Chargers Steal Signals

Bostonian1962 · Jan 15, 2008

Did anybody else listen to Sirius NFL Radio yesterday, and the interview with Chargers inside linebacker Cooper?

They were asking him about how well the Chargers D did against Manning and he admitted that they knew Manning's calls and checks at the line, and that when he signaled something, they knew what he was calling.

I guess LT meant it when he said if you aint' cheatin' you ain't tryin.

O.K., I'm not saying anybody was cheating, but I'm am saying I hope our Patriots change their signals.

Willcotts was one of the interviewers and after Cooper left, I detected a bit of surprise regarding Cooper's comments. Anybody else happen to catch that?

Truck · Jan 15, 2008

Its only immoral if the patriots do it out in the open in plain sight of everyone for years; when other teams do it secretly then talk about it, then its just playing football

C'est La Vie · Jan 15, 2008

Bostonian1962 said:
Did anybody else listen to Sirius NFL Radio yesterday, and the interview with Chargers inside linebacker Cooper?

They were asking him about how well the Chargers D did against Manning and he admitted that they knew Manning's calls and checks at the line, and that when he signaled something, they knew what he was calling.

I guess LT meant it when he said if you aint' cheatin' you ain't tryin.

O.K., I'm not saying anybody was cheating, but I'm am saying I hope our Patriots change their signals.

Willcotts was one of the interviewers and after Cooper left, I detected a bit of surprise regarding Cooper's comments. Anybody else happen to catch that?

Well, they didn't do a very good job then. 400 yards and two TD's. You can call the picks on him, but it's not as if their D stepped in front of the throws like they knew they were coming.

xmarkd400x · Jan 15, 2008

C'est La Vie said:
Well, they didn't do a very good job then. 400 yards and two TD's. You can call the picks on him, but it's not as if their D stepped in front of the throws like they knew they were coming.

Even if you know what's coming, you still gotta execute. If it was 11 of me playing against the Patriots, they could diagram every play for me before they ran it and I would still be powerless to stop it.

C'est La Vie · Jan 15, 2008

xmarkd400x said:
Even if you know what's coming, you still gotta execute. If it was 11 of me playing against the Patriots, they could diagram every play for me before they ran it and I would still be powerless to stop it.

Well, I wouldn't wanty 11 Manning's out on the field either. For a Pro team to claim they know the play calls, you'd think they would have blown us out. Two tipped balls and a fumble all in scoring position, and we lose by 4. Their defense made those plays that had nothing to do with knowing what the call was.

Metaphors · Jan 15, 2008

C'est La Vie said:
For a Pro team to claim they know the play calls, you'd think they would have blown us out. Two tipped balls and a fumble all in scoring position, and we lose by 4. Their defense made those plays that had nothing to do with knowing what the call was.

Every Colt drive except the last one (don't think the little kid in Manning's head will be whispering "Clark" anymore with the game on the line) crossed midfield. That being said, the Bolts linebackers did seem to have a good jump on running plays...so Manning could have a "tell" that he was checking to run.

JoeSixPat · Jan 15, 2008

Bostonian1962 said:
Did anybody else listen to Sirius NFL Radio yesterday, and the interview with Chargers inside linebacker Cooper?

They were asking him about how well the Chargers D did against Manning and he admitted that they knew Manning's calls and checks at the line, and that when he signaled something, they knew what he was calling.

I guess LT meant it when he said if you aint' cheatin' you ain't tryin.

O.K., I'm not saying anybody was cheating, but I'm am saying I hope our Patriots change their signals.

Willcotts was one of the interviewers and after Cooper left, I detected a bit of surprise regarding Cooper's comments. Anybody else happen to catch that?

It'd be great if someone from the media picked up on this to help illustrate that Roger Goodell sanctions cheating and that all teams do it.

That would end the myth among most of the public that the Patriots "stealing" signals was cheating - which is what most of them think.

Once they realize the Patriots only broke an obscure (to them, not Goodell - who simply wanted to reinforce that ANY of his rules are important) rule I think they'll have the correct perspective.

Patsfanin Philly · Jan 15, 2008

C'est La Vie said:
Well, they didn't do a very good job then. 400 yards and two TD's. You can call the picks on him, but it's not as if their D stepped in front of the throws like they knew they were coming.

I'm more likely to believe it after a Tampa-Oakland Super Bowl with 5 ints and 2 taken for TDs than when the opposing QB shreds you for 400 yds and 29 first downs.....

TheGodInAGreyHoodie · Jan 15, 2008

Keep in mind it might not be too hard to decode Manning.

Patriots were filming the DC, with the hope of figuring out what his signals meant. What was illegal was the filming.

What the Chargers may have succeeded in doing is decoding Manning's hand motions and audibles at the line of scrimmage.

SD legally has those films. If you have a years worth of Colts game recorded from TV and enough time and effort I bet many of us could figure out the pattern.

zoostation · Jan 15, 2008

The Chargers better hope little "rat boy" Eric Mangini is on the golf course and doesn't catch wind.

He has a direct "drop a dime" line to the league. It makes him feel as if he's still coaching this late in the season.

Bostonian1962 · Jan 15, 2008

TheGodInAGreyHoodie said:
Keep in mind it might not be too hard to decode Manning.

Patriots were filming the DC, with the hope of figuring out what his signals meant. What was illegal was the filming.

What the Chargers may have succeeded in doing is decoding Manning's hand motions and audibles at the line of scrimmage.

SD legally has those films. If you have a years worth of Colts game recorded from TV and enough time and effort I bet many of us could figure out the pattern.

All true. But, let's face it, every time we hear another story of another team stealing signals, or filming from the stands, or anything similar, it will irk us. If for no other reason than the Pats got penalized so drastically for it.

psychoPat · Jan 15, 2008

JoeSixPat said:
It'd be great if someone from the media picked up on this to help illustrate that Roger Goodell sanctions cheating and that all teams do it.

That would end the myth among most of the public that the Patriots "stealing" signals was cheating - which is what most of them think.

Once they realize the Patriots only broke an obscure (to them, not Goodell - who simply wanted to reinforce that ANY of his rules are important) rule I think they'll have the correct perspective.

Say it again, brother.

Handel · Jan 15, 2008

Damn, will people stop finding excuses to what the Pats did?

bvogelsang · Jan 15, 2008

They're not "stealing signals" (your words). Ron Rivera and the players study film, name the schemes, and assign signals to each one. Rivera reads the offense and signals Cooper each down, and Cooper relays that to the rest of the D. Rivera is right about 80% of the time.

No need to change or signals, but you might want to change your schemes.

Bostonian1962 said:
Did anybody else listen to Sirius NFL Radio yesterday, and the interview with Chargers inside linebacker Cooper?

They were asking him about how well the Chargers D did against Manning and he admitted that they knew Manning's calls and checks at the line, and that when he signaled something, they knew what he was calling.

I guess LT meant it when he said if you aint' cheatin' you ain't tryin.

O.K., I'm not saying anybody was cheating, but I'm am saying I hope our Patriots change their signals.

Willcotts was one of the interviewers and after Cooper left, I detected a bit of surprise regarding Cooper's comments. Anybody else happen to catch that?

DaBruinz · Jan 15, 2008

TheGodInAGreyHoodie said:
Keep in mind it might not be too hard to decode Manning.

Patriots were filming the DC, with the hope of figuring out what his signals meant. What was illegal was the filming.

Wrong. What broke the rule was having the person on the sidelines doing it. There are specific places that cameras can be set up. And you can use those cameras to film whatever you want.

TheGodInAGreyHoodie said:
What the Chargers may have succeeded in doing is decoding Manning's hand motions and audibles at the line of scrimmage.

SD legally has those films. If you have a years worth of Colts game recorded from TV and enough time and effort I bet many of us could figure out the pattern.

And I am sure that the Pats could do the same thing and have done so. They just aren't arrogant or flippant about it.

DaBruinz · Jan 15, 2008

Handel said:
Damn, will people stop finding excuses to what the Pats did?

There is no excuse. Why don't you man up and admit that the whole thing was over-blown and that the Pats should not have been penalized as harshly as they were. Especially since the Jets were doing the same damn thing in the same game.

Handel · Jan 15, 2008

DaBruinz said:
There is no excuse. Why don't you man up and admit that the whole thing was over-blown and that the Pats should not have been penalized as harshly as they were. Especially since the Jets were doing the same damn thing in the same game.

The thing was overblown, of course, but for me this episode is over...

Wildo7 · Jan 15, 2008

So you mean they figured out that they should just ignore the first 20 seconds of Manning shouting gibberish and pointing in every different direction at the line? They clearly gained a competitive advantage from this...

DaBruinz · Jan 15, 2008

Handel said:
The thing was overblown, of course, but for me this episode is over...

Then why comment in the thread to begin with?

For most people, its over. Its the mediots who keep rehashing it.

QuinielaBox · Jan 15, 2008

This stealing signals nonsense is overblown. The game is all about execution, adjustments, and matchups.

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