The NFL’s New England Patriots are generally regarded as one of the best teams in professional sports. Their offense is so powerful, it sometimes seems that they know what defense is coming.
And there may be a reason why.
After the Patriots season opening win over the New York Jets, the NFL began investigating the whether or not the Patriots had stolen signs from the Jets defensive coaches.
The investigation determined that the Patriots had indeed cheated by videotaping the Jets defensive coordinator, and matching those signals to the defensive play.
This allowed the Patriots to make changes to their play-call based on what the defense was about to do. If the Jets called for a zone defense, the Patriots could call a play to exploit that. If they Jets called for man-to-man, the Patriots could call a play to exploit it. Whatever the Jets did, the Patriots could counter.
The key to all of this is that the offensive team has radio communication in their headsets, so the Patriots coaches can make last second play calling adjustments without signaling, instead they simply talk directly to the quarterback.
Some question what the Patriots have done wrong. Some say that “scouting” is part of the game. To an extent, they are right, but there is a limit to what is legal. The NFL’s Game Operations Manual specifically mentions that videotaping opposing coaches is illegal.
After the scandal broke, some Philadelphia Eagles players have made noise about possible incidents of cheating in the 2005 Super Bowl. The Patriots won, 24-21, and the Eagles’ starting cornerback wonders if it was only coincidence that every time the Eagles called for a blitz, the Patriots had a screen pass called--a play that takes advantage of a blitz.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide out Hines Ward also said that he thinks New England may have known what plays the Steelers had called in at least one of the times that the Steelers and Patriots met in the playoffs.
These accusations raise the possibility that the Patriots’ spying was more than a one-time thing. I’m not sure the Patriots have always spied, but I don’t think that the Jets were the only victims--it’s not as if the Jets are the toughest compettition the Patriots have ever faced.
As a punishment for spying, the Patriots’ head coach, Bill Belichick, was fined $500,000, and the Patriots will lose their first round draft pick next year if they make the playoffs, or their second and third round picks if they miss the playoffs.
While that punishment may seem harsh, it means about as much as the note in front of the unattended bowls of candy on Halloween asking sugar-high kids to take only one piece.
Belichick’s yearly salary is reported to be close to 4.2 million, and he just singed a contract extension with the Patriots, which could pay as much as $8 million a year.
So, while half of a million bucks is a lot of money, Belichick makes that much in a couple of weeks.
Penalizing the team by docking them a draft pick affects next year’s team, which will have some different players than this years’. Granted, the majority of the team remains the same, but there is bound to be some new additions to the team that are punished for something they had no control over, and if anybody currently on the team is traded, retires, or signs with a new team, they will get off without a punishment.
The sign stealing had an effect on the outcome of the game. An appropriate penalty would have been for the Patriots to forfeit the game. If they did that, the league could ensure that the punishment sent a clear message, and they would send that message to the right group of people. Really, by not making the Patriots forfeit the game, the league sends the message to kids that it’s okay to cheat, as long as you have enough money to pay the fine.
The Patriots would likely make the playoffs, but if their week one game was a loss, it would likely effect their seeding, which could affect whether or not they get a home game in the playoffs, and because of the New England weather, home games can be a huge advantage for the Patriots.
Additionally, penalizing the Patriots by docking them a draft pick means nothing because of the Patriots phenomenal coaching staff-- the same coaching staff that groomed their sixth round pick in the 2000 draft into the Super Bowl winning, Fantasy Football players’ dream, world famous quarterback that is Tom Brady.
The worst part of the punishment is that it does not involve suspending Belichick. Hello? Is this the same commissioner who claims to be tough? Is it the commissioner who wants to be known as the guy who redeveloped the image of professional athletes in a positive light? Is this the punishment of a league office that fined Chad Johnson for wearing flashy shoes?
Does NFL commissioner Roger Godell really think that Bellichick doesn’t deserve a suspension for cheating? Does he really believe that his punishment will have any effect? Or is he to afraid to stand up to the Patriot Act of spying on the enemy?
