My take on signal stealing in the NFL.

[trumad]

First off---signal stealing has been around for years....

Just watch a 3rd base coach with all his hand signals or a head football coach on the sideline with a clipboard over his mouth as he talks into his headset.

Did NFL teams steal signals before the big brouhaha with the Patriots... There ain't no doubt they did.

Jimmy Johnson---who I love to death--- flat out admitted that he and many other teams used video to steal signals.

He also said that in 2006, the Commish's office put out a memorandum that ordered teams to stop doing it.

This is where the Pat's got into trouble---they kept doing it. Now I know Bill B. said he wasn't sure of the rule, blah blah, blah... but---he broke the new rule, got fined a half million, and lost a draft pick. It tarnished his rep (a bit) and it gave smack talk fodder to fans of rival teams. ----such as my team, the Dolphins.

Oh and I love the fodder--- mention cheatgate to a Pat's fan and watch their head explode.

So I would like to thank Bill B. and the Pat's organization for that nice little add on to my smack talk when I go after Pat's fan---it's very effective---just ask Forkboy.

NOW---with that said.... As far as cheating scandals go in sports--- this one is pretty lame. JJ said that he thought the benefit of using signals was minimal--- although he did say that one signal (if the opposing team knew it) could change a game.

Personally I think it's minimal. NFL players like Chad Pennington, Ray Lewis, etc...watch hours and hours of opposing team film before they play that team. They pretty much know what the defense or offense will do on each play. Good teams change up their signals almost every game to counter it.

Another reason I think it is minimal--- after the Pat's got caught they rattled off 18 straight wins. I'm pretty damn certain they were not filming the other team during that run.

So Pat's fan--- I will continue to smack you a bit about CheatGate because it's about the only ammo I have against your excellent team... We're rivals but we respect the rivalry and we look forward to playing each other this year.

BTW: Look who is back--- and he's awful hungry.

[TZ]

1. ..

:popcorn:

I agree that most teams have done it...its just that the Pats got caught...

[trumad]

2. Yep

and they should have stopped after the new rule.

[Forkboy]

4. I think the arrogance of Belichick is a prime motivation for the people that hate him.

And it's understandable to a point. I mean, the guy is a total dick (though funny how he plays the press, like a calm Parcells), and he flagrantly violated the rules after they were all warned not to. I get that, and get the anger at them for cheating. The aggravating part for me is that they didn't even need to do it to win, as they clearly showed afterwards. 18 wins in a row in the NFL is amazing. Hell, a 4 game winning streak in this league is impressive. 18 is mind boggling.

What I don't like is the people that still think that those 18 wins after being caught was due to cheating. Trumad gets it. Many others don't. Or, as I suspect, they do get it, but aren't honest enough with others, or themselves, to admit it. Many claim to be against cheating but bury their heads in the sand when shown that they're teams did it. Many are just bitter that their team got spanked (hello Bosshog!). And many just hate any team that wins a lot. Ask how people felt about Pittsburgh, Dallas, S.F. etc when they were winning all the time. People hated them and latched onto to anything they could to justify that hatred, often ignoring basic football knowledge. That's happening again with Belichick.

[joeybee12]

5. Oh yeah, there are certain people who aren't likeable...Bill is one...

...and when he's caught, the reaction is much more intense than if someone else were caught. If the Cowpies had been caught, nobody would care because they aren't contenders anyway.

[TZ]

6. Oh I would care about the Cowpies being caught

Believe me...:evilgrin:

[joeybee12]

8. Where is mad?

That was for his benefit!

:hi:

[Forkboy]

9. LOL

:spank:

[Forkboy]

7. They were never caught, but Johnson admitted to doing the exact same thing.

And, no one cared. No one put asterisks next to their SB wins. And deservedly so. It's wrong, but on par with getting caught for smoking weed.

[Forkboy]

3. Now see, your intelligent and reasoned post about the Pats doesn't bother me at all.

I agree with everything you said, and appreciate an actual knowledgeable football fan speaking out in this forum. Some others don't know the game half as well as they'd like to think they do.

I will defend Belichick as a coach because he's a great one. It's honestly not because he's the Patriots coach, though I can surely understand why people who don't know me would think that. But I've said before that I like the game more than any one team (same in hockey), so while I root for the Pats, I can still recognize greatness on other teams, coaches and players.

Talking smack is one thing, but at the end of the day you get it. These others don't, and truly think the Pats success is due to cheating. It's naive as Hell. And Bosshog is so dumb he thinks paranoia is proof of something. I will continue to point out said stupidity, but thankfully you won't have to be one that needs to be corrected, as you actually know what the fuck you're talking about.

Thanks for some actual intelligence on the topic. :toast:

[Captain Hilts]

10. All teams do it. If they don't, they should. nt

[trumad]

11. I disagree...

Video taping is a little to much---what next---bugging the locker room?