I think they should expand it to the league providing official chain gangs and instead of ball boys ball officials. Not like the league can't afford it.
Guess it does happen n probably more then we think..wonder how much more coems out of the wood work............................Brad Johnson paid $7500 to have footballs altered in Super Bowl XXXVII - SBNation.com
Yeah I just read that too, amazing. Almost enough to make me feel sorry for the Patriots being the first to get caught
Haven't watched much TV, just learned of this today. I don't like the Pats and don't care for a Belichick, but not sure what the penalty should or will be. Coaches and players all bend the rules, some more than others. Some get away with it, others get caught. Suspending the coach won't change the outcome of the game, and unless it's already been admitted to there's a real chance Belichick didn't know about this. Seems this would be more in the control of the QB coach or person in a similar position. I'll need to read more on this, not sure if any of the balls made it in the game or were corrected before they were put into play? It's a tough one to rule on. Coaches should be held to a higher standard obviously, but is it equal to or worse than a positive drug test or off field antics seen by Rice and Peterson or an on field flagrant violation like Suh? They'll all play again and be loved by their fans once again. None of them actually altered the course or outcome of a game.
A huge part of this is the timing. If it happened in week 10 by week 12 it would have been forgotten, since the hype began for the Super Bowl ESPN etc are looking for any morsel of a story to hype. Would be interesting to see how the NFL network covers it vs ESPN.
I'm surprised at how many people are in support of the cheating. A lot are set on the fact that it was such a blowout but what if it played out like the Seattle/GB game? Cheating is cheating. The Patriots shouldn't get a pass because they won convincingly.
True.. and the outcome of the game really doesn't matter. There was obvious intent before the coin was flipped. Its a hard one to rule on because (yet again) there is no precedent. I really wish this at least came out after the Super Bowl. Going to have a negative impact and take a lot away from the game.
This is what I think will determine punishment. The more you hear about it, the more it sounds like the QB's call the shots on how the ball is prepped. It'll be interesting how it's handled. Getting caught cheating once is one thing. Kind of like ok you're busted, you paid your penalty, and tarnished yourself, now go play straight. Getting caught twice is a pattern of behavior. There has to be some penalty for it steeper than a fine. In the grand scheme of it, a fine isn't going to greatly impact them or punish them.
Brady was throwing the ball, he had to know. Whether he said anything to anyone during the game is unknown. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not that I'm exonerating the Patriots for what they've done, because there really is no place in sports for cheating or gaining any sort of unfair advantage. BUT, isn't it odd that they seem to be in the spotlight and get caught for things that it appears goes on throughout the league and not just exclusive to them? Both spygate and now this doctoring the ball thing? Dumb luck?
That's what Shannon Sharp was saying this morning on Sirius. The outcome of the game should have no influence on the punishment because of the intent. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't care who was the deciding factor on the footballs. The ball boy, QB, coach, waterboy, etc all represent the Patriots organization. They're responsible for controlling what goes on, so the whole franchise should be punished. It might've been a young assistant that was trying to help but I'd put money on both Bill and Brady being aware. Brady for sure, since he's the one throwing it and would easily be able to tell.
Whether Belichick knew about it or not, is really not relevant as he ultimately responsible for the actions of the team. Just like Sean Payton was responsible for bounty gate. He paid the price of a full year's suspension. The intent to cheat and gain an advantage is where the problem lies, I couldn't care less about the outcome of the game. The intent seems to be there. Cheating is cheating plain and simple and the NFL needs to make an example out of the Patriots to show other teams that the penalties will be stiff. If the evidence is there, I think they SHOULD have to forfeit the win. I know that won't happen, so I would say the loss of the next 2 years 1st round draft picks and Belichick should be suspended for one season.
Local radio just read a report now that they were reported for the same thing during the regular season.
I'm pretty sure we can safely say that they won't take away the win, or replay the game. The problem with coming up with a suitable punishment is to determine how much of an advantage it gave. Obviously there is no way to know. The bottom line is, no matter what the punishment it's going to tick a lot of people off. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I agree with you sky and Jake. I was just wondering how the "chain of command" goes or where the code red order came from lol. I suppose we will probably never know. Bellichick has a lot of outs with this thing. He can simply plead ignorance or cast the blame in a lot of different directions (which he will). I dont' think that should matter, because like you've said it's an organizational situation.
Deflating Balls, Stepping on people, Missed Calls.....Super Bowlsh*t it seems! Why can't they just play...
