Day: September 14, 2007

Members of the Steelers and Eagles are starting to wonder aloud if the Patriots cheated to gain an advantage over them too. In a recent article posted on YAHOO! Sports, Eagles defensive backs Sheldon Brown and Brian Dawkins noted that the Patriots seemed to know every time they were going to blitz in the 2005 Super Bowl.

Brown said he noticed a difference in New England’s playcalling in the second quarter. After the Patriots gained only 45 yards in the first quarter, they had 286 over the next three.

My first reaction to this was that the Eagles are making another excuse why they lost (i.e. Donovan McNabb was sick). However, do they have a legitimate gripe? Isn’t Bill Belicheat and New England often hailed as making the best halftime adjustments? Maybe they have been cheating and the three Super Bowl victories are nothing more than a farce. It would help explain why the Pats seem to be the only team that gets away with an obvious lack of superior talent, yet still consistently win.

There are two things that stop me from wanting NE stripped of all its successes over the decade, however. One, is like McNabb said in the article, just because you have the answers to the test, doesn’t mean that translates into execution. And two, I want to believe that a team like the Patriots can win the way they do – by first building the perfect system and then implementing the players. I want to believe that Belicheat really is a genus and this is the way it’s supposed to be done (not the cheating of course, but the winning without high draft picks and what not).

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell punished the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick for using a spy to steal defensive signals agaisnt the Jets last Sunday, fining the coach $500,000 and plucking at least one of the teams’ 2008 draft picks. If the Pats make the playoffs this season, they’ll lose a first round pick next year and if they don’t quality for the postseason, they’ll lose a second and a third. The team was also fined $250,000.

“Part of my job as head coach is to ensure that our football operations are conducted in compliance of the league rules and all accepted interpretations of them. My interpretation of a rule in the Constitution and Bylaws was incorrect.”

This is just another classic Belichick-spin. Instead of completely owning up to the fact that he cheated, he sidestepped the situation, which is arrogant and irresponsible on his part. It was also arrogant to use a sideline spy against the Jets of all teams, knowing Eric Mangini would be looking for it. It was almost like he was trying to bully Mangini as in, “I’m going to get your signals and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it because the NFL can’t touch me.” It all goes back to last year when Belicheat didn’t want Mangini to take the Jets job and he’s been pissed off ever since.

Not that losing a draft pick will hurt New England that much, but at least Goodell continues to not be a pushover.