Suspend Him!!!!!

[Zool]

This story can go away now.

If it was the Browns or Cardinals that got busted this would barely be a ripple.

[packinpatland]

This story can go away now.

If it was the Browns or Cardinals that got busted this would barely be a ripple.

You are right, but the Browns and the Cardinals didn't win all those Super Bowls.

[Partial]

This story can go away now.

If it was the Browns or Cardinals that got busted this would barely be a ripple.

I have a hunch this is a way bigger deal than you'd think. Hines Ward thinks they were cheating back to 2002. That's BS.

[Zool]

This story can go away now.

If it was the Browns or Cardinals that got busted this would barely be a ripple.

I have a hunch this is a way bigger deal than you'd think. Hines Ward thinks they were cheating back to 2002. That's BS.

Watch a baseball game sometime. When you're at the game, watch a guy on second base staring down the catcher and making a hand gesture of some sort.

The Pats got caught. I'm pretty damned sure they aren't the only team doing this, they are just dumb enough to have gotten caught. Twice. Where was the uproar after the Packers game?

On ESPN they brought up a good point. Mangini might br frowned upon in NFL circles now for being a whistle blower.

[Partial]

This story can go away now.

If it was the Browns or Cardinals that got busted this would barely be a ripple.

I have a hunch this is a way bigger deal than you'd think. Hines Ward thinks they were cheating back to 2002. That's BS.

Watch a baseball game sometime. When you're at the game, watch a guy on second base staring down the catcher and making a hand gesture of some sort.

The Pats got caught. I'm pretty damned sure they aren't the only team doing this, they are just dumb enough to have gotten caught. Twice. Where was the uproar after the Packers game?

On ESPN they brought up a good point. Mangini might br frowned upon in NFL circles now for being a whistle blower.

Intercepting a signal is not cheating, though. It's also not on the same level of video taping all the calls so you can memorize them later. They're not even in the same ball park when it comes to cheating.

If more than one team is doing this than good, they should be found out and punished as well. Better Mangini look bad than MM.

The uproar after the Packer game was probably silenced by the NFL to do some further research on the matter.

How can you say this isn't a big deal? The latest dynasty is the NFL has been proven these past couple of weeks to be corrupt and a slew of cheaters. First HGH (which more of them do than Rodney Harrison, you can take that to the bank), to stealing signs and taping them for even further review and further cheating.

[SkinBasket]

This story can go away now.

If it was the Browns or Cardinals that got busted this would barely be a ripple.

I have a hunch this is a way bigger deal than you'd think. Hines Ward thinks they were cheating back to 2002. That's BS.

Watch a baseball game sometime. When you're at the game, watch a guy on second base staring down the catcher and making a hand gesture of some sort.

The Pats got caught. I'm pretty damned sure they aren't the only team doing this, they are just dumb enough to have gotten caught. Twice. Where was the uproar after the Packers game?

On ESPN they brought up a good point. Mangini might br frowned upon in NFL circles now for being a whistle blower.

A) Baseball players aren't on second base using electronic scoping equipment to pick up hand signs.

B) Sign stealing, when successful, in baseball has a much smaller effect on the game.

C) Mangini might be frowned upon by some, but there seem to be a whole lot of grateful players speaking out about it the past couple days. Players that might like to play for a coach who's willing to put his own ass out there and stand up to a cheat who sees himself as an NFL god in bum's clothing.

[Zool]

This story can go away now.

If it was the Browns or Cardinals that got busted this would barely be a ripple.

I have a hunch this is a way bigger deal than you'd think. Hines Ward thinks they were cheating back to 2002. That's BS.

Watch a baseball game sometime. When you're at the game, watch a guy on second base staring down the catcher and making a hand gesture of some sort.

The Pats got caught. I'm pretty damned sure they aren't the only team doing this, they are just dumb enough to have gotten caught. Twice. Where was the uproar after the Packers game?

On ESPN they brought up a good point. Mangini might br frowned upon in NFL circles now for being a whistle blower.

Intercepting a signal is not cheating, though. It's also not on the same level of video taping all the calls so you can memorize them later. They're not even in the same ball park when it comes to cheating.

If more than one team is doing this than good, they should be found out and punished as well. Better Mangini look bad than MM.

The uproar after the Packer game was probably silenced by the NFL to do some further research on the matter.

How can you say this isn't a big deal? The latest dynasty is the NFL has been proven these past couple of weeks to be corrupt and a slew of cheaters. First HGH (which more of them do than Rodney Harrison, you can take that to the bank), to stealing signs and taping them for even further review and further cheating.

How exactly do you think they know what the signals are if they dont memorize them. They guess? I just get tired of the overreactions i guess. This is sports for cripes sake. Its not life and death stuff.

[Zool]

A) Baseball players aren't on second base using electronic scoping equipment to pick up hand signs.

Good point. You have to rely on a split second judgement by the guy on base.

B) Sign stealing, when successful, in baseball has a much smaller effect on the game.

Completely disagree. If any sport can hinge on 1 moment in a game its baseball. A stolen signal in the 9th with 2 on resulting in a HR would seem pretty signifigant.

C) Mangini might be frowned upon by some, but there seem to be a whole lot of grateful players speaking out about it the past couple days. Players that might like to play for a coach who's willing to put his own ass out there and stand up to a cheat who sees himself as an NFL god in bum's clothing.

I never said he should be frowned upon, I was just bringing up the point. I think Bellichek is a complete asshole, but I've always thought that. This just confirms it. If he was still coaching the Browns I would think the same thing. If he was coaching the Browns we wouldnt be debating this. Thats my point. The over reactions.

[SkinBasket]

A) Baseball players aren't on second base using electronic scoping equipment to pick up hand signs.

Good point. You have to rely on a split second judgement by the guy on base.

You know, after reading this, something else comes to mind that I think leads to this bothering me more than any attempt at cheating in baseball. In baseball, it's the players trying to cheat - not some dufus with a camera on the sideline. I think there's a big difference there - at least in my mind, that makes the cases completely different. Players trying to gain an advantage on each other by stealing signs is still confined to the actual participants in the game and is still, in some strange way - sporting, because they're still using their own wits, reflexes, and wile - not hiring some third party to do it for them.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Just terrible judgement by Goodwin.

People are caught-up on whether a first round draft pick is enough punishment. This is a red herring. Losing a draft pick is arguably a serious punishment, people can argue this point either way.

WHAT MATTERS IS THE SYMBOLISM OF THE PUNISHMENT. The type of punishment, not the amount.

By allowing Bellichek to show-up on the sideline this weekend, the NFL is saying that it was no big deal. Move on. They are trying to sweep the stink under the carpet.

There already is technology to remotely listen-in on the conversations of offensive huddles. And I would guess intercepting the QB radio signals is not so hard. There is NO END to the clever cheating that will be available in the future. The commisioner needed to draw a line in the sand, no maas.

Our resident mortgage banker argues that it's no big deal, everybody does a little cheating. I'm only operating on a hunch, but I've alerted the Wisconsin Department of Financial Instutions. They agree that a little look-see at the paper trail of our friend might be fruitful.

[Scott Campbell]

I think I've changed my mind. I compared it to stealing signals, but I don't think the two are similar anymore.

Bill should have been suspended for a handful of games.

[b bulldog]

I think 4 games should have been the number

[Joemailman]

I expect Goodell to take steps to make sure this doesn't happen again. However, I don't expect the league to do a thorough investigation into how long the Pats have been doing this, because they are afraid of what they may find out. Goodell doesn't want to deal with the issue of whether the Pat's 3 Super Bowl titles are legitimate.

I see where both Belichick and Kraft have apologized to their fans for this incident.

Their fans?! How about apologizing to the fans of the teams who didn't have a fair chance at winning because Belichick was cheating.

[Harlan Huckleby]

However, I don't expect the league to do a thorough investigation into how long the Pats have been doing this, because they are afraid of what they may find out.

Right on. They are leaving things ambiguous. Belisleaze has been permitted to say, "I apologize for the pain I've caused. But of course we didn't actually cheat." Yet they lose a draft pick for "not actually cheating"!? The punishment is calculated to be just enough to appease the indignant public and sports analysts.

Case closed.

[the_idle_threat]

By allowing Bellichek to show-up on the sideline this weekend, the NFL is saying that it was no big deal. Move on.

Good call by the NFL.

People are overreacting to a ridiculous degree. See Zool's avatar.

But I guess it's par for the course in this modern media world where national news stories are regularly blown way out fo proportion, overreacted to, and forgotton a week or two later.

This story gets its legs from the pent-up frustration people seem to have for the front-running three-time Super Bowl champions and their "genius" coach. Understandable human nature I guess, but it doesn't make this story an actual outrage. People are bringing up totally unrelated things like the coach's choice of clothing (who friggin cares???) and the owner's assholery in negotiating a new stadium deal (this is not unique to him---it's standard operating procedure for sports team owners seeking a new stadium).

If the team's signals could be filmed from the opposing team's sideline, they were there to be seen. There's only a marginal difference between (1) watching the other sideline to pick up signals and (2) filming it.

Is it cool? No. Sporting? No. An outrage? Not a chance.

The NFL didn't approve, and they levied a stiff penalty. Not stiff enough to appease those who really don't like the Patriots, their coach and their success, and wanted the penalty to incorporate this bias, but plenty stiff enough to discourage the practice from continuing. Does anybody here---thinking rationally---believe a team wants to lose a #1 draft choice?

Time to move on, folks. There's nothing more to see here.