Fact: in 2007, it wasn't illegal to steal signals.
Fact: in 2007 it wasn't illegal to record other team's signals.
Fact: a memo cannot present nor implement leage rule changes. Rule changes must be ratified by the owners.
Fact: in 2007, the field was considered to be the part contained between the solid white lines, meaning a team's sideline area wasn't considered the field.
Fact: there was nothing in the actual NFL rules in 2007 prohibitng the use of recorded signals from being used in game preparation.
Basically, Spygate boils down to the league sending out a poorly written memo that constituted rule changes/restrictions. The league cannot simply arbitrarily make rule changes. They must be voted on by ownership. So, Belichick ignored the memo and stuck with the actual bylaws.
The cameraman filmed from the sidelines . The restrictions at the time were coaching booths, the field itself, and locker rooms.
The bylaws said nothing about opposing teams' signals at all. Just that any recording could not be used for the game currently in play.
There's no proof that the Patriots were using what was being recorded in the games themselves. The report that the Patriots recorded the Rams' Super Bowl practice was retracted by the Boston Herald because it was false.
So, it's just one example of many of Goodell acting with impunity rather than by the rules afforded to him by the CBA. As a Patriots fan, I'm pissed that Kraft didn't fight either false controversy. I get why he didn't - he has stated many times that he'd rather the organization take a quick hit so it can move on and let the players and staff play the game without distraction - but it makes the team look guilty when they're not really guilty of anything.
Regarding Deflategate, "more likely than not" is a piss poor standard of proof to be working from, the league has no right to demand that players turn over their private property, and there's already a punishment on the books for ball tampering - $25,000 fine. Should have been a non-issue, and instead Goodell goes nuclear.
The Patriots aren't the villains everyone else thinks they are. They've essentially been punished for being wildly successful in an era of imposed mediocrity, mostly because, yes, Belichick is that smart and understands how to exploit every advantage he has. Look at all the legit rule changes made since 2000 due to the Patriots playing right up to the edge of the law. Everything from the way injury timeouts work to how defenders can jam receivers to how eligible/ineligible receivers work (lol at whiny Harbaugh). It also helps that Brady constantly restructures his contract to give the team as much cap room as possible to work with. Greatest of all time and he makes less than stiffs like "West Coast Bledsoe" Rivers and "Pass Interference is a Legitimate Tactic" Flacco.
The Patriots have also been used as a distraction from the real issues affecting the league (why talk domestic abuse, child abuse, drug abuse, horrific injury, and long term brain injury when BRADY MAY HAVE BEEN PLAYING WITH IMPERCEPTIBLY DEFLATED BALLS?!!?!?!!).
So, yeah... people who harp on the Patriots cheating really don't know what they're talking about. All it does is give those opposing teams and their fans a built in excuse to explain why they've sucked so long against them.
Fact: in 2007 it wasn't illegal to record other team's signals.
Fact: a memo cannot present nor implement leage rule changes. Rule changes must be ratified by the owners.
Fact: in 2007, the field was considered to be the part contained between the solid white lines, meaning a team's sideline area wasn't considered the field.
Fact: there was nothing in the actual NFL rules in 2007 prohibitng the use of recorded signals from being used in game preparation.
Basically, Spygate boils down to the league sending out a poorly written memo that constituted rule changes/restrictions. The league cannot simply arbitrarily make rule changes. They must be voted on by ownership. So, Belichick ignored the memo and stuck with the actual bylaws.
The cameraman filmed from the sidelines . The restrictions at the time were coaching booths, the field itself, and locker rooms.
The bylaws said nothing about opposing teams' signals at all. Just that any recording could not be used for the game currently in play.
There's no proof that the Patriots were using what was being recorded in the games themselves. The report that the Patriots recorded the Rams' Super Bowl practice was retracted by the Boston Herald because it was false.
So, it's just one example of many of Goodell acting with impunity rather than by the rules afforded to him by the CBA. As a Patriots fan, I'm pissed that Kraft didn't fight either false controversy. I get why he didn't - he has stated many times that he'd rather the organization take a quick hit so it can move on and let the players and staff play the game without distraction - but it makes the team look guilty when they're not really guilty of anything.
Regarding Deflategate, "more likely than not" is a piss poor standard of proof to be working from, the league has no right to demand that players turn over their private property, and there's already a punishment on the books for ball tampering - $25,000 fine. Should have been a non-issue, and instead Goodell goes nuclear.
The Patriots aren't the villains everyone else thinks they are. They've essentially been punished for being wildly successful in an era of imposed mediocrity, mostly because, yes, Belichick is that smart and understands how to exploit every advantage he has. Look at all the legit rule changes made since 2000 due to the Patriots playing right up to the edge of the law. Everything from the way injury timeouts work to how defenders can jam receivers to how eligible/ineligible receivers work (lol at whiny Harbaugh). It also helps that Brady constantly restructures his contract to give the team as much cap room as possible to work with. Greatest of all time and he makes less than stiffs like "West Coast Bledsoe" Rivers and "Pass Interference is a Legitimate Tactic" Flacco.
The Patriots have also been used as a distraction from the real issues affecting the league (why talk domestic abuse, child abuse, drug abuse, horrific injury, and long term brain injury when BRADY MAY HAVE BEEN PLAYING WITH IMPERCEPTIBLY DEFLATED BALLS?!!?!?!!).
So, yeah... people who harp on the Patriots cheating really don't know what they're talking about. All it does is give those opposing teams and their fans a built in excuse to explain why they've sucked so long against them.
"I was thirsty for everything, but blood wasn't my style" - Live, "Voodoo Lady"
