#DeflateGate (Court of Appeals Reinstates Suspension)

[knuckleballer]

So the NFL...cough...I mean ESPN is really going to dredge up something from 8 years ago that the organization was punished for?

Oh, and it comes up less than a week since the NFL got defeated in court involving a member from that same team in a different high profile controversy?  C'mon.......

This just reeks of trying to save face or, even worse, a simple smear job. 

No question it does that, but it also might answer the question as to why the NFL came down so hard on the Patriots for some deflated footballs.  I mean that is a pretty common theme throughout this thread, why punish the Patriots so harshly for something that other teams get a slap on the wrist for?  Well now you have your answer, those other teams weren't undergoing widespread cheating for years.

The Patriots have always played fast and loose with the rules, so any rule violation, no matter how minor, is going to be looked at differently with the Patriots than any other organization.  It is the whole live by the sword die by the sword mentality.  when you skirt the line, you had better [dang] well make sure you don't cross it.

You are completely ignoring the fact that Bill Cowler, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the period all of this time during which video taping occurred, says that every team was doing this.  Why don't you acknoweledge this? What does Cowler have to gain by making his observation?  And certainly he is quailifed to make it, he coached one of our biggest competitiors vying for Super Bowls during that era.

stealing signals and illegally videotaping aren't the same thing.  The Steelers never illegally videotaped.

Every team was video taping signals from 2001 through 2006.  Every team. That is what Cowler said. The ESPN article (and you) mislead others by saying only the Patriots were doing this. This widespread practice caused the NFL sent out a memo to teams saying that they must stop it.  Belichick disingenuously interpreted the memo by claiming it only applied to real time usage, and in so doing, was reprimanded (I would argue, severely) for this in 2007.  Do you really want to continue to claim that other teams were not video taping other team's signal calling during 2001-06?

This was common practice league wide since the mid 80s.  And they weren't being sneaky about it.  The guy had a large camera and was in full view of the refs, league officials, and opposing players and coaches.  Belichick was arrogant and ignored the memo as he felt he had a better understanding of the rule than the commissioner.  All he had to do was move the cameraman off the sidelines to a designated area for filming.  Belichick should have been punished and he was, but it's much ado about nothing.  The Patriots went on to win 17 straight games after stopping the practice.

[JSD]

 Even more evidence that ESPN is simply a shill for the NFL

[Moranis]

So the NFL...cough...I mean ESPN is really going to dredge up something from 8 years ago that the organization was punished for?

Oh, and it comes up less than a week since the NFL got defeated in court involving a member from that same team in a different high profile controversy?  C'mon.......

This just reeks of trying to save face or, even worse, a simple smear job. 

No question it does that, but it also might answer the question as to why the NFL came down so hard on the Patriots for some deflated footballs.  I mean that is a pretty common theme throughout this thread, why punish the Patriots so harshly for something that other teams get a slap on the wrist for?  Well now you have your answer, those other teams weren't undergoing widespread cheating for years.

The Patriots have always played fast and loose with the rules, so any rule violation, no matter how minor, is going to be looked at differently with the Patriots than any other organization.  It is the whole live by the sword die by the sword mentality.  when you skirt the line, you had better [dang] well make sure you don't cross it.

You are completely ignoring the fact that Bill Cowler, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the period all of this time during which video taping occurred, says that every team was doing this.  Why don't you acknoweledge this? What does Cowler have to gain by making his observation?  And certainly he is quailifed to make it, he coached one of our biggest competitiors vying for Super Bowls during that era.

stealing signals and illegally videotaping aren't the same thing.  The Steelers never illegally videotaped.

Every team was video taping signals from 2001 through 2006.  Every team. That is what Cowler said. The ESPN article (and you) mislead others by saying only the Patriots were doing this. This widespread practice caused the NFL sent out a memo to teams saying that they must stop it.  Belichick disingenuously interpreted the memo by claiming it only applied to real time usage, and in so doing, was reprimanded (I would argue, severely) for this in 2007.  Do you really want to continue to claim that other teams were not video taping other team's signal calling during 2001-06?

except Cowher didn't actually say that.  He said

“The only thing they got caught (was) doing it with a camera,” Cowher said, referring to the Patriots. “We had people that always tried to steal signals. Stealing someone’s signals was a part of the game, and everyone attempted to do that.”

According to Cowher, his team used wristbands to try to identify opponents’ verbal signals that were being yelled out on the field.

But hey, let's not let facts get in the way. 

[Atzar]

Even more evidence that ESPN is simply a shill for the NFL

I'm not sure this is even it.  That article was as hard on Goodell as it was the Patriots - it painted him as a power-hungry, incompetent snake who cares more about perception than truth. 

I honestly think it was just written for page views from 31 angry fanbases who are angry at the Patriots and Goodell regarding Deflategate.  It was also written with seemingly very little understanding of what Spygate was and why the Patriots were punished.  Unfortunately, this will be effective. Most fans are looking for support for their preconceived bias, not truth - and this article feeds perfectly into that.  If an unnamed source's close friend says they videotaped the 2002 Rams' pre-SB walkthrough, then that's as good as fact, right?

[Moranis]

So the NFL...cough...I mean ESPN is really going to dredge up something from 8 years ago that the organization was punished for?

Oh, and it comes up less than a week since the NFL got defeated in court involving a member from that same team in a different high profile controversy?  C'mon.......

This just reeks of trying to save face or, even worse, a simple smear job. 

No question it does that, but it also might answer the question as to why the NFL came down so hard on the Patriots for some deflated footballs.  I mean that is a pretty common theme throughout this thread, why punish the Patriots so harshly for something that other teams get a slap on the wrist for?  Well now you have your answer, those other teams weren't undergoing widespread cheating for years.

The Patriots have always played fast and loose with the rules, so any rule violation, no matter how minor, is going to be looked at differently with the Patriots than any other organization.  It is the whole live by the sword die by the sword mentality.  when you skirt the line, you had better [dang] well make sure you don't cross it.

You are completely ignoring the fact that Bill Cowler, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the period all of this time during which video taping occurred, says that every team was doing this.  Why don't you acknoweledge this? What does Cowler have to gain by making his observation?  And certainly he is quailifed to make it, he coached one of our biggest competitiors vying for Super Bowls during that era.

stealing signals and illegally videotaping aren't the same thing.  The Steelers never illegally videotaped.

Every team was video taping signals from 2001 through 2006.  Every team. That is what Cowler said. The ESPN article (and you) mislead others by saying only the Patriots were doing this. This widespread practice caused the NFL sent out a memo to teams saying that they must stop it.  Belichick disingenuously interpreted the memo by claiming it only applied to real time usage, and in so doing, was reprimanded (I would argue, severely) for this in 2007.  Do you really want to continue to claim that other teams were not video taping other team's signal calling during 2001-06?

This was common practice league wide since the mid 80s.  And they weren't being sneaky about it.  The guy had a large camera and was in full view of the refs, league officials, and opposing players and coaches.  Belichick was arrogant and ignored the memo as he felt he had a better understanding of the rule than the commissioner.  All he had to do was move the cameraman off the sidelines to a designated area for filming.  Belichick should have been punished and he was, but it's much ado about nothing.  The Patriots went on to win 17 straight games after stopping the practice.

You actually were not allowed to video tape signals.  Doesn't matter where the camera was, you weren't allowed to do it.  Period.  That is why the punishment was fairly severe, if it has just been a case where a guy was in the wrong spot, you don't see that punishment.

[PhoSita]

Even more evidence that ESPN is simply a shill for the NFL

I'm not sure this is even it.  That article was as hard on Goodell as it was the Patriots - it painted him as a power-hungry, incompetent snake who cares more about perception than truth. 

This article was put out there by owners unhappy with the fact that the Patriots haven't gotten their "comeuppance."  Equally frustrated by Goodell's inability to truly punish the Pats as they are with the Pats' ability to "get away with" cheating.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Just curious, can anyone account for Belichick's whereabouts on November 22, 1963?

Mike

LOL. TP.

[Moranis]

I'm fairly certain ESPN posted that because a lot of people keep asking the question, why come down so hard on the Patriots for something pretty minor and with flimsy evidence.  The article clearly answers that question. 

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

So the NFL...cough...I mean ESPN is really going to dredge up something from 8 years ago that the organization was punished for?

Oh, and it comes up less than a week since the NFL got defeated in court involving a member from that same team in a different high profile controversy?  C'mon.......

This just reeks of trying to save face or, even worse, a simple smear job. 

No question it does that, but it also might answer the question as to why the NFL came down so hard on the Patriots for some deflated footballs.  I mean that is a pretty common theme throughout this thread, why punish the Patriots so harshly for something that other teams get a slap on the wrist for?  Well now you have your answer, those other teams weren't undergoing widespread cheating for years.

The Patriots have always played fast and loose with the rules, so any rule violation, no matter how minor, is going to be looked at differently with the Patriots than any other organization.  It is the whole live by the sword die by the sword mentality.  when you skirt the line, you had better [dang] well make sure you don't cross it.

You are completely ignoring the fact that Bill Cowler, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the period all of this time during which video taping occurred, says that every team was doing this.  Why don't you acknoweledge this? What does Cowler have to gain by making his observation?  And certainly he is quailifed to make it, he coached one of our biggest competitiors vying for Super Bowls during that era.

stealing signals and illegally videotaping aren't the same thing.  The Steelers never illegally videotaped.

Every team was video taping signals from 2001 through 2006.  Every team. That is what Cowler said. The ESPN article (and you) mislead others by saying only the Patriots were doing this. This widespread practice caused the NFL sent out a memo to teams saying that they must stop it.  Belichick disingenuously interpreted the memo by claiming it only applied to real time usage, and in so doing, was reprimanded (I would argue, severely) for this in 2007.  Do you really want to continue to claim that other teams were not video taping other team's signal calling during 2001-06?

except Cowher didn't actually say that.  He said

“The only thing they got caught (was) doing it with a camera,” Cowher said, referring to the Patriots. “We had people that always tried to steal signals. Stealing someone’s signals was a part of the game, and everyone attempted to do that.”

According to Cowher, his team used wristbands to try to identify opponents’ verbal signals that were being yelled out on the field.

But hey, let's not let facts get in the way.

Ethically speaking, I don't see any difference. Either way, you're "stealing" signals—which, for the record, I think is fine; I don't think there should be some "unwritten rule" (as there seems to be in baseball, too) where teams can openly give signals but opponents are supposed to, what? Look away? It's stupid. Of course teams are going to try to figure out the opposition, and they should be able to try to do that.

I'm guessing that Belichick looks at some of these rules, sees the lack of logic behind them, and figures, "Ah, what the heck, let's give this a shot." And I completely agree. There's no ethical difference between seeing signals and taping them. Both are examples of "stealing" signals. But if you're going to rely on signals that opponents can see, it's your own dang fault if they get "stolen." Similarly, what's the logic of the NFL's psi range of 12.5 to 13.5 (or whatever it is precisely)? Why not 12.4? Or 13.7? Or 12, or 14? Is there science behind that? Seems arbitrary to me.

Besides all this, if Belichick and/or the Patriots weren't punished severely enough for some folks' liking, that's Goodell's fault. And when are people going to realize that NE was just as successful (maybe more so) after Spygate as before? Just like they were more successful against the Colts in the second half with "legit" footballs.

[knuckleballer]

So the NFL...cough...I mean ESPN is really going to dredge up something from 8 years ago that the organization was punished for?

Oh, and it comes up less than a week since the NFL got defeated in court involving a member from that same team in a different high profile controversy?  C'mon.......

This just reeks of trying to save face or, even worse, a simple smear job. 

No question it does that, but it also might answer the question as to why the NFL came down so hard on the Patriots for some deflated footballs.  I mean that is a pretty common theme throughout this thread, why punish the Patriots so harshly for something that other teams get a slap on the wrist for?  Well now you have your answer, those other teams weren't undergoing widespread cheating for years.

The Patriots have always played fast and loose with the rules, so any rule violation, no matter how minor, is going to be looked at differently with the Patriots than any other organization.  It is the whole live by the sword die by the sword mentality.  when you skirt the line, you had better [dang] well make sure you don't cross it.

You are completely ignoring the fact that Bill Cowler, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the period all of this time during which video taping occurred, says that every team was doing this.  Why don't you acknoweledge this? What does Cowler have to gain by making his observation?  And certainly he is quailifed to make it, he coached one of our biggest competitiors vying for Super Bowls during that era.

stealing signals and illegally videotaping aren't the same thing.  The Steelers never illegally videotaped.

Every team was video taping signals from 2001 through 2006.  Every team. That is what Cowler said. The ESPN article (and you) mislead others by saying only the Patriots were doing this. This widespread practice caused the NFL sent out a memo to teams saying that they must stop it.  Belichick disingenuously interpreted the memo by claiming it only applied to real time usage, and in so doing, was reprimanded (I would argue, severely) for this in 2007.  Do you really want to continue to claim that other teams were not video taping other team's signal calling during 2001-06?

This was common practice league wide since the mid 80s.  And they weren't being sneaky about it.  The guy had a large camera and was in full view of the refs, league officials, and opposing players and coaches.  Belichick was arrogant and ignored the memo as he felt he had a better understanding of the rule than the commissioner.  All he had to do was move the cameraman off the sidelines to a designated area for filming.  Belichick should have been punished and he was, but it's much ado about nothing.  The Patriots went on to win 17 straight games after stopping the practice.

You actually were not allowed to video tape signals.  Doesn't matter where the camera was, you weren't allowed to do it.  Period.  That is why the punishment was fairly severe, if it has just been a case where a guy was in the wrong spot, you don't see that punishment.

"Videotaping opposing coaches is not illegal in the NFL but there are designated areas allowed by the league to do such taping."  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_New_England_Patriots_videotaping_controversy


"COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SPYGATE

YOU'RE WRONG IF YOU THINK: Filming you opponents' signals is prohibited by the league and is therefore a serious cheating infraction.

REALITY: Filming your opponents' signals is -- and always has been -- completely legal, even today. After a league memo to all clubs in 2006, however, you can't do it from a location where the team could potentially use it during the same game.

As Coach Bill Belichick noted in 2015, 80,000 people can see his team's defensive signals: millions more if a TV camera pans by them. The signals are not meant to be hidden, just as in baseball a third-base coach's signals are not meant to be hidden. They should, however, be properly encrypted, but that is the signaling team's responsibility.

Every single NFL team films every single game they play from multiple angles. As they do this, are they supposed to locate and black out the one part of the stadium where the defensive coach is? Should it be a roaming dot if he moves? Obviously not, because the sidelines are just another part of the larger football field and game."
http://yourteamcheats.com/what-is-spygate

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

So the NFL...cough...I mean ESPN is really going to dredge up something from 8 years ago that the organization was punished for?

Oh, and it comes up less than a week since the NFL got defeated in court involving a member from that same team in a different high profile controversy?  C'mon.......

This just reeks of trying to save face or, even worse, a simple smear job. 

No question it does that, but it also might answer the question as to why the NFL came down so hard on the Patriots for some deflated footballs.  I mean that is a pretty common theme throughout this thread, why punish the Patriots so harshly for something that other teams get a slap on the wrist for?  Well now you have your answer, those other teams weren't undergoing widespread cheating for years.

The Patriots have always played fast and loose with the rules, so any rule violation, no matter how minor, is going to be looked at differently with the Patriots than any other organization.  It is the whole live by the sword die by the sword mentality.  when you skirt the line, you had better [dang] well make sure you don't cross it.

You are completely ignoring the fact that Bill Cowler, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the period all of this time during which video taping occurred, says that every team was doing this.  Why don't you acknoweledge this? What does Cowler have to gain by making his observation?  And certainly he is quailifed to make it, he coached one of our biggest competitiors vying for Super Bowls during that era.

stealing signals and illegally videotaping aren't the same thing.  The Steelers never illegally videotaped.

Every team was video taping signals from 2001 through 2006.  Every team. That is what Cowler said. The ESPN article (and you) mislead others by saying only the Patriots were doing this. This widespread practice caused the NFL sent out a memo to teams saying that they must stop it.  Belichick disingenuously interpreted the memo by claiming it only applied to real time usage, and in so doing, was reprimanded (I would argue, severely) for this in 2007.  Do you really want to continue to claim that other teams were not video taping other team's signal calling during 2001-06?

This was common practice league wide since the mid 80s.  And they weren't being sneaky about it.  The guy had a large camera and was in full view of the refs, league officials, and opposing players and coaches.  Belichick was arrogant and ignored the memo as he felt he had a better understanding of the rule than the commissioner.  All he had to do was move the cameraman off the sidelines to a designated area for filming.  Belichick should have been punished and he was, but it's much ado about nothing.  The Patriots went on to win 17 straight games after stopping the practice.

You actually were not allowed to video tape signals.  Doesn't matter where the camera was, you weren't allowed to do it.  Period.  That is why the punishment was fairly severe, if it has just been a case where a guy was in the wrong spot, you don't see that punishment.

"Videotaping opposing coaches is not illegal in the NFL but there are designated areas allowed by the league to do such taping."  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_New_England_Patriots_videotaping_controversy


"COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SPYGATE

YOU'RE WRONG IF YOU THINK: Filming you opponents' signals is prohibited by the league and is therefore a serious cheating infraction.

REALITY: Filming your opponents' signals is -- and always has been -- completely legal, even today. After a league memo to all clubs in 2006, however, you can't do it from a location where the team could potentially use it during the same game.

As Coach Bill Belichick noted in 2015, 80,000 people can see his team's defensive signals: millions more if a TV camera pans by them. The signals are not meant to be hidden, just as in baseball a third-base coach's signals are not meant to be hidden. They should, however, be properly encrypted, but that is the signaling team's responsibility.

Every single NFL team films every single game they play from multiple angles. As they do this, are they supposed to locate and black out the one part of the stadium where the defensive coach is? Should it be a roaming dot if he moves? Obviously not, because the sidelines are just another part of the larger football field and game."
http://yourteamcheats.com/what-is-spygate

Good point. As I said just a couple posts above, I see no ethical difference between seeing and taping signals. And it's unreasonable to expect people to look away when opponents are giving signals. And the whole deal with "It's okay to tape from spot X but not spot Y" is just silly. Makes no sense. Just like it makes no sense to say 12.5psi is okay but 12.4psi is illegal. Why? Is there really a difference? No, of course not. So many unreasonable expectations and so many people on power trips (*cough*Goodell*cough*). Nearly everything the Patriots do is wrong, we're told, and all other teams are squeaky clean—even though they're using stickum on gloves, silicone on jerseys, PEDs, and heating footballs on the sidelines. SMH.

[Donoghus]

IMO, a big part of the problem there was that the league had sent out a memo about videotaping and Belichick sorta just thumbed his nose at it.  Didn't exactly endear himself to the league there.

[Moranis]

So the NFL...cough...I mean ESPN is really going to dredge up something from 8 years ago that the organization was punished for?

Oh, and it comes up less than a week since the NFL got defeated in court involving a member from that same team in a different high profile controversy?  C'mon.......

This just reeks of trying to save face or, even worse, a simple smear job. 

No question it does that, but it also might answer the question as to why the NFL came down so hard on the Patriots for some deflated footballs.  I mean that is a pretty common theme throughout this thread, why punish the Patriots so harshly for something that other teams get a slap on the wrist for?  Well now you have your answer, those other teams weren't undergoing widespread cheating for years.

The Patriots have always played fast and loose with the rules, so any rule violation, no matter how minor, is going to be looked at differently with the Patriots than any other organization.  It is the whole live by the sword die by the sword mentality.  when you skirt the line, you had better [dang] well make sure you don't cross it.

You are completely ignoring the fact that Bill Cowler, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the period all of this time during which video taping occurred, says that every team was doing this.  Why don't you acknoweledge this? What does Cowler have to gain by making his observation?  And certainly he is quailifed to make it, he coached one of our biggest competitiors vying for Super Bowls during that era.

stealing signals and illegally videotaping aren't the same thing.  The Steelers never illegally videotaped.

Every team was video taping signals from 2001 through 2006.  Every team. That is what Cowler said. The ESPN article (and you) mislead others by saying only the Patriots were doing this. This widespread practice caused the NFL sent out a memo to teams saying that they must stop it.  Belichick disingenuously interpreted the memo by claiming it only applied to real time usage, and in so doing, was reprimanded (I would argue, severely) for this in 2007.  Do you really want to continue to claim that other teams were not video taping other team's signal calling during 2001-06?

This was common practice league wide since the mid 80s.  And they weren't being sneaky about it.  The guy had a large camera and was in full view of the refs, league officials, and opposing players and coaches.  Belichick was arrogant and ignored the memo as he felt he had a better understanding of the rule than the commissioner.  All he had to do was move the cameraman off the sidelines to a designated area for filming.  Belichick should have been punished and he was, but it's much ado about nothing.  The Patriots went on to win 17 straight games after stopping the practice.

You actually were not allowed to video tape signals.  Doesn't matter where the camera was, you weren't allowed to do it.  Period.  That is why the punishment was fairly severe, if it has just been a case where a guy was in the wrong spot, you don't see that punishment.

"Videotaping opposing coaches is not illegal in the NFL but there are designated areas allowed by the league to do such taping."  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_New_England_Patriots_videotaping_controversy


"COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SPYGATE

YOU'RE WRONG IF YOU THINK: Filming you opponents' signals is prohibited by the league and is therefore a serious cheating infraction.

REALITY: Filming your opponents' signals is -- and always has been -- completely legal, even today. After a league memo to all clubs in 2006, however, you can't do it from a location where the team could potentially use it during the same game.

As Coach Bill Belichick noted in 2015, 80,000 people can see his team's defensive signals: millions more if a TV camera pans by them. The signals are not meant to be hidden, just as in baseball a third-base coach's signals are not meant to be hidden. They should, however, be properly encrypted, but that is the signaling team's responsibility.

Every single NFL team films every single game they play from multiple angles. As they do this, are they supposed to locate and black out the one part of the stadium where the defensive coach is? Should it be a roaming dot if he moves? Obviously not, because the sidelines are just another part of the larger football field and game."
http://yourteamcheats.com/what-is-spygate

This is from the league directive sent in 2006.

"Videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game.''

So you can't tape signals from anywhere in the stadium during the game, which is basically what I said.  You should never rely on Wikipedia for your information. 

[Moranis]

So the NFL...cough...I mean ESPN is really going to dredge up something from 8 years ago that the organization was punished for?

Oh, and it comes up less than a week since the NFL got defeated in court involving a member from that same team in a different high profile controversy?  C'mon.......

This just reeks of trying to save face or, even worse, a simple smear job. 

No question it does that, but it also might answer the question as to why the NFL came down so hard on the Patriots for some deflated footballs.  I mean that is a pretty common theme throughout this thread, why punish the Patriots so harshly for something that other teams get a slap on the wrist for?  Well now you have your answer, those other teams weren't undergoing widespread cheating for years.

The Patriots have always played fast and loose with the rules, so any rule violation, no matter how minor, is going to be looked at differently with the Patriots than any other organization.  It is the whole live by the sword die by the sword mentality.  when you skirt the line, you had better [dang] well make sure you don't cross it.

You are completely ignoring the fact that Bill Cowler, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the period all of this time during which video taping occurred, says that every team was doing this.  Why don't you acknoweledge this? What does Cowler have to gain by making his observation?  And certainly he is quailifed to make it, he coached one of our biggest competitiors vying for Super Bowls during that era.

stealing signals and illegally videotaping aren't the same thing.  The Steelers never illegally videotaped.

Every team was video taping signals from 2001 through 2006.  Every team. That is what Cowler said. The ESPN article (and you) mislead others by saying only the Patriots were doing this. This widespread practice caused the NFL sent out a memo to teams saying that they must stop it.  Belichick disingenuously interpreted the memo by claiming it only applied to real time usage, and in so doing, was reprimanded (I would argue, severely) for this in 2007.  Do you really want to continue to claim that other teams were not video taping other team's signal calling during 2001-06?

except Cowher didn't actually say that.  He said

“The only thing they got caught (was) doing it with a camera,” Cowher said, referring to the Patriots. “We had people that always tried to steal signals. Stealing someone’s signals was a part of the game, and everyone attempted to do that.”

According to Cowher, his team used wristbands to try to identify opponents’ verbal signals that were being yelled out on the field.

But hey, let's not let facts get in the way.

Ethically speaking, I don't see any difference. Either way, you're "stealing" signals—which, for the record, I think is fine; I don't think there should be some "unwritten rule" (as there seems to be in baseball, too) where teams can openly give signals but opponents are supposed to, what? Look away? It's stupid. Of course teams are going to try to figure out the opposition, and they should be able to try to do that.

I'm guessing that Belichick looks at some of these rules, sees the lack of logic behind them, and figures, "Ah, what the heck, let's give this a shot." And I completely agree. There's no ethical difference between seeing signals and taping them. Both are examples of "stealing" signals. But if you're going to rely on signals that opponents can see, it's your own dang fault if they get "stolen." Similarly, what's the logic of the NFL's psi range of 12.5 to 13.5 (or whatever it is precisely)? Why not 12.4? Or 13.7? Or 12, or 14? Is there science behind that? Seems arbitrary to me.

Besides all this, if Belichick and/or the Patriots weren't punished severely enough for some folks' liking, that's Goodell's fault. And when are people going to realize that NE was just as successful (maybe more so) after Spygate as before? Just like they were more successful against the Colts in the second half with "legit" footballs.

There is a fairly big difference between taping signals and just observing signals.  One allows you to watch it over and over again to learn patterns, one does not.  That is why the rule is in place and that is why "stealing signals" is a lot different than "taping signals".  One is against the rules and one is not. 

[rondohondo]

Hey NFL, why don't you do a probe into this if you are so concerned about competitive advantages....

starts at the 2:06 mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0Fzg5RB0e4