Tapegate: Something Doesn't Add Up Here, Folks

[FloridaPatsFan]

The guy in that picture is as obvious as Bin Laden shopping for ties in Barneys.

I would not be surprised if the tape was a recording of looney toon cartoons. BB could write a book on how to screw with the other teams game planning against us. Maybe there is something on that tape that incriminates us but if its a tape of something else, I will laugh to my sides ache if BB pulled this on Mangini.

 

[richpats]

If you think about it, it was after blow outs we hear about it. If it is something that we always do then Mangini knew we did it, and still knows. So maybe to cover his butt after a blow out, he calls out the camera guy to divert attention away from his team and maybe even give an excuse. Maybe Green Bay did it also.

First thing I thought too. Lord knows the Jets need a diversion from the spanking they got Sunday. Maybe the Pats needed it too - Mossmania was in full gear until this broke out and now we have bulletin board material from LT

 

[PatriotsReign]

I am ashamed of the number of fans on this site who have found it necessary to post thread-after-thread about the non-issue of stealing signals.

We just played on of the most dominant games in years, our team looks very powerful and we have a playoff type game this Sunday that has far reaching implications and you're all acting like Patriots turn-coats.

Stop it, you're embaressing me and insulting everything the Patriots have done for us...

AND IT'S MAKING ME SICK!

 

[shmessy]

I am ashamed of the number of fans on this site who have found it necessary to post thread-after-thread about the non-issue of stealing signals.

We just played on of the most dominant games in years, our team looks very powerful and we have a playoff type game this Sunday that has far reaching implications and you're all acting like Patriots turn-coats.

Stop it, you're embaressing me and insulting everything the Patriots have done for us...

AND IT'S MAKING ME SICK!

So take an aspirin and log onto other threads.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Initial reports said the guy was on the Jets sideline, but subsequent reports said the guy was on the Pats sideline.

IF this is the guy, and he is with the Patriots, this was beyond stupid.

If this is in fact the guy, you mean to tell me the Pats
1. Dressed this guy in Jets colors
2. Gave him a jumbo extra large video camera
3. Placed him not only on the Jets sideline, but directly in front of two Jet staffers, and directly behind a security gaurd???
4. And had him take side shots of the signals when they could be easily viewed from the Pats sideline providing an even better angle???

This makes absolutely no sense.

If this is the guys, and points 1-4 are true, this is just beyuond stupid, and I would be really disappointed.

But considering points 1-4 above, this at the very least can't be the guy in question.

Add to that the that he's stationed directly NEXT a guy with the required "orange vest", so as to SCREAM "notice me".

This can't be the guy.......... or this story is complete bunk.

If it is the guy.......... well then the tape is either one of BB old pornos or cartoons, Grand Canyon vacation footage, or anything but hand signals. My bet (if this is in fact the guy) is the league will come out with the quiet "nothing incriminating found" and BB get the last laugh.

The tape will be full of crowd shots above the heads of the coaches. Even BB doesn't have the balls to send the league a confiscated camera with an old " Debbie Does Dalles" VHS in it :singing:

 

[sarge]

Lost in all of this is this simple question.

Isn't there a defensive player with a radio in his helmet?


Why do they send hand signals in anyway?

 

[mangenious]

Lets just get thi straight the Jets didnt ***** about it :
It wasn't the Jets who busted this guy with the camera but NFL security. The leagues Competition Committee will be meeting on this and making reccomendations and Mortenson- who is hooked into high NFL officials- says the league could "come down hard" on the Pats because they are violating the integrity of the game.

 

[Bella*chick]

Let's also note there appear to be conflicting stories in the media (big surprise). Was this guy on our sideline in our gear or was he on the Jets sideline? I'm confused about this one.

 

[Triumph]

Let's also note there appear to be conflicting stories in the media (big surprise). Was this guy on our sideline in our gear or was he on the Jets sideline? I'm confused about this one.

Jets sideline. There is a pic at JetNation.Com

 

[Bella*chick]

Jets sideline. There is a pic at JetNation.Com

Is it the guy in the green shirt? Because I have serious reservations about that.

 

[Grizzafted]

This is out of hand. So much speculation going on already.

There are key questions that need to be answered, and smart, objective journalists are going to have to do a good job making that happen.

A) Where was the man, and when was his camera confiscated? Was he the infamous khaki-shorted man that Felger just mentioned on ESPN radio, and that the pictures depict? My guess is, of course not.

B) (obviously) What was recorded with that camera?

C) Is this a common league practice? If so, why are the Pats being singled out here? Is this sore losership by Mangini and Tannenbaum? If not, why haven't the Patriots' stiffer opponents, the Steelers, Colts, Chargers, Eagles, etc made a bigger stink about this prior to their games? If it's as well known as Tomlinson wants to suggest, why the hell can't other teams adjust? Which leads to:

D) Is there really any significant competitive advantage that can be gained with that kind of tactic? With all the blitz packages and personnel looks, are we to believe that there are a small enough number of hand signals that they could be decoded and put into practical use? If so, why doesnt every team have a cameraman on their sidelines recording those signals? Is it any different than taking game film and breaking it down at halftime to notice tendencies? Maybe it's hard enough to do this effectively that only someone like Belichick has enough coaching discipline and know-how to pull it off. How can something be cheating when it's just essentially noticing something on the field and adjusting to it?

E) Why the camera? Why not just write down the signals, if that's what this is for?

That's just what comes to mind right now. And, hey, what signal was it for the secondary to cover Moss? If we had this amazing signal stealing spy capabilities, why is it that the second times we saw the Dolphins and Jets last year we couldn't protect sh*t? Nobody's asking any real questions right now, it's frustrating to read all this conjecture and hat-wringing.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Funny how when this pic was first posted HERE on patsfans.com, it didn't have touchdown.org on it. Did touchdown.org merely steal it from here and slap their logo on there to say it was theirs or is it just advertising?

funny, I noticed the same thing. I saw this pic last night before they claimed it.

 

[PatriotsReign]

Yes, but my question concerns the "OBVIOUSNESS" of the situation. The Pats couldn't have advertised this guy's actions any more than if they gave him his own flashing spotlight and flourescent pants.

Could BB have been baiting the Jets?

"IF" the camera actually had no film in it and Belichick did it just to get into the Jets heads, that would be the biggest genius move I've ever witnessed!

God, he should do that every game!

 

[NEPat]

Ursa99 is the guy who found and first posted that picture. Touchdown.org and whoever else is using that pic better give him credit.

And I still can't believe that's the cameraman. I mean, he's right in front of the coaches! If that really is the guy, how idiotic.

Could BB have been baiting the Jets?!

"IF" the camera actually had no film in it and Belichick did it just to get into the Jets heads, that would be the biggest genius move I've ever witnessed

I don't really follow either comment. Bait the Jets to do what? To accuse the Pats of stealing signs? And how is that a genius move, what does it accomplish for the Patriots? Make the Jets look foolish? They already did that with the game on Sunday. So I don't think this is all some elaborate ploy of Belichick's.

 

[SVN]

"IF" the camera actually had no film in it and Belichick did it just to get into the Jets heads, that would be the biggest genius move I've ever witnessed!

God, he should do that every game!

according to boomer esaison on weei the jets have redhanded evidence FWIW

 

[NEPat]

misread a post, sorry, carry on

 

[Mooch]

according to boomer esaison on weei the jets have redhanded evidence FWIW

What did he say?

And I thought that the league had the evidence.

 

[NEPat]

What did he say?

And I thought that the league had the evidence.

Boomer said the Jets caught the Pats "redhanded", meaning they caught the guy while he was filming. You're right, no one's seen the tape, the NFL has it.

PatriotsReign said it would be amusing if there was no tape and it was all a set up by Belichick, but there is definitely a tape.

 

[He Ban Me]

Or

(c) This kind of thing goes on all the time around the league by many teams and the Pats are being singled out.

Seriously, the thing that sticks out for me is the Green Bay situation. A Packer team official, when asked about it said that (paraphrasing) "there's a code of silence" about this sort of thing.

The only reason why there would be a code of silence about cheating of this nature is that many teams do it and there's kind of a nod-wink agreement not to go running to the league about it.

I think this is the most likely scenerio here.

Going on all the time? Singled out?? Maybe a team plants an employee, posing as a fan, close to an opponents bench, hard to police that, but physically locating a camera man on an opponents sideline, pointing the camera directly at the staff? Not saying they are guilty, but I have a hard time believing that any teams goes to those lengths, and would be surprised that the Pats would have the gall to go that far.

 

[ctpatsfan1]

Hey guys,

I don't know if this has been posted or not yet, but this is what the jets are heralding as "overwhelming proof" of the camera incident:

I do not think the pic definitively means that their accusations are true, but it does raise some suspicion at least.

Nonetheless, that guy could have been filming anything -- cheerleaders on other side of the field perhaps? I'm sure that if you filmed all of the camera men during a whole game at least at some point it would look like one of them was filming the coaches.

the problem with their take is that it has since been reported he was on the Patriots sideline not the Jets sideline.