This should be interesting on how it all pans out and how history will remember the Patsies. The Pats have been the team of the decade, but unlike the 90's Cowboys, 80's 49ers, 70's Steelers, 60's Packers, does anybody seem to give a fuck. This team is not even mentioned in the same breath as the others. Tom Brady is barely mentioned amoung the leagues elite quaterbacks. Nobody south and west of Connecticut cares.
12th September 2007 06:43 PM
Left Shoe Shuffle
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - This videotape needs no interpretation: New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick walked out of his news conference Wednesday when pressed repeatedly about the sideline spying scandal that landed him on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's crowded docket.
Ten minutes before his regular availability, Belichick issued a one-paragraph statement apologizing to his team and confirming that he has spoken to Goodell about an "interpretation" of league rules that ban videotaping of the opposing sideline.
"Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players," Belichick said. "Following the league's decision, I will have further comment."
It was not clear whether Belichick was apologizing for his actions or the distraction it has caused his team as it prepares for Sunday night's marquee game against San Diego.
But if he thought - or even hoped - that the standing-room crowd of media was there to talk about the Chargers, he failed to prepare in the manner that has made him one of the most successful coaches in the history of the league.
Never one to relish his interactions with the media, Belichick grimly refused to respond to a half-dozen questions about the scandal, possible punishments and the potential effect on his team. Begging for a football question, he seemed ready to abort the news conference after just a few minutes at the podium.
"Any questions about the Chargers?" he pleaded in his standard, other-things-to-do monotone. "Want to talk about the football game? If not, I think that statement pretty much covers it."
It appeared that there were none, before one reporter asked about Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.
The prospect of defending against the reigning NFL offensive player of the year is not the sort of thing that usually cheers up opposing coaches.
But Belichick smiled.
"I think the Chargers are a concern. Their football team is a concern. That's what we're concerned about," he said. "Whatever happens out there Sunday night, out there on the field, that's when everybody will make their statement."
After another 15 minutes of football questions, though, the subject returned to the spying scandal.
"Is there any other question on the Chargers?" Belichick said before walking out. "OK. Yep. That's all. OK. Thank you."
NFL security confiscated a video camera and tape from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella on Sunday when he was working on the New York Jets' sideline during New England's 38-14 victory. The league has confirmed that it is investigating whether the Patriots were taping the Jets' defensive coaches as they signaled to players on the field.
Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher, a co-chairman of the NFL's competition committee, said the league is trying to keep technology from overtaking the game.
"If they are in fact found guilty of this, it only shows that the steps the league has taken are good steps," Fisher said. "There's no place for it. Everybody clearly understands the rules. The competition committee's responsibility is to protect the integrity of the game. With technology the way it is right now, things could get out of hand in a matter of weeks if we don't protect the integrity of the game."
Jets coach Eric Mangini, a former Belichick assistant, declined to comment. Asked if he had any knowledge of such shenanigans while he was in New England, he followed the form of his mentor.
"As I said with this whole issue, it's a league issue and they are handling it," Mangini said. "And we are really focused on the Ravens."
Patriots players also tried to focus on their game.
"I'm the last person in the world to know any of that stuff, anyway," offensive lineman Matt Light said. "I could care less what happens outside of my little world."
But Goodell doesn't have that luxury.
In a busy year for his misbehaving minions, the commissioner has already banned Tennessee cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for the entire season after repeated run-ins with police. Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick has been suspended indefinitely while he faces a likely jail term for his role in a dogfighting ring.
The Bengals had 10 players charged with crimes during a 14-month span, and both receiver Chris Henry and linebacker Odell Thurman are currently suspended. Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer wants Goodell to be consistent with his punishment, whether the offender is wearing a uniform or not.
"Hopefully there's a harsh enough penalty that it's not worth it to try to cheat and try to get any advantage that you're not allowed to get," Palmer said. "I hope the commissioner is just as harsh on them as he's been on individual players for making mistakes."
ESPN.com, citing league sources, reported Tuesday that Goodell has already determined the Patriots violated league rules; both teams say no decision has been made. The Web site's report said Goodell is considering severe sanctions, including docking the Patriots "multiple draft picks."
Belichick sidestepped questions about the commissioner's timetable and about whether he had any contingencies in place should he get suspended - the most drastic of the potential penalties Goodell could consider. The coach also refused to discuss whether he worried that the scandal - dubbed "videogate" in the press room, of course - would distract his players.
Also at stake is the legacy of the NFL's latest dynasty, one that memorably rejected individual on-field introductions before its first Super Bowl victory, instead "choosing to be introduced as a team." Stressing individual discipline and salary cap selflessness in a league where they tend to be in short supply, the Patriots won three NFL titles in four years and held themselves up as a model organization.
Now, they're being accused of cheating.
"That's not going to tarnish this team," running back Kevin Faulk said. "We know what we do and how hard we work."
Linebacker Chad Brown, who re-signed for a second stint with the team this week and landed in the middle of the tumult, acknowledged it would be embarrassing if the allegations turn out to be true. But he also said the videotaping is an offshoot of the gamesmanship all teams indulge in.
"I think that all the facts should come out before people judge this organization," Brown said. "I think we do things the right way."
-----
Steve Grogan was unavailable for comment...
12th September 2007 07:44 PM
sirmoonie
quote:Nellcote wrote:
It was wicked pissah to party with them, they were pushovers, and they drank like fish because they wanted to ease the pain....
The Nation drinks because The Nation can.
12th September 2007 08:28 PM
Throwaway
12th September 2007 08:38 PM
Some Guy
that's a shame
12th September 2007 08:41 PM
gimmekeef
quote:Nellcote wrote:
Long Live Pat Patriot!
I have seat cushions from '76 with Pat from the old stadium.
Jizzy must be loving this, he cannot stand the Pats since the Snow Bowl, or even b-4....
Edited by John "Dennis the Menace" Gruden
Hey Moonie, BTW, didn't the Stillers get a 1st round draft pick taken away for running a whole training camp with players in full pads, wtf???
I love day games in Pittsburgh, great for beating the stuffing out of a once great team, right Kordell Stewart?
[Edited by Nellcote]
C'mon Nelly....using Kordell Stewart is rubbing salt in the wound....Pats have 3 Rings..good for them..and I think barring injuries number 4 is on the horizon....Steelers have 5 and we arent givin any back...Christ Cowher took O'Donnel and Stewart led teams deep..Imagine if they hadnt fucked up and took Marino as they should have instead of Gabe Rivera?....We're talkn re-written teh books kids!..But I digress and need more scotch...carry on!
12th September 2007 09:34 PM
robpop
quote:gimmekeef wrote:
C'mon Nelly....using Kordell Stewart is rubbing salt in the wound....Pats have 3 Rings..good for them..and I think barring injuries number 4 is on the horizon....Steelers have 5 and we arent givin any back...Christ Cowher took O'Donnel and Stewart led teams deep..Imagine if they hadnt fucked up and took Marino as they should have instead of Gabe Rivera?....We're talkn re-written teh books kids!..But I digress and need more scotch...carry on!
I don't know Keef. Maybe. maybe not. We will never know just what Gabe Rivera would have been. He was labeled as the next Joe Greene. Who knows? He may have been another Huey Richardson. As for Marino. he may have been great here, but the best thing to happen for him was leaving Pittsburgh. We all heard the Kordell (Queerdell) rumors, but Marino had some nasty ones floating around the Burgh will at Pitt.
But...We'll never know.
12th September 2007 09:42 PM
robpop
quote:sirmoonie wrote:
The Nation drinks because The Nation can.
We never needed a reason; we just did. Sadly Iron City has not been the official beer of the Steelers. It's fucking Rolling Rock, which is no longer made in the area. It's made in New Jersey by Anheuser-Busch. From the toxic waste tanks of old New Jersey...we tender.
12th September 2007 10:42 PM
robpop
Reading more into this Bill Belichick's apology is an apology for being caught. This may be catastrophic. Mark my words. This is as big as the Barry Bonds Balco scandle. If you chastise one you must chastise the other. There is no difference. I personally think both were blown out of proportion.
12th September 2007 11:53 PM
sweetcharmedlife
How about those NINERS?....Winning Ugly has never looked so good.
13th September 2007 07:59 AM
Some Guy
latest rumour is they may have bugged the visitors locker room...
[Edited by Some Guy]
The Steelers need to stay focused on the Bills....This is a lot of sour grapes against the Pats....Everyone hates a winner and if a team knows someone has their signals...why arent they smart enough to change em>?
13th September 2007 12:17 PM
Ten Thousand Motels
How to Win at Rock-Paper-Scissors (and also how to cheat)
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2032
Cheating
A common timing-based tactic on a throw of paper or scissors is to wait until the last possible moment to dupe an opponent into believing that one may actually be throwing a scissors or rock. This is usually regarded as a foul at competitive RPS matches. In competitive RPS, however, a foul can be called on any throw that is revealed after thrower's arm swings past the perpendicular to his torso. In this case, the referee may then assign a throw of rock, or a "forced rock".
Priming is the number of bounces one does before revealing the throw. Another way to cheat is to prime three times to an opponent's twice, so that one sees his opponent's throw without revealing his own. In most such cases, though, the round will be most likely replayed.
To prevent timing-based cheating, the players may be asked to hold their throwing hands behind their backs and reveal their already-formed throws after the count of three.
However, before playing, the two playing must decide which count they are going to throw their hands on.
13th September 2007 01:04 PM
gimmekeef
quote:Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
How to Win at Rock-Paper-Scissors (and also how to cheat)
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/2032
Cheating
A common timing-based tactic on a throw of paper or scissors is to wait until the last possible moment to dupe an opponent into believing that one may actually be throwing a scissors or rock. This is usually regarded as a foul at competitive RPS matches. In competitive RPS, however, a foul can be called on any throw that is revealed after thrower's arm swings past the perpendicular to his torso. In this case, the referee may then assign a throw of rock, or a "forced rock".
Priming is the number of bounces one does before revealing the throw. Another way to cheat is to prime three times to an opponent's twice, so that one sees his opponent's throw without revealing his own. In most such cases, though, the round will be most likely replayed.
To prevent timing-based cheating, the players may be asked to hold their throwing hands behind their backs and reveal their already-formed throws after the count of three.
However, before playing, the two playing must decide which count they are going to throw their hands on.
Where was this info when I was in fourth grade and coulda used it?
13th September 2007 01:05 PM
sirmoonie
quote:gimmekeef wrote:
The Steelers need to stay focused on the Bills....This is a lot of sour grapes against the Pats....Everyone hates a winner and if a team knows someone has their signals...why arent they smart enough to change em>?
We did change them. Those ungodly bastards stole the changed ones too.
13th September 2007 01:07 PM
Some Guy
and still Joey Harrington starts on Sunday.
13th September 2007 02:30 PM
sirmoonie
Jesus fucking Falwell Christ, this thing is going petro-global. I'm seeing lawsuits, Congressional hearings, Bush pardons, dilatory conduct, Vegas, the whole nine yards.
"Why did you do it Crewe? All I'm saying is you could of robbed banks, sold dope, stole your grandmother's pension check and none of us would have mind. Stealing signals in a football game, man that's unamerican."
13th September 2007 03:27 PM
Nellcote
Pats will march like Patton drove into Messina ahead of Montgomery. We will crush those sums of bitches!
13th September 2007 03:36 PM
Some Guy
quote:sirmoonie wrote:
Jesus fucking Falwell Christ, this thing is going petro-global. I'm seeing lawsuits, Congressional hearings, Bush pardons, dilatory conduct, Vegas, the whole nine yards.
"Why did you do it Crewe? All I'm saying is you could of robbed banks, sold dope, stole your grandmother's pension check and none of us would have mind. Stealing signals in a football game, man that's unamerican."
damn, thats some bread and butter pickle postin...
13th September 2007 03:39 PM
gimmekeef
quote:Some Guy wrote:
and still Joey Harrington starts on Sunday.
Why not?..they dont wanna blow gettin number one pick....Petrino's QB Brohm from Loiusville....Falcons would have a better chance with our "Joey" startin!
13th September 2007 04:01 PM
Nellcote
Let's bring up a few things to shut up the critics...
Pats were ahead of the Colts big time during 2006 AFC championship. 2nd half was lost by Reche Caldwell dropping balls multi times
Pats were losing most of Super Bowl 36, only to win in the last seconds. This was the game that The Stillers were supposed to be representing the AFC, just for the record.
So, where did video help here?
Indicentally, the camera was never even able to be looked at last week, as it was taken in the 1st quarter.
We still smoked the J E T S
The summary is that the camera is not used to steal signals.
The NFL should allow bottom feeder teams like Dolphins, Cardinals, Browns, Tampa, et al to use video cameras as a handicap, to remain competitive, until they play 500 ball for four games. If this does not help them, then at least they were helped. Kind of a Robin Hood approach.
13th September 2007 04:02 PM
Starbuck
Skol Vikings! Let's win this game
Skol Vikings! Honor your name.
Go get that first down
Then get a touchdown
Rock 'em, sock 'em, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! FIGHT!
Go Vikings, run out the score, you'll hear us yell for more!
V-I-K-I-N-G-S
Skol Vikings, let's go!
13th September 2007 04:06 PM
sirmoonie
quote:Nellcote wrote:
Pats will march like Patton drove into Messina ahead of Montgomery. We will crush those sums of bitches!
Nellie, I worried if the Pats are even going to suiting up next year. This is Enronian in scope, trenchant and willfull avarice.
13th September 2007 04:17 PM
Nellcote
I wondering if the win over the Browns is the Stillers crowning event of the year? Seriously, some major guffaws on Sunday, no?
13th September 2007 04:25 PM
gimmekeef
quote:Nellcote wrote:
I wondering if the win over the Browns is the Stillers crowning event of the year? Seriously, some major guffaws on Sunday, no?
It was the Browns..game was over when their ummm Saturday signed punter flubbed the snap.(actually the game was over as Steelers de-planed).Steelers are a work in progress as the 3rd down coverage is still not gonna do it against the top 3-4 teams.O-Line will mean Ben gets hit against the better teams too...10-6 is the best I see..and 7-9 with any meaningful injuries.Nelly your lettin this tape thing get ya riled up...Enjoy the World Series....focus on Novemeber when your Pats are cruising at round 9-2 or better.Steelers are still looking up at Pats/Colts/Chargers at a minimum....Sepulveda should be fun to watch though!
13th September 2007 05:16 PM
WinslowStud
I predict some fireworks against Bengayls this weekend.
Oh, and this - lest we forget:
13th September 2007 05:28 PM
robpop
quote:WinslowStud wrote:
Oh, and this - lest we forget:
That was actually kind of funny. Is Phil Collins still the man in Cleveland?
13th September 2007 06:53 PM
Left Shoe Shuffle
NFL is expected to announce it's decision tomorrow.
Story is they're taking away a day 1 draft pick.
Search for information in the wet page, the archives and this board:
The Rolling Stones World Tour 2005 Rolling Stones Bigger Bang Tour 2005 2006 Rolling Stones Forum - Rolling Stones Message Board - Mick Jagger - Keith Richards - Brian Jones - Charlie Watts - Ian Stewart - Stu - Bill Wyman - Mick Taylor - Ronnie Wood - Ron Wood - Rolling Stones 2005 Tour - Farewell Tour - Rolling Stones: Onstage World Tour A Bigger Bang US Tour
NEW: SEARCH ZONE:
Search for goods, you'll find the impossible collector's item!!!
