Roger Goodell has decided that Bill Belichick and his staff did cheat by stealing defensive signals from the Jets in the Patriots 38-14 win on Sunday, and will now levy the necessary punishment.
Goodell is considering severe sanctions, including the possibility of docking the Patriots “multiple draft picks” because it is the competitive violation in the wake of a stern warning to all teams since he became commissioner, the sources said. The Patriots have been suspected in previous incidents.
One has to wonder how many times the Patriots have previously used a spy to gain an advantage on the field. If they cheated a considerable amount of times, is Belichick’s “genius” label tarnished? I would have to say yes, but only to a degree. It’s like Barry Bonds and steroids – how many other players have used steroids and still can’t do what Bonds does with a bat? How many other coaching staffs use spies to gain an edge over an opponent, but still can’t use the information the way Belichick does? I’m certainly not excusing Belichick or Bonds, but it is an interesting debate and one that’s sure to pick up steam in the following weeks.
