Letters to the Editor
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Stealing Signs vs Signing Stealers
Didn't the Bills (Lawyer Milloy) and Jets (Reche Caldwell) benefit tangibly from signing ex-Pats and learning the Pats plays?
I believe the Pats broke the rules by their language, regardless of the wisdom of a policy that is undermined by the dozens of other cameras around the game and other ways of de-coding alignments, plays, and signals.
But is this any less sportsmanlike than free agents spilling all this info to their new teams? The league doesn't - and perhaps could not - do anything about this. It would be interesting if we saw confidentiality agreements arise, because, while tough to enforce, I'm sure the league cares about taking away ALL unfair or unseemly advantages.
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Stupid, stupid, stupid
As a Pats fan, I have to say that this sucks. The stupidity of it is what bothers me. Half of Mangini's staff used to be with the Pats. They probably knew the cameraman on a first-name basis. No idea what Belichick was thinking on this one.
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it's a fine line
There are rules in place, the rules were broken, punishment should be handed out. That's pretty black and white. But once you get outside the letter of the law (no cameras in specific areas), there exists a significant gray area in what constitutes "unacceptable" cheating. I certainly hope that when the league hands down its punishment, it also explains why it considers this a punishable offense.
Because of the violence of American football, ensuring a modicum of security around play calls is probably a safety concern. There's a considerable uncertainty about what will happen on the field, and thus a level of caution is maintained (by at least those players that still have some self-preservation urge, anyway). Remove that uncertainty on only one side of the ball, and you could end up with players left pretty vulnerable (even beyond the vulnerability they put themselves in by suiting up).
Of course, as the Everett situation shows, even that uncertainty and caution won't prevent catastrophic injury. One mental lapse, one unfortunate angle, one slip, and a player might not walk again.
Beyond the safety issue, there are real concerns about competitive advantage with regard to signal stealing. There's a limited amount of time on the field to make adjustments, there's a limited amount of time that in-helmet communication is allowed on the field. Given that, if one team always knows what the other team is doing, that puts the other team at a significant disadvantage.
In the NFL's eyes, competitive balance is one of the keys to maintaining the brand. As the league office is about to demonstrate, any threat to that brand will be dealt with. However, it should be incumbent upon the league office to say how this offense is truly unacceptable, and not just by the letter of the law. If they don't make that clear, then any punishment could (and should) be considered arbitrary.
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John Clayton 'Speaks Out' About Patriots Spying Scandal!
This just in! John Clayton, ESPN analyst, has commented on this story, clairvoyantly from last year.
"Teams are always trying to steal signs and signals off other teams. THAT'S JUST FOOTBALL."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2696227
This year?
"Such spying is a serious infraction. It's cheating and could affect the outcome of games."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=3014944
GASP!
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Execution
While it's true "you still have to execute" execution doesn't mean the Pats should be excused.
Fact of the matter is, Bellicheck has been lauded as a "genius" for maximizing his talent and always winning close games. Remember, the Pats almost never blow people out. They won three Super Bowl games by a combined 9 points. And they always seem to know what was coming.
This isn't baseball either. Football has much more in the way of both tactics and strategy than almost any other sport. Yes, you still have to execute, but how many professional level sports can ascribe the term "system" to a player? Oh, he is just a "system" lead-off hitter, or a "system" small forward? In football, everyone knows darn well that the Coach has a disproportionate influence on the game relative to the other sports. And the Xs and Os are a huge part of that--hence the rule. Of course you are free to organically determine signals, and of course, people would be stupid to not cover their mouths when calling in plays.
That being said its also stupid for not locking your car or house, but it doesn't suddenly make it ok to steal the car or property inside because the other person was dumb.
Fact of the matter is, this Pats team has been leveraging the rules for a while. They did against the Colts with their mugging technique. It's as if they were rewarded for breaking the rules.
While "everyone does it" is probably true to some form or another, given Bellicheck's rude attitude, track record of being a jerk, and his personality which is like 20 percent past "win at all costs," he should get in trouble. There are specific rules against cameras. Why? So the line is drawn somewhere. So you don't eventaully have corporate spies, etc. It's an advantage that couldn't be gained by a human in the normal course of the game, which is why its more than just figuring out calls.
Given the parity of the league, and how the Pats never seemed (until this year) to always be the most talented, knowing for sure (rather than just rumor) what the other team is calling is a big advantage.
The execution excuse doesn't really work here, because they are "executing" a game plan they wouldn't have had.
Yea, it doesn't help on a kick return. It sure as heck helps when calling defenses and controlling the clock. Obviously, like steroids, cheating isn't always fool proof. But when you are dealing with talent level and opposition of this caliber, it helps over the course of a season. Besides, drug cheating is for one player, this type of offense is systemic.
And whether the video camera rule is right or wrong ultimately, this isn't the first accusation, it's speculated that they were warned, and the league is investigating improper use of radio frequencies. Yea, its easy to "execute" when you know where your opponent is going to be.
All I know is that I am beginning to wonder about ole Bill's genius at this point.