Patriots get caught with camera man taping NY Jets coaches playcalling

[Miamipuck]

The Draft pick penalty is pretty damn harsh. I am not a Pats fan but I think the only picks that made the team this year are their 1st. and 2nd. So they are eliminating one sure upgrade to their roster.

The fines and lack of suspension really are fairly lenient. As several posters noted earlier, the 500k can be made up to BB in many different ways and 250k to one of the most profitable NFL teams is comparable to a traffic ticket to any of us.

Using precedent is tricky here because most if not all the older fines and penalties were made by Tagliabue. Goodall seems to have a mandate to penalize any infraction more severely. Other than the pick it could have been much worse cause it seems in the court of public opinion the Patriots were stealing people's first born.

[kidcolin]

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Also - first round picks are big to take away, but when you leave a team with what could be a top 10 pick it hurts a LOT less, so let's not act like the loss of 1 first round pick which will be in the 20s (and probably the late 20s) will kill this team.

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No one is acting like it will kill the team. It still hurts a frickin' lot. And how many other picks you have doesn't change that fact. Given the Pats draft record, they stand to lose a very productive asset.

[Artdogg]

McNabb quote from the other night, "If you have the answers to the test you still gotta take the test."

Is this supposed to be a pro-Pats argument?

[RedBean]

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Bob,

This is the harshest penalty in the history of the NFL. Losing a 1st round pick is unprecedented.

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This penalty is lenient and inconsistent in terms of Goodall's recent actions.

Less than two weeks ago, Goodall suspended a Cowboys coach FIVE GAMES and 1/3 of his yearly pay for using legally obtained prescription drugs to combat his diabetes, on the prinicple that those prescription drugs are in violation of the substance abuse policy for PLAYERS.

Despite the League Office being satisfied with evidence presented that the coach did not distribute the prescription drugs to players and kept them only for his own use.

And then TWO WEEKS LATER, he doesn't suspend BB even one game for directly violating NFL policy in an attempt to gain a direct competitive advantage on the playing field and potentially influence the outcome of games by cheating.

Not to mention, Goodall sent a letter our to teams on Sept 6th warning them about this policy, BB violates the same policy blatantly only THREE DAYS LATER.....and yet NO SUSPENSION?

Completely inconsistent from the "Law and Order" commissioner........I guess it depends more on "who you are" and not "what you do".

[Kneel B4 Zod]

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Less than two weeks ago, Goodall suspended a Cowboys coach FIVE GAMES and 1/3 of his yearly pay for using legally obtained prescription drugs to combat his diabetes, on the prinicple that those prescription drugs are in violation of the substance abuse policy for PLAYERS.

Despite the League Office being satisfied with evidence presented that the coach did not distribute the prescription drugs to players and kept them only for his own use.

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that was an idiotic ruling, and really shouldn't be used to support future rulings. I don't know anybody who thought the Wilson ruling was correct.

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nd then TWO WEEKS LATER, he doesn't suspend BB even one game for directly violating NFL policy in an attempt to gain a direct competitive advantage on the playing field and potentially influence the outcome of games by cheating.

Not to mention, Goodall sent a letter our to teams on Sept 6th warning them about this policy, BB violates the same policy blatantly only THREE DAYS LATER.....and yet NO SUSPENSION?


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the commissioner ruled that taking the pick away and fining the coach were worse punishments than the suspension.

it's not correct to say "omg he wasn't suspended!" when there were other more sever penalties

[kidcolin]

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McNabb quote from the other night, "If you have the answers to the test you still gotta take the test."

Is this supposed to be a pro-Pats argument?

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I dunno, but Rush Limbaugh probably chuckled.

[Artdogg]

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the commissioner ruled that taking the pick away and fining the coach were worse punishments than the suspension.

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I really dont see the fine as anything to be honest. Im sure Kraft could reimburse BB if the 500k really hurts him that much, and we all know 750k means 0 to that organization. The pick obviously means something, but with the 9ers pick and how well the Pats are set up I really dont see this amounting to more than a slap on the wrist. You could argue that the punishment fits the crime but this is the first time the new commish hasnt actually sent a message to a cheater.

Luckily for Pats fans BB or Brady didnt step over the line in concern when one of their players got leveled.

[rjoefish]

[ QUOTE ]
McNabb quote from the other night, "If you have the answers to the test you still gotta take the test."

Is this supposed to be a pro-Pats argument?

[/ QUOTE ]

I saw this interview, he went on to say something like 'you still have to execute', saying that even if they did know the signals they still had to throw the ball right or something. So I guess he was not saying it was right, but maybe that it wasn't all that big of a deal?

[JaredL]

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On field cheating >>> off-field cheating.

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perception wise, yes, reality-wise, no.

but people actually think that the Pats cheating went so far and beyond the other guys that they deserve a penalty degrees of magnitude worse. the Steelers lose $400k against the cap and a 3rd round pick 6 years ago, but now the Pats should lose 2 1st rounders and have their coach suspended???

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The problem with the whole suspend BB thing is it isn't that big of a deal or punishment.

They're called telephones, computers, etc

Are they going to lock BB in like some type of Magneto secret chamber so he has no communication from the outside world?


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Why would it have to be so advanced. It would be pretty simple to have him watch the game in an NFL office or hell even from somewhere at the stadium with an NFL rep.

I don't see what would be complicated about preventing him from coaching, directly or indirectly, if that were the decided punishment.

[MacGuyV]

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I get the feeling that Mangini is about to get owned really hard soon.

Also, what are the chances of BB ratting out other teams that he knows are doing this? Seems like everyone knew about this being a problem but no one reported it. Since the Pats have nothing to lose by being found out at this point, doesn't it make sense to throw the other guys into the fire?

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I don't think there's any chance of that. If I'm understanding this correctly, this is all based on 1 game. If the Pats come forward complaining that Mangini was part of the whole scheme in the past, they're basically admitting guilt as an organization going back several years (which is almost certainly true anyway but still..).