Something Strange Going On With Easterbrook

[He Ban Me]

It's only questionable for those who have an axe to grind. The reality is, and you know this full well, that teams stealing signals is not illegal. From the beginning, this has been all about making mountains out of molehills. As has been pointed out by many different sources, including coaches, you don't need to film in order to steal signals for the game in progress.

This has been nothing more than the equivalent of busting someone for using red ink instead of blue when stealing answers for tests that the teach allows people to cheat on. My guess is that the Commissioner wishes he had a mulligan so that he could change the penalty he gave to something less punitive and more reasonable, especially after the tape was leaked.

There is no axe, but fact remains, there was a bunch of hub-bub, an expectation of more to come, then shear silence, that's all.

So, now King is your buddy again because he said something that looks favorable to the Pats?? Listen, if it were not important, and gave miniscule advantage, then they wouldn't do it. If that truely IS all they look for(tendancies), why waste those resources and chance getting caught? Get the binoculars out.

 

[Bella*chick]

There is no axe, but fact remains, there was a bunch of hub-bub, an expectation of more to come, then shear silence, that's all.

So, now King is your buddy again because he said something that looks favorable to the Pats?? Listen, if it were not important, and gave miniscule advantage, then they wouldn't do it. If that truely IS all they look for(tendancies), why waste those resources and chance getting caught? Get the binoculars out.

Um, the "hubbub" was entirely media-created. Entirely. Those of us with a modicum of critical thinking skills and two eyes saw that the whole thing was likely over after the punishment was handed down.

If you were in the "ooooh, bigger smackdown coming!" category, sucks to be you. You got caught in a hysteria tornado. Your fault.

 

[Gwedd]

Fellers,

The only thing you fellows need to know about Greg Easterbrook, is that he writes for "The New Republic."

That periodocal has suffered through two sensationally damaging faux-news scandals, the most recent by a soldier who claimed to have participated in and/or witnessed warcrimes by US troops in Iraq. The problem was that he was in Kuwait when he wrote the stuff. When confronted with the allegations, the soldier admitted he made it all up, but "The New Republic" ran with it anyway, because it served their agenda.

Turns out that their editorial staff took a powder when the news broke about the story being fake, and it was also revealed that the soldier got the gig because he was married to one of their senior writers, who also had an axe to grind...

Anyone else see a pattern here?

Easterbrook is just another closed-mided hack who writes a story to fit his own version of events. He's not one to let the facts get in the way of a good narrative.

respects,

 

[sarge]

I have no idea where you'd get that. Easterbrook has had an ax to grind against the Pats for years. His comments, especially during the SB runs, were peppered with references to luck and beneficial calls/non-calls. Conversely, in several years of reading him, I don't remember him even once mentioning that the Pats got hosed on a call. During the 21-game streak, he was begging for someone, anyone, to beat them.

Now he just sounds like an idiot. I used to think he was relatively well-reasoned, but lately he's coming off as a joke.

What he said.

Every time I read Eastbrook going back to 2003, he never had anything good to say about them.

I stopped reading him back then when it was clear he had an ax to grind

 

[BrianPat]

It surprises how stupid all the sports writer and Pats haters are !!!!

It was understood, the ONLY reason the league wanted the tapes was to be sure the Pats weren't using them. It was understood that all the tapes violated league policy, it wasn't a discovery process, it was a seizure.

I laugh everytime I hear people talking like the NFL is still looking to see if the Pats taped in the past, ah, ya, Bill admitted that fact, boneheads. By saying it was his interpretation of the rule that was wrong, all past "like" offenses mean nothing ! He was punished, end of story.

This Easterbrook is sad, too not be able to grasp that, he sound like a fool to everyone who has a clue. Based on people responding like he's exposed something shows there are many stupid people out there.

Living in Pittsburgh, I heard it for days " oh what the NFL gonna find on those tapes, the Pats are in so much trouble " They would look at me confused when I'd say ALL of the tapes will show defensive signals from opposing teams. I told them, after the first tape got leaked, I wouldn't be surprised if all the others are destroyed in short notice. I got, " Huh, are you crazy, it'll take them weeks to check all those tapes "

People can be so blinded by hate and jealousy it's sad.

 

[SVN]

he is going to be ESPNEWS now ..ESPN just trying to rake the issue

 

[SaCaCh]

It surprises how stupid all the sports writer and Pats haters are !!!!

It was understood, the ONLY reason the league wanted the tapes was to be sure the Pats weren't using them. It was understood that all the tapes violated league policy, it wasn't a discovery process, it was a seizure.

I laugh everytime I hear people talking like the NFL is still looking to see if the Pats taped in the past, ah, ya, Bill admitted that fact, boneheads. By saying it was his interpretation of the rule that was wrong, all past "like" offenses mean nothing ! He was punished, end of story.

This Easterbrook is sad, too not be able to grasp that, he sound like a fool to everyone who has a clue. Based on people responding like he's exposed something shows there are many stupid people out there.

Living in Pittsburgh, I heard it for days " oh what the NFL gonna find on those tapes, the Pats are in so much trouble " They would look at me confused when I'd say ALL of the tapes will show defensive signals from opposing teams. I told them, after the first tape got leaked, I wouldn't be surprised if all the others are destroyed in short notice. I got, " Huh, are you crazy, it'll take them weeks to check all those tapes "

People can be so blinded by hate and jealousy it's sad.

Ding ding ding!

Yes! its very simple and so many seem to fail to grasp this.

BB taped from the side line to view other coaches and form a book on how they called signals and how they ran their sidelines. Code breaking for in game was useless and BB knew this and its why he didn't bother. So he thought since he wasn't using it in game he could tape there and catalogue it. Goodell not really knowing any better and being bothered by owners and coaches who did not understand what BB was doing for years, decided to re-emphasize the no taping rule. BB still did not think what he was doing was against policy and did not understand they were gunning for him. So bang they take the camera and watch the tape.

Goodell sees they tape and doesn't really know what it means (after all its only a shot of what everyone can see themselves). He asks BB and BB explains what he does and how he has a book on every coach. Goodell says well then give me those books because if I am busting you for this instead of in game stuff I must destroy everything I am busting you for. BB says fine hands over the tapes and notes on each coach and Goodell destroys it. If the tapes contained anything other than the simple sideline view or if the notes explained how the Pats did something else against the rules Goodell would of fined them again, but they didn't so he just destroyed them.

This isn't rocket science people, this is simple stuff, but it is an angle that most coaches and owners do not understand and don't know how to utilize. They do think since BB is doing it it must give some huge advantage, but BB I bet is laughing to himself that it was just a post script to his weekly routine.


Wow that was way too long.

 

[kolbitr]

Listen, if it were not important, and gave miniscule advantage, then they wouldn't do it. If that truely IS all they look for(tendancies), why waste those resources and chance getting caught? Get the binoculars out.

Something that gives miniscule advantage is not unimportant. Doing the little things has always been the hallmarks of winners, in all walks of life. Attention to details, complete dedication, leaving nothing overlooked--these are the ingredients of mastery.

Most people do not do such things, and therefore do not understand that anyone would put effort into something that provided only a slight advantage. They can only think in terms of all-or-nothing, or in terms of "magic bullets". The idea that the Patriots' coaches do a hundred things, or more, to prepare for each game, and that this one thing, although valuable, was a tiny percentage of the exertion expended, is unfathomable. Instead of that, they think of it as if someone were looking at the answers to a crossword puzzle, or looking at someone's poker hand.

This thread links to an article by Greg Garber, who points out why someone might prefer film to binoculars to gain that slight advantage--efficiency, for one; but even more importantly, it appeals to a coach who loves film, who believes that no one else could see what he sees.

This doesn't excuse its illegitimacy at this time; but it also underlines the idiocy of the hystrionics of an Easterbrook.

 

[LoveDemPats]

There is no axe, but fact remains, there was a bunch of hub-bub, an expectation of more to come, then shear silence, that's all.

So, now King is your buddy again because he said something that looks favorable to the Pats?? Listen, if it were not important, and gave miniscule advantage, then they wouldn't do it. If that truely IS all they look for(tendancies), why waste those resources and chance getting caught? Get the binoculars out.

We are very lucky to have you here for your deep analysis. I bet that BB would hire you to show him how it is all done. Gosh, may I genuflect? I ummm, love you.

Hey, could you help us out with world hunger? We could use someone as bright as you.

 

[the taildragger]

"The media at large has an interest in this story going away." - Easterbrook on ESPN news

That about sums it up.

So basically everyone but Greg is involved in this conspiracy. (cue Twilight Zone music). Yeah Greg, that embarasing overreaction last week sure suggests the extent to which the media hates itself a good old fashioned scandal.

Look, you can sit in the front row and do the same thing legally....ever wonder why teams employ DUMMIES?.....OF COURSE the evil Pats were doing it in the Super Bowl.....they've been doing it forever....the league knew it, and REPEATEDLY warned them not to....but basically didn't care until a desperate Mike Tannenbaum forced their hand (and now must suffer the consequences).

They got caught ******* up.

The media had their fun with it.

They paid the most severe fine in NFL history.

There was no criminality here.

You're the only person in the media who is still willing to trumpet this thing....it's time for you to weigh whether the exposure you're about to get for looking like an ignorant boob is really worth it.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Every Tuesday during football season for the last few years I've checked out TMQ. Today I loaded up ESPN.com to look for it, and then remembered the hack job last week and decided against it. Apparently it was a good idea.

The story is dead for a reason. It's fully played out. It was basically dead last week when he wrote that awful column (when you only write once-a-week that happens, especially when you write your Tuesday column on a Monday and therefore can't react to news that breaks on Monday afternoon).

Easterbrook doesn't seem to understand that he writes for Page 2, a big "do not take me seriously" disclaimer.

Oh, and I loved Simmons's comment in his Friday column. Easterbrook obviously didn't read it.

 

[Water Boy]

From Easterbrook's article:

Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis and Eric Mangini. When they were at New England, all led offensive and defensive units that performed extremely well. As head coaches, all have struggled, with a combined record of 41-43. Maybe this is because after leaving the New England Patriots, Crennel, Weis and Mangini stopped benefiting from cheating. Excuse me, stopped benefiting from "a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field."

The Patriots have not had the "benefit" of taping defensive signals this season and are currently 3-0 with the top ranked offense and defense, douche bag.

 

[cubicle_6]

This guy was beside himself with anger that Brady didn't get destroyed by a Charger after the Brady INT.
This guy has NO idea how things work in the NFL,
therefore he gets lots of responses for his ludicrous columns.
ESPN only sees the clicks on his reports and gives him a high grade as a writer.
This goy really is obsessed with the Pats, and we'll see this crap as long as he's allowed to continue.

 

[Eugene Chung]

How can you use combined W-L records as a point? If you remove Crennel from that equation, you have a total combined record of 30-19. In addition, ND and NYJ have both improved (this season notwithstanding) while Crennel inherited the one of the worst teams in football, if not the worst.

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

The knee jerk the-media-sucks-what-do-you-expect crowd is in full regalia here, but surely none of them would act ignorantly as they insist Easterbrook has. Not having emails direct from the NFL front offices shouldn't prevent you from making sweeping conclusions, right?

Maybe none of you have noticed but there is not a single, not one (but for maybe Mike Reiss) writer/newspaper/website that has not been given the media-sux routine here. So we can conclude that all writers have no talent, lie, crave attention, hate the Pats, have no morals, and won't sleep until Belichick is taken down. Don't you guys have another play, let alone another playbook?

Very Old Newsflash - Easterbrook's column is one of the most read football pieces in the world on a weekly basis, and it has been that way for years. You can convince yourself of anything - and if believing that TMQ is nothing more than a website hit grubbing hack then there's little reason to argue with you - you're mind's been made up so long you don't even need to read or think; it's easier for you that way, I guess.

Personally, my initial sense is that TMQ has exaggerated the extent of the Pat's infractions. However, over the years TMQ has proven to be very well researched and pointedly focused on facts. Why then would he persist in degrading the Pats franchise? I don't buy that he has an agenda, no one has presented any proof in the form of quotes. I don't remember any anti-Pats bias from TMQ at all. I think he's just pissed that what should have been the ideal franchise in the NFL has been bending the rules and that BB, so clearly a mega-talent has seen fit to soil the reputation of the game so arrogantly. I feel a lot of that too. But saying that ex-Pats coaches have struggled is convenient number crunching. Mangina took a crap team to the playoffs as a rookie coach and until this year Weiss has been well-received at ND. Crenell went into a near impossible situation and lacked a competent QB - a necessity that TMQ himself has noted is mandatory for success.

 

[Eugene Chung]

Personally, my initial sense is that TMQ has exaggerated the extent of the Pat's infractions. However, over the years TMQ has proven to be very well researched and pointedly focused on facts.

Um... his anti-semitism?

 

[He Ban Me]

Something that gives miniscule advantage is not unimportant. Doing the little things has always been the hallmarks of winners, in all walks of life. Attention to details, complete dedication, leaving nothing overlooked--these are the ingredients of mastery.

Most people do not do such things, and therefore do not understand that anyone would put effort into something that provided only a slight advantage. They can only think in terms of all-or-nothing, or in terms of "magic bullets". The idea that the Patriots' coaches do a hundred things, or more, to prepare for each game, and that this one thing, although valuable, was a tiny percentage of the exertion expended, is unfathomable. Instead of that, they think of it as if someone were looking at the answers to a crossword puzzle, or looking at someone's poker hand.

This thread links to an article by Greg Garber, who points out why someone might prefer film to binoculars to gain that slight advantage--efficiency, for one; but even more importantly, it appeals to a coach who loves film, who believes that no one else could see what he sees.

This doesn't excuse its illegitimacy at this time; but it also underlines the idiocy of the hystrionics of an Easterbrook.

It was your own guy that made it sound as if the taping was of little benefit. But trying to excuse your cheating ways by calling it "mastery" is comical.

 

[kolbitr]

It was your own guy that made it sound as if the taping was of little benefit. But trying to excuse your cheating ways by calling it "mastery" is comical.

What is comical to me is how you move your lips when you are reading.

Seriously...internet debating is a frustrating-enough activity without Fanzzz like yourself, who seem to prefer poo-throwing to discussion.

 

[kolbitr]

The knee jerk the-media-sucks-what-do-you-expect crowd is in full regalia here, but surely none of them would act ignorantly as they insist Easterbrook has. Not having emails direct from the NFL front offices shouldn't prevent you from making sweeping conclusions, right?

Maybe none of you have noticed but there is not a single, not one (but for maybe Mike Reiss) writer/newspaper/website that has not been given the media-sux routine here. So we can conclude that all writers have no talent, lie, crave attention, hate the Pats, have no morals, and won't sleep until Belichick is taken down. Don't you guys have another play, let alone another playbook?

Very Old Newsflash - Easterbrook's column is one of the most read football pieces in the world on a weekly basis, and it has been that way for years. You can convince yourself of anything - and if believing that TMQ is nothing more than a website hit grubbing hack then there's little reason to argue with you - you're mind's been made up so long you don't even need to read or think; it's easier for you that way, I guess.

Personally, my initial sense is that TMQ has exaggerated the extent of the Pat's infractions. However, over the years TMQ has proven to be very well researched and pointedly focused on facts. Why then would he persist in degrading the Pats franchise? I don't buy that he has an agenda, no one has presented any proof in the form of quotes. I don't remember any anti-Pats bias from TMQ at all. I think he's just pissed that what should have been the ideal franchise in the NFL has been bending the rules and that BB, so clearly a mega-talent has seen fit to soil the reputation of the game so arrogantly. I feel a lot of that too. But saying that ex-Pats coaches have struggled is convenient number crunching. Mangina took a crap team to the playoffs as a rookie coach and until this year Weiss has been well-received at ND. Crenell went into a near impossible situation and lacked a competent QB - a necessity that TMQ himself has noted is mandatory for success.

Yes, Easterbrook is a widely-read columnist, and to suggest he is a minor hack, along the lines of a, say, Eagle-Tribune reporter, is incorrect.

But to say that he has proven himself to be, "over the years", "focused on facts" is just weird. Hotel Easterbrook has actually been, over the years, a haven of haikus, cheerbabes, factoids, and endless repetition of the same four football insights. He is prolix beyond belief, and completely self-absorbed. Cold hard football facts? They are not the brew of choice in Hotel Easterbrook.

Numbers, yes. He has always loved to count things. But we are not dealing with statistics in these rabid columns. We're dealing with insane rage. You might be right (although I am skeptical) that he feels let down by big Bad Bill, that he's disappointed to think that his heroic franchise has a base of clay...but this issue is too important for the Patriots for us to allow him a free pass to wage what nearly amounts to a smear campaign because Greggy needs a moment to vent and to grow up.

This is a man who loves conspiracy theories, loves the idea of a puzzle palace, and intrigue...who has suggested "over the years" that the mean old Jews might, actually, consider not making life miserable for residents of the Hotel Easterbrook. And most of us are calling BS.

 

[1976pats]

If you were able to stomach reading deeply enough into this article here's the paragraph that K-O'd me...

Here's another question raised by the scandal. Three coordinators for Belichick at New England have gone on to become head coaches: Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis and Eric Mangini. When they were at New England, all led offensive and defensive units that performed extremely well. As head coaches, all have struggled, with a combined record of 41-43. Maybe this is because after leaving the New England Patriots, Crennel, Weis and Mangini stopped benefiting from cheating. Excuse me, stopped benefiting from "a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field."



This paragraph confirms for me that the guy can't be serious.