[owsley]

[ QUOTE ]
owsley,

i think you have to cheat in a way that gives you a serious edge that the opponent lacks any means to rectify or overcome. so, to me, both the pats' and the colts' alleged 'cheating' is fairly minor, because the edge gained, while meaningful, is not overwhelming, and remedies exist for the other team.

this is a very general definition and i'm sure there are points to quibble with, but i think it's a good starting point. basically,

importance of cheating is a function of (edge gained, recourse available to opponent).

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that this and the sound piping thing are relatively minor. The NFL is an extremely die hard place, and im sure a large number of teams do stuff like this. It definitely isn't an accident that the two teams who have been the most accused of cheating (pats/colts) are the two most successful teams, they are going to get a spotlight on them that the Panthers, Jaguars, and Bills dont.