Mike Freeman : Why Pete carroll gets a pass but belichick doesnt ?

[NashuaPats]

I think a lot of it has to do with how poorly Spygate was initially explained by the media. People think the Patriots knew the defensive signals during the game giving them a huge advantage. This simply wasn't true, but by the time the truth came out people already had their minds made up and Belichick had been labeled a cheater.

 

[ALP]

not sure if this has already been said but, if we had only been charged a 5th rounder, no one would care

if seahawks also lost a 1st, people would care, but he NFL only punishes us with 1st round draft picks, everyone else w/ 3rd day picks

 

[rochrist]

I think a lot of it has to do with how poorly Spygate was initially explained by the media. People think the Patriots knew the defensive signals during the game giving them a huge advantage. This simply wasn't true, but by the time the truth came out people already had their minds made up and Belichick had been labeled a cheater.

The single biggest contributor to that was Goodell burning those tapes.

 

[SVN]

The single biggest contributor to that was Goodell burning those tapes.

and media/people somehow think it helped the patriots.

 

[ChessToCheckers]

The Pats, by almost every measure, have demolished and embarrassed the "Lesser 31" during the Belichick/Brady era. IMO that's "the real problem". I'll take it. I sure wouldn't want to root for any of these other teams! As far as the media goes, most of them add NOTHING to the product. Go Pats!

 

[NashuaPats]

The single biggest contributor to that was Goodell burning those tapes.

Another thing that bothers me about Spygate is that they weren't spying and they weren't caught. You aren't spying when you are doing it out in the open in plain sight. And you aren't "caught" when you are doing it openly in front of referees and league officials.

 

[brdmaverick]

I'm not sure it's people feeling differently about the events, but more of who is doing them. If the Patriots were practicing outside the mandated guidelines (longer practices, contact when there shouldn't be any, padded practices when no pads are allowed, etc), it would be treated as a big deal. We would hear things like "No wonder their offense functions so well. They're practicing 8 hours a week when everyone else stops at 6" or "Of course their line is able to protect the QB and run block, they're having padded, contact practices when other teams can't" It would be looked at as a huge advantage. When the Seahawks do it, not so much.

Would this be a bigger story if the Pats were at fault? Sure, I'd agree with that. It shouldn't be, but it would be.

In my eyes I think it's a non story either way....Pats, Seahawks, Browns? It's a non story

So despite our disdain for the league office I think we should actually agree with exactly how this situation was handled.......the Seahawks broke a rule, the league punished them, and there is little media attention on it because we recognize it's not a big deal.

Instead we're mad that others aren't mad?!?!? Don't turn me into Allen Iverson with the "we're talking about practice" routine.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

The single biggest contributor to that was Goodell burning those tapes.

To be more precise, Jeff Pash stomping up and down on them.

 

[Froob]

The single biggest contributor to that was Goodell burning those tapes.

That was one of the few intelligent things he's ever done. Somebody has copies of those tapes but, the ****er won't release them. Marc Spears I think...

 

[RobertWeathers]

Another thing that bothers me about Spygate is that they weren't spying and they weren't caught. You aren't spying when you are doing it out in the open in plain sight. And you aren't "caught" when you are doing it openly in front of referees and league officials.

Here is the counter-argument that the knuckle-draggers in the league office will say. "BB dressed those staffers in a jacket that prevented them from being identified by the teams and the league. His cheating was pre-meditated".

In actuality, they were wearing NFL-sanctioned garb but had the Flying Elvis logo on them. It was very easy to identify a member of the Pats film dept. on the field. The fact of the matter is nobody cared.

Basically BB was playing Jedi mind tricks with the Jets and other teams but not the league.

So dumb.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

That was one of the few intelligent things he's ever done. Somebody has copies of those tapes but, the ****er won't release them. Marc Spears I think...

Jay Glazer, supposedly.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

That was one of the few intelligent things he's ever done. Somebody has copies of those tapes but, the ****er won't release them. Marc Spears I think...

Yes and no. The intelligent move is to have Pash stomp on those takes like QuantumMechanic states. However, you don't follow that up with an unprecedented-in-league-history stripping of a 1st round draft pick, and a largest-in-league-history fine. You either 1) keep the tapes and use them as an explanation for the harshness of the penalty, or 2) destroy the tapes as part of an explanation for the reasonable penalty. By doing what he did, you have people on both sides saying,

"Goodell destroyed the tapes -- he's covering up for them, it was a huge thing the Patriots did, the league is trying to gloss it over to avoid their results looking stained, a 1st round pick isn't enough!!!!", or

"Goodell destroyed the tapes -- he's covering up for the other teams, these tapes show that this was a widespread practice, and he's using the Patriots as a whipping boy to have everyone respect his authority; the penalty is way over the top and Goodell's trying to hide any evidence of corruption or favoritism on his part!!!!"

Obviously I fall on the latter side. I'm not 100% sure it shows evidence of widespread practice. I do think they were destroyed because Belichick had just so many of them - the ESPN article from 2015 claimed it was ~70, and frankly I'm stunned it wasn't 155 (all the regular, preseason, and postseason games the Pats played to that point under BB). The sheer volume of the material is difficult for someone like Goodell to explain to Kraft's Other 31, so he destroyed it for that reason.

 

[ReverendMaynard]

He destroyed the tapes because so many of them showed the other team's camerman taping the Patriot's signals.

 

[RunAmok]

I think the reason is obvious, the infractions just have a different 'feel' to them.

Tinkering with one's ability to play better using outside factors such as 'taking illegal drugs, deflating footballs, or using stick em' just feels a lot harsher and more deceptive than someone 'practicing more than their alloted amount'.

Sure they both get categorized as cheating but I'll give the public and the media a pass for looking at these differently.

Except where was the outrage when the Chargers deliberately used sticky substances on balls in play and when caught by the refs tried to run away with the evidence. There was no incentive for the media to blow up the story that's why. The story line from the NFLFO and the Media determines how harsh something is going to be viewed.

 

[SVN]

Yes and no. The intelligent move is to have Pash stomp on those takes like QuantumMechanic states. However, you don't follow that up with an unprecedented-in-league-history stripping of a 1st round draft pick, and a largest-in-league-history fine. You either 1) keep the tapes and use them as an explanation for the harshness of the penalty, or 2) destroy the tapes as part of an explanation for the reasonable penalty. By doing what he did, you have people on both sides saying,

"Goodell destroyed the tapes -- he's covering up for them, it was a huge thing the Patriots did, the league is trying to gloss it over to avoid their results looking stained, a 1st round pick isn't enough!!!!", or

"Goodell destroyed the tapes -- he's covering up for the other teams, these tapes show that this was a widespread practice, and he's using the Patriots as a whipping boy to have everyone respect his authority; the penalty is way over the top and Goodell's trying to hide any evidence of corruption or favoritism on his part!!!!"

Obviously I fall on the latter side. I'm not 100% sure it shows evidence of widespread practice. I do think they were destroyed because Belichick had just so many of them - the ESPN article from 2015 claimed it was ~70, and frankly I'm stunned it wasn't 155 (all the regular, preseason, and postseason games the Pats played to that point under BB). The sheer volume of the material is difficult for someone like Goodell to explain to Kraft's Other 31, so he destroyed it for that reason.

Spygate tapes hardly a must see
SpyGate tapes feature up-close look at Chargers cheerleader

 

[The Gr8est]

not sure if this has already been said but, if we had only been charged a 5th rounder, no one would care

if seahawks also lost a 1st, people would care, but he NFL only punishes us with 1st round draft picks, everyone else w/ 3rd day picks

Remember, as we learned with Spygate, the penalty issued by the judge, jury, and Omissicutioner, is the sole determinant as to whether the offense was serious and worthy of scorn.

Loss of a 1st round pick = Scorn-worthy.

$100,000 fine = A completely benign offense, possibly only an offense in a technical sense.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

 

[The Boston Patriot]

The hell is "puffing and stuffing" footballs?

Oumping & Jacking synonyms?

 

[brdmaverick]

Except where was the outrage when the Chargers deliberately used sticky substances on balls in play and when caught by the refs tried to run away with the evidence. There was no incentive for the media to blow up the story that's why. The story line from the NFLFO and the Media determines how harsh something is going to be viewed.

And if we were talking about that I'd agree that it should be a bigger story.

 

[LivinLovin&Breathin_Brady]

Here is the counter-argument that the knuckle-draggers in the league office will say. "BB dressed those staffers in a jacket that prevented them from being identified by the teams and the league. His cheating was pre-meditated".

In actuality, they were wearing NFL-sanctioned garb but had the Flying Elvis logo on them. It was very easy to identify a member of the Pats film dept. on the field. The fact of the matter is nobody cared.

Basically BB was playing Jedi mind tricks with the Jets and other teams but not the league.

So dumb.

They actually did say that, according to the Cameraplacementgate revisited article for ESPN. They said the camera guys were posing as the NFL films crew and taping signals.

I blamed the BS that came out of "Spygate" on the media. They were hungry for a story, especially one that discredits the Pats. If they had gathered all their information together, separated facts from some former dumb jock's opinion, that story would've dead on arrival. I felt Goodell was pressured by the 32, the press and that senator whathisface to do something HUGE to stick it to the evil empire.

Now deflategate is another issue.