Spygate Scandal (Patriot Fan's Point of View)

The Game Room
1

There’s been a ton of ignorance surrounding the scandal, so I’d like to discuss it with you all. The majority of Patriots haters tend to post prejudiced and incorrect information. I want to discuss it with you all.

        First, the Spygate rule wasn't made until 2006 and the New England Patriots' last Super Bowl win was in the 2004-2005 NFL Season.  This does not put an asterisk next to their Super bowl titles because the rule didn't even exist back then. 

      Second, the Spygate scandal did not help them win games. They were videotaping team's offensive signals. Multiple Super Bowl winning coaches replied from the scandal saying that it didn't help them win games. I'm having trouble explaining this, just shows my young age, but the Patriots actually had the infraction for doing it the old way.

     Third, their punishment was really harsh. Goodell stripped them of a first round pick, fined the Patriots $250,000 dollars and  Bill Belichick $500,000 dollars, which really hurt the team's future. It would've been a second and third round selection if they didn't make the playoffs, but they did. Goodell was obviously trying to make an example out of the Patriots. The only proven time that they did it post rule change was in week two against the Jets and they had an up against the world mentality that inspired the team to be within minutes of having a perfect season if it weren't for a lucky David Tyree helmet catch and an abysmal game from Asante Samuel, jumping the route and leaving David Tyree wide open downfield. Rodney Harrison's only option was to try to yank the ball out of his hands and that didn't work. Asante also had a dropped interception earlier that  game. The only way to stop an offense that dynamic was to get to Brady, that's how the Giants always tend to match up well against teams like Green Bay and New England.
2

C’mon man, don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.

The Patriots got off easy for cheating. I think Belichick should have been banned for life like Pete Rose and the entire organization should have been suspended for 50 games for using illegal substances to videotape opponents activities.

If I were you, I’d spend my free time on Aaron Hernandez’ defense as opposed to whining about old news like Spygate.

3

I’m not sure what you mean by ‘the SpyGate rule’ here, but I am pretty sure this is wrong. Videotaping practices from the coaches’ box was against the rules for a while and the NFL sent out a memo reminding teams of this fact in 2006. They did that because everybody knew some teams (including the Patriots) were violating this rule. The Patriots continued to ignore the rule, which is why they got such a harsh punishment.

I agree with this part. My understanding is that you are allowed to videotape other teams’ practices, but the rules dictate where you can do it from. The Patriots ignored the location component but I don’t think they gained any particular advantage in doing so.

It’s a big fine, but the team and Belichick could easily afford it. And given their spotty draft record I don’t think it really hurt them that much.

4

“Harsh punishment” my ass. Fines are largely irrelevant with the amount of money Belichick and the team make. One draft pick, even a first rounder, isn’t enough to do serious harm to the team’s future.