More Patriots cheating / rule-breaking allegations

[Roy Hobbs]

Ross Tucker, a former offensive lineman who played for five teams in a seven-year NFL career, reiterated Thursday that he believes that New England used players on the injured reserve list in practices, which violates league rules.
...
Last Friday, in an article published on SI.com, Tucker wrote that: "I had heard the Patriots did this before I signed with them in 2005 and I saw it firsthand during my time there. I asked veteran receiver Troy Brown about it one time and he responded, 'Every team in the league does that.' I quickly let him know none of the three teams I played for previously had done so.

"Basically, the Patriots would put a player on IR, knowing it meant he couldn't play in a game or practice with the team for the remainder of the season. By skirting the rules and practicing him anyway, it allowed them to develop his skills during the year. A side benefit is that they were also able to give some of the older players less repetitions and, therefore, additional rest."

Apparently, this happened at the very least between 2001 and 2005.  It's a fairly minor infraction, I would imagine, but because of Spygate it's going to get noticed.  Anybody think anything comes of this?

[Eja117]

It has nothing to do with taping. Also it's well known that what you have is guys that will take months to heal and miss virtually the whole season so they get put on IR so another guy can be brought in, but then when they are fully healed in the last few weeks they're supposed to sit on a couch while they're fully able? Yeah, right. Also Tucker expects us to believe they did this for years involving hundreds of players and coaches, not to mention media that cover the practices and fans that watch and we're just finding out now? That's a good one. Oh and Belichek also consults Hitler's brain to find out good offensive plays, and UFOs to find out the future, which is against league rules we should all realize.

[Roy Hobbs]

.Also it's well known that what you have is guys that will take months to heal and miss virtually the whole season so they get put on IR so another guy can be brought in, but then when they are fully healed in the last few weeks they're supposed to sit on a couch while they're fully able?

That's the rule.

Also Tucker expects us to believe they did this for years involving hundreds of players and coaches, not to mention media that cover the practices and fans that watch and we're just finding out now?

Matt Walsh confirmed it, too.  I doubt Tucker is going to risk his reputation as a fledgling journalist and subject himself to legal liability reporting something that isn't true.

[crownsy]

right because no up and coming journalist ever reports something they think is a juicy tidbit on a sexy story while thinking that no one will look into it closely enough and they'll get burned "cough" tomasi "cough"

[Roy Hobbs]

Wow.  Pats fans are living in denial.  It can't have happened because ... why, again?  Because you don't want to think that Belichek skirted the rules yet again?

If a reporter relies upon a source, that's going to be hard to prove in terms of defamation / libel. If a journalist says "I was there, and this happened" and it didn't, that's black letter defamation.  If this wasn't true, Tucker would be slapped with a multi-million dollar defamation suit tomorrow.

This happened.  The only questions are, is it a big deal, and will there be ramifications?  My answers are "not really" and "probably not".

[Mean Gerald Green]

Im going to file this in the 'Who Cares' category. I'm so tired of hearing about minor rule infractions that every NFL team does. Let's all move on.

[CoachCowens]

Why not talk about players he knew who took steroids? Why not detail his own steroid use?
Why be a tattletale about the IR stuff but not steroids that we all know pro football players are doing? Players who cheat are ok in his eyes I guess. 

He also writes the following which downplays the role of the video taping

"Naturally, in the wake of the Spygate mess, I've been asked if I recall any instances in which it appeared that my coaches in New England had inside information gleaned from taping an opponent's defensive signals in the first half of a game.

Absolutely not. I had no knowledge of the filming while I was there and my sense is that none of the other players did either. These tapes were never mentioned or alluded to in any way."
C

[Eja117]

.Also it's well known that what you have is guys that will take months to heal and miss virtually the whole season so they get put on IR so another guy can be brought in, but then when they are fully healed in the last few weeks they're supposed to sit on a couch while they're fully able?

That's the rule.

Also Tucker expects us to believe they did this for years involving hundreds of players and coaches, not to mention media that cover the practices and fans that watch and we're just finding out now?

Matt Walsh confirmed it, too.  I doubt Tucker is going to risk his reputation as a fledgling journalist and subject himself to legal liability reporting something that isn't true.

First of all I'm not sure exactly what the rule says. Maybe it says a player can't take part in a full practice and BB used them in only part of the practice. Second I wouldn't follow rules everyone else is also breaking

Oh. Well if Matt Walsh confirmed it, then I guess it must be true.

[Roy Hobbs]

Oh. Well if Matt Walsh confirmed it, then I guess it must be true.

What did Matt Walsh lie about previously?  Everything he has made a statement about has thus far proved to be accurate, hasn't it?

[Eja117]

No. For one thing he said he had a confidentiality agreement with the Pats and we haven't seen that. Second he insisted on an indemnity agreement, meaning he either lied or was planning to, cause if he just told the truth he shouldn't need one.
Also at the meeting with Goodell it became clear he had no new information, meaning anything he says, even if not a lie, isn't significant.

[Redz]

That's it I'm burning my Steve Grogan poster.  Crooked, wicked, wrongdoing, two-faced, picklehead Patriots. 

[Celtic]

To answer the original question, it will be noticed, I am just not sure of what kind of punishment is doled out for this type of infraction, if true. I am trying my best to be impartial when it comes to the Pats. I think if I lived in another part of the country I would probably feel the same as a lot of other people out there, though most are not getting anywhere near all the facts to each story. Just let all the piling on of the Pats end, and by the way local Boston media, enough with Spygate, the Celtics are in the Eastern Conference Finals.

[Eja117]

Well lets see. They video tape something that 70,000 people can see and obviously can't use in the same game and BB gets fined a quarter million dollars and loses a draft pick, because the league wants you to believe nobody else in the league does it even though they caught the Jets doing the same thing.

So for a healthy player practicing who shouldn't be they'll probably fine him a million dollars and take away all their picks next year

That's fair I guess.

[crownsy]

Oh. Well if Matt Walsh confirmed it, then I guess it must be true.

What did Matt Walsh lie about previously?  Everything he has made a statement about has thus far proved to be accurate, hasn't it?

nope, if you read reports out of media outlets, he bragged to several friends he had a tape of the walk through, and then admitted to goodell he never taped it.

There's also a pretty large amount of anecdotal evidence that he's the faulty source taomasi won't give up.

regardless though, we did cheat, we got caught, move on.

if this was the beloved colts, or a do nothing team, this would already be off the radar. Hell, a girl got shot outside harrisons club by his gun, yet the media is playing up the "good guy, probley not involved" story to the hilt...

[earl]

TB rules! IR or no IR, you know he's getting it done! Patriots, this is Troy... 

What was this thread about again?