

at the end of the day, Belichick's behavior would make him a 4-star general or a CEO in another world, even if he did the worst of what's been alleged (which i don't concede anyway).

my view on all of this is essentially - cry your mad tears, you sour bunch of salted losers, burned owners, knucklehead fans, and hack sportswriters on a crusade to prove that you really should have been assigned to metro and not high school sports by that mean editor 25 years ago. belichick knows what his job entails and does it better than these fat clipboard-holding goons that the group of lottery winners and trust funders who own teams across the league hire, and it burns ***es across the world. none of this takes even 1 iota of joy and fun out of the Pats victories and unprecedented successes and 20 years from now it will be honored as smart and amusing gamesmanship in the context of their having made history, while every single sportswriter, team, and NFL executive trying to bring the ship down will be completely forgotten.

on to Pittsburgh, drop the banner, kiss the rings.

 

[BTTA]

This is why I cringe whenever anyone refers to these clowns as journalists. They're not. They're sports writers. It may seem like a subtle difference, but it's not. There's nothing journalistic about Tomase or Mort or Silver or any of the other million monkeys banging away at their keyboards.

I hear ya, although sports writers are technically journalists, belong to the professional association, and should be held to those standards.

These clowns actually are entertainers masquerading as sports writers. I think they should be called out on that. It is fraudulent.

This is what is happening that is part of what's driving all this:
http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawi...journalists-compete-against-teams-they-cover/
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/17/135471975/robot-journalist-out-writes-human-sports-reporter

 

[Ross12]

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

According to these articles, that's BB's catchphrase.

 

[Ross12]

I'm still awaiting proof that Ernie Adams is even a real person, let alone some sort of sorcer playbook stealing scheme. Ernie was probably made up by BB to pysch out other teams. Ernie is ALWAYS watching!

BREAKING: Patriots statement released earlier today reveals Ernie Adams never existed, and was a fictional boogeyman perpetuated by Bill Belichick for almost two decades. Roger Goodell bans Belichick from football indefinitely for being too smart.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

More paranoia than facts. If a team wanted to catch the PAts, all they had to do was set up a camera in the locker room with a security guard hidden in a locker ready to jump out....

 

[sb1]

I would be extremely disappointed if this was true but right now this is a nothing story without names and evidence and should be treated as such.

A league source says 11 of 12 footballs were underinflated by 2 PSI each remember?

 

[mgcolby]

George Allen used to pay hotel employees to not clean the rooms of the visiting team and to let some team cronies go through the hotel rooms looking for anything a player may have left behind in his room. This stuff has been going on for a very long time.