Octavian
05-13-2008, 07:00 PM
You guys will call me a homer (and I may be) but if anything was proven today with the Matt Walsh saga, it's that a large segment of the media and neg-boys out there (ESPN and Tom Jackson) don't like the Patriots and the especially dislike Bill.
Roger Goodell not only confirmed that everything Walsh went over was consistent with what they knew but it had already been reported and released.... i.e. - Bill openly admitted to Goddell that he had been taping signals and personnel packages since he started with the Patriots. Yet the garbage that we hear all day from ESPN and of course, a number of reporters, is the same broken and ignorant theme. Prodding, more questions only rephrased differently...etc.
So in today's Q&A session, not only does Goodell confirm that he's aware of and everyone should be aware of the fact that teams coaches change their signals every week, half, quarter and sometimes every possession. Gee, you don't say Roger? why's that? - ok, so he then goes on to say that he doesn't believe that signal stealing and taping is a common practice in the NFL. P.s. - Jimmy Johnson openly admitted on a Fox telecast that he taped opposing sidelines throughout his coaching career and so does everyone else. Yet the Patriots continue to assume the sole blame from the waves of ignorant fans and media shitheads.
Goodell then went on to state that the rule that the Patriots broke was aimed at preventing teams from taping the opposition from the sidelines. What he neglected to also point out in that rule is the fact that more specifically, the taping is a violation if it is used for a competitive advantage DURING THAT GAME. The other key piece to this that he and MANY media people have completely neglected (except the NFL Network itself, Rich Eisen, and then the Sunday Night Football crew - Madden and Michaels), teams can use high powered cameras from the press box level to tape anything and everything they want on the opposing sideline.
Ok - so if you think the Patriots took a fair penalty (a 1st round pick is a pretty large deal), then please tell me how you feel about the 49ers' penalty for tampering with Lance Briggs. For those of you who don't know what that is - it essentially means that the 49ers attempted to work out a contract in secret with Briggs while he was still under contract with the Bears. That's not only a legally questionable act but a far bigger deal considering it concerns the picking off of a Pro Bowl linebacker from another team.
I'll continue, how do you feel about the penalty that the 49ers incurred when they went over the Salary Cap? If there is one over arching rule in the NFL that fans can hang their hat on to keep teams on a fair playing field, it's the Salary Cap. Yet violation of it doesn't bring a 1st round pick and 750k fine, NO, the NFL fines a 49ers exec 400k....... Where are the cries for justice, where are the Tom Jacksons of the world, where is ESPN on that one? or on the tampering? Where's ESPN on the tampering that the Jets almost certainly (and obviously) committed against the Patriots back in 1996 when Parcels essentially tuned out for the last two weeks of the season before the Super Bowl?
My argument is this: if the Patriots are guilty, if Belechik is guilty, then they/he are/is guilty of hubris and guilty of being callous and showing irrevrance for a NFL rule and a memo that stated the rule. Should Bill or the Patriots scouting/filming department asked the NFL for clarification when the memo came out at the beginning of that season? absolutely. Are they guilty of taping the sidelines from a specific angle that the NFL has specifically barred? yes... are they guilty of taping from the press box level with high powered cameras? perhaps - and so is every other team in the NFL.
More importantly, Goodell snidely remarked that he didn't "buy" Bill's explanation as to why he felt that what he was doing or what his team was doing was within the rules. Of course this mockery of a commission decided to avoid the details of how or in what way the Patriots actually used the sideline tapes for IN-GAME competitive advantage.
Tell me, why - more importantly, how is a team taking low quality video tape from their sideline, editing it, cutting it and dubbing over the telecast plays in the matter of 5 to 10 minutes and then having the coaching staff go over it at halftime. Why in the FUCK would Bill or any other NFL head coach even waste their time to devise a game plan around sideline signals (which Goodell himself admitted get changed every game and in game)?? The answer is of course not. I'll give you all a hint, that's nearly impossible to take the film at half time as everyone's running in, edit it, lace it properly into the telecast that shows the plays and then view it. We're talking about 30 minutes of game film to edit and more between plays... in 15 minutes during half time??????????? PLEASE. The film is and was used for long term scouting of player packages and play calling tendencies. And you can be assured that every team steals signals, so don't be a pussy or a punk and pretend that the Patriots are the only team that does.
Roger Goodell not only confirmed that everything Walsh went over was consistent with what they knew but it had already been reported and released.... i.e. - Bill openly admitted to Goddell that he had been taping signals and personnel packages since he started with the Patriots. Yet the garbage that we hear all day from ESPN and of course, a number of reporters, is the same broken and ignorant theme. Prodding, more questions only rephrased differently...etc.
So in today's Q&A session, not only does Goodell confirm that he's aware of and everyone should be aware of the fact that teams coaches change their signals every week, half, quarter and sometimes every possession. Gee, you don't say Roger? why's that? - ok, so he then goes on to say that he doesn't believe that signal stealing and taping is a common practice in the NFL. P.s. - Jimmy Johnson openly admitted on a Fox telecast that he taped opposing sidelines throughout his coaching career and so does everyone else. Yet the Patriots continue to assume the sole blame from the waves of ignorant fans and media shitheads.
Goodell then went on to state that the rule that the Patriots broke was aimed at preventing teams from taping the opposition from the sidelines. What he neglected to also point out in that rule is the fact that more specifically, the taping is a violation if it is used for a competitive advantage DURING THAT GAME. The other key piece to this that he and MANY media people have completely neglected (except the NFL Network itself, Rich Eisen, and then the Sunday Night Football crew - Madden and Michaels), teams can use high powered cameras from the press box level to tape anything and everything they want on the opposing sideline.
Ok - so if you think the Patriots took a fair penalty (a 1st round pick is a pretty large deal), then please tell me how you feel about the 49ers' penalty for tampering with Lance Briggs. For those of you who don't know what that is - it essentially means that the 49ers attempted to work out a contract in secret with Briggs while he was still under contract with the Bears. That's not only a legally questionable act but a far bigger deal considering it concerns the picking off of a Pro Bowl linebacker from another team.
I'll continue, how do you feel about the penalty that the 49ers incurred when they went over the Salary Cap? If there is one over arching rule in the NFL that fans can hang their hat on to keep teams on a fair playing field, it's the Salary Cap. Yet violation of it doesn't bring a 1st round pick and 750k fine, NO, the NFL fines a 49ers exec 400k....... Where are the cries for justice, where are the Tom Jacksons of the world, where is ESPN on that one? or on the tampering? Where's ESPN on the tampering that the Jets almost certainly (and obviously) committed against the Patriots back in 1996 when Parcels essentially tuned out for the last two weeks of the season before the Super Bowl?
My argument is this: if the Patriots are guilty, if Belechik is guilty, then they/he are/is guilty of hubris and guilty of being callous and showing irrevrance for a NFL rule and a memo that stated the rule. Should Bill or the Patriots scouting/filming department asked the NFL for clarification when the memo came out at the beginning of that season? absolutely. Are they guilty of taping the sidelines from a specific angle that the NFL has specifically barred? yes... are they guilty of taping from the press box level with high powered cameras? perhaps - and so is every other team in the NFL.
More importantly, Goodell snidely remarked that he didn't "buy" Bill's explanation as to why he felt that what he was doing or what his team was doing was within the rules. Of course this mockery of a commission decided to avoid the details of how or in what way the Patriots actually used the sideline tapes for IN-GAME competitive advantage.
Tell me, why - more importantly, how is a team taking low quality video tape from their sideline, editing it, cutting it and dubbing over the telecast plays in the matter of 5 to 10 minutes and then having the coaching staff go over it at halftime. Why in the FUCK would Bill or any other NFL head coach even waste their time to devise a game plan around sideline signals (which Goodell himself admitted get changed every game and in game)?? The answer is of course not. I'll give you all a hint, that's nearly impossible to take the film at half time as everyone's running in, edit it, lace it properly into the telecast that shows the plays and then view it. We're talking about 30 minutes of game film to edit and more between plays... in 15 minutes during half time??????????? PLEASE. The film is and was used for long term scouting of player packages and play calling tendencies. And you can be assured that every team steals signals, so don't be a pussy or a punk and pretend that the Patriots are the only team that does.