Mark,
I happen to have in my possession a copy of the "America's Game" episode dedicated to the 1998 Denver Broncos superbowl victory that highlighted several memorable moments, like Terrell Davis' getting past the 2000 yard barrier, Elway's tearful retirement and you... well, talking about puking. I came away from that with a certain amount of respect for you after seeing you reminisce about the event. You seemed both honest and likeable, like most players who get the chance to be on "America's Game".
I saw you on ESPN the other day bashing my team's brains in for spygate and cheating. Yeah, I'm used to it by now. Every yahoo from the world of sports "journalism" has put in their 2 cents. And don't get me wrong: I think it was wrong what Belichick did, but knowing him to be who he is, I wasn't all too surprised. I would never hold Belichick in the same light I held players such as yourself. He's like an odd mix between Spock and Cheney and is better served by his reputation for being a cloak and dagger tactician. So if you told me Belichick ate babies in order to win games, I'd probably be appalled, but there'd be something Belichick-esque about it. But I respect him because he's true to himself and, well, there's something about a coach who wears the most deadpan expression while wearing the most atrocious garb on the sidelines. The man has a sense of humor, even if you'd have to put his thumbs in screws before he'd admit it.
When ESPN got on the spygate controversy, I watched all the talking heads spout, as expected, from Tom Jackson to Skip Bayliss (Skip Bayliss? Talk about bag of insight), and I was pleasantly surprised by Keyshawn and confused by Emmitt. But when you spoke, I was curious to hear what you said, because you were Mark Schlereth from "America's Game". Even if I couldn't bring myself to agree wholeheartedly, I felt you had a point in chiding the Patriots as you did. I personally don't think Belichick would willfully do something that could undermine his ability to coach his players to win games, and I believed him when he said there was no Rams walkthrough.
So, yeah, Belichick taped division and conference rivals' defensive signals. However, the subjects being taped were often aware of it and played along, which would call into question how honest an attempt at cheating this would be. Also, as shown in an article by scouts inc., but also up on ESPN's website, the person who'd benefit the most, if at all, would be the game scout, and only because it was a glorified shortcut.
Yes, I'm a Patriots' homer.
But Mark, you were a player, and you should know how difficult it would be to get any real in-game benefit from taping. You keep asking, "Well, why did Belichick do it and go to such lengths to do so?" Why does Belichick still have Tom Brady on the injury report after all these years? Why is he so secretive about contracts and the overall operation he runs in Foxboro? Well, Mark, I'm sure if you were the head coach of the Patriots, you wouldn't do these things, because you're Mark Schlereth, much in the same way I don't think Belichick would do your job the same way if he were a pundit on ESPN. Have you seen the guy behind a podium?
The truth is, us Patriots fans have had a lot worse and could still do a lot worse than Belichick for a head coach. He got us to the superbowl 4 times and we won 3 of those. He has few friends and isn't the best conversationalist, buy he's a damn good coach, and part of that is because he's so thorough about everything he does. Even when he breaks the rules, he's thorough about it. So, I can live with spygate and the hypocrites and the homers, much like you made do with the Broncos' victories in the late 90s, even though they were shafting the salary cap to pay Elway and Davis.
But back to you, Mark. I must say my opinion of you changed over the last couple of months, because I know I couldn't rag on a team for breaking any rule. That's the legacy spygate left me. If the Jets played the Patriots tomorrow and beat them while using phasers and forcefields, I wouldn't in good conscience be able to say a thing, because my team also broke the rules. What legacy did salary cap-gate leave you, Mark Schlereth?
-T.
