Some time to kill in the Yankee Stadium press room before tonight’s Subway Series finale, so a few Patriots thoughts from last week…
I finally got a chance to thoroughly read the transcript and watch again closely Bill Belichick’s performance the other night on the CBS Evening News and the following kept popping into my head:
“Shhhhhhhh.”
Really, it makes you wonder what Belichick thought he could accomplish by going on the Evening News, using the interview mostly as an attempt to discredit Matt Walsh. Not known for his sense of humor, Belichick stacked guffaw upon guffaw until uttering the side-splitter of the evening.
“I don't know what his agenda is,” Belichick said of Walsh. “He was fired because of poor job performance. There’s not a lot of credibility.”
And at that point it wasn’t clear how interviewer Armen Keteyian avoided falling off his chair.
Belichick should at all costs avoid using the word “credibility,” unless it’s in an attempt to salvage his own. At this stage, he has failed to do so. He “misinterpreted” the videotaping rules; the taping was of minimal value; there was no “deception” on behalf of the team to hide what it was doing. No Belichick denial during the interview came close to passing as plausible and virtually every utterance failed some test of logic. It was such a display of arrogance that it almost made you want to see the spectacle of Belichick placing his right hand in the air in front of a Congressional committee and have to answer questions truthfully, with the possibility of real repercussions for not doing so.
Public money spent in this way is still a tough sell, with so many other issues that should occupy the government’s time, but there is no question that demanding accountability from those who believe they’re beyond reproach sometimes isn’t a bad thing. I find it hard to endorse government involvement in this, but it is tempting, made all the more so not only because of Belichick’s Evening News cameo but also because of the other examples of Patriots pomposity on display last week.
The media doesn’t call fouls on itself nearly enough – boiled down, we ask for and demand accountability from those we cover but rarely from ourselves – and in that regard the Boston Herald’s front page apology to the Patriots regarding the unsubstantiated Rams walkthrough story was proper, though a tad overdone. The problem was it allowed Pats owner Robert Kraft and quarterback Tom Brady to portray the Patriots as some kind of collective victim from a story that, while apparently incorrect, never would have come up had the organization not been exposed as flagrant cheats in the first place.
“I felt very good seeing this paper because we've worked very hard over the last decade and a half to establish a strong bond with our fans, where they could trust and believe in the integrity of the team,” Kraft said of the Boston Herald apology on CNBC. “This story coming out the day before the Super Bowl, the biggest game in our history, going for a perfect season, was very damaging and put a cloud over us for the last three and a half months. I'm glad it's finally come to an end.”
Such gall was only outdone by Brady, who during a radio interview with WEEI in Boston, made headlines in New York for calling out the Jets as a team he didn’t respect. But just as big a story was his self-righteous skewering of ESPN for its overall handling of Spygate and ensuing coverage of Walsh. He made some ham-handed attempt to portray ESPN as a sports version of MTV, more concerned with style over substance – a fair critique in other instances - and more concerned with “filling” time on the airwaves.
Brady, naturally, made these statements while filling time on someone else’s airwaves, something Brady, his coach and his owner should have restrained themselves from doing pretty much all of last week.
Sorry for the long post. Second round of OTA practices start this week, which will include the rookies. Lots to look for there. Back with more, as always.
Comments (15)
Deflect and obfuscate. Not usually the actions of innocent men. Nice to see ya take on the whole disgusted-and-outraged-Jets-fan thing, though. I see the dark side is strong in this one.
EB - I can't wait to see the signage in the stadium week 2. I have never brought a sign to a sporting event (other then my chest, which I painted in college and actually got on sports-center), but this may be the time. In fact I may try and inspire a movement for all 70,000+ fans to bring "Cheater" signs. (Maybe even Newsday sponsored?!)
I'm Anonymous.
yawn
Erik, I'm very impressed. The post covered my exact reactions perfectly and your own take, whether it be true or just for show, was right on. It's kind of ironic to think that the Patriots view themselves as righteous when Brady cheated on his ex girlfriend who he had impregnated and now plans on not even accepting the child as his own. Belichik had relations with one of his own assistant coach's wives and ultimately led to their divorce. Moss has had serious claims in the past about his antics with women. From top to bottom their roster has the same moral problems that every other team in the league has, yet they try and view themselves as the American team and the righteous ones?
Nobody buys it and nobody believes them. I was completely against the Senate steroid hearings in baseball until I saw the Mitchell report. It was a true relief to here that Bonds was getting prosecuted for his lies; just as it would be a relief to see what truths would come out from Belichik if he had to be placed in the same situation. I hope it doesn't come to it because it would completely tarnish a decade of football, but it would still be nice to see the effects of karma.
Again, great post Erik, if those aren't your true feelings then you sure sold me.
Erick:
Great placing the focus on the man. As a sports fan he is digusting to watch.
Erik, I appreciate you and all of Newsday's other football writers keeping us updated on Spygate, and I understand you're doing your job in reporting it. Just thought you would like to know that I read every sports story in Newsday everyday....except Spygate ones. Even as a Jets fan I think this is being made into a circus. I'd imagine you've got to be sick of talking about it as well.
Erik, if the original rule in the bylaws was so crystal clear, why did they need to send out a clarifying memo?
If Belichick's interpretation was so blatantly wrong and he knew it, why did he have his video guys out there wearing full Patriots gear in the wide open, as he showed with additional video tapes (or do you want to add another asterisk because those might have been illegally shot too)?
Should a memo override the bylaws? He obviously didn't think so, especially when he had a Jets cameraman thrown out of Gillette Stadium for illegally taping from the exact same location the tapes we saw on Tuesday were shot from. If nothing happened to the Jets for violating the exact same "crystal clear" memo, why would Belichick take the memo seriously?
There were tapes from September with other coaches waving at the camera. This was confirmed by Belichick and Goodell. If other coaches knew about this practice and felt that it was altering the course of football history (as the ridiculous penalty would indicate), then wouldn't they have put a stop to the practice beforehand? I remember you writing about how this could affect other coach’s jobs. But obviously those other coaches didn’t think so.
There is no plausible reason to believe, after watching the edited tapes (how were those used during the game?) or listening to the comments of those involved, that the tapes were used during the games. They were used during the week as a streamlined method of scouting signals. Every team steals signals, as you are well aware. And every team changes their signals frequently. Operating under the facts that the Patriots had access to signals on video instead of a legal pad, signals that were changing anyway, please explain how this violation was so obscene to deserve the largest penalty in the history of sports.
Even though these penalties were under a different commissioner, please explain how cheating the salary cap (Denver & San Fran), thus enabling a team to bring in better players, the ones who actually win games, deserves a FAR less penalty of a 3rd round pick. According to the draft value chart, the 16th pick of the 1st round is worth 1000 points, and 190 for the 16th pick of the 3rd round. So Goodell thought that signal scouting was 5 times worse than cheating the salary cap. Seriously? And you guys said the penalties were too light?
Finally, it bothers me greatly when writers and analysts use the penalty as evidence that the penalty was serious. This one is completely on Goodell. The media, in September, started what amounted to a slander campaign against Belichick. We know you guys don't like him and we know why. You saw this as a perfect opportunity. The fact that Goodell took the media's bait makes this perhaps the biggest blunder by a league executive in the history of professional sports.
Erik, please keep in mind that videotaping signals is nowhere near the same thing as bugging a locker room, or illegaly OBTAINING the signals. They still have to be decoded. If bugging a locker room is a 10, and stealing signals with a clipboard and binoculars is a 1, videotaping them for use during the week is a 2.
Please consider again, some in the media want further penalties against Belichick and the Patriots, or wanted at the time. Therefore, you consider this violation to be more than 5 times worse than cheating the salary cap. Absolutely ridiculous.
Have a nice day.
Hi Joe,
How is the weather in NE today?
Hey Joe,
Let's face the facts head on. This might a little but, the fact remains that if there was no discernable advantage to video taping his opponents, your coach would not have been caught doing it. Now, exactly how much it helped you guys, I really don't know.
The really sad thing thing is the lame excuses you fans and your coach are coming up with. If as he claims he wasn't clear on the rules, why then did they have to give Mr. Wlash cover stories for if and when he got questioned? Why was he always advised to make sure he never got caught? You guys are cheaters, got caught and the validity of your championships will forever be questioned. I feel bad for the players that played their hearts out for anorganization that they believed in and will now forever be remembered as cheaters of "The Cheatroits".
Instead of spitting your venom at Erik, you need to go find your Coach Bellicheat (the one who couldn't win a thing at Cleaveland but became a genius in New England) and dress him down for forever tarnishing the astonishing accomplishments of your darling Cheatroits.
This is just one man's view, take it for what it is and, please do have a great day.
Hey Joe,
Let's face the facts head on. This might hurt a little but, the fact remains that if there was no discernable advantage to video taping his opponents, your coach would not have been caught doing it. Now, exactly how much it helped you guys, I really don't know.
The really sad thing thing is the lame excuses you fans and your coach are coming up with. If as he claims he wasn't clear on the rules, why then did they have to give Mr. Walsh cover stories for if and when he got questioned? Why was he always advised to take every precaution to make sure he never got caught? You guys are cheaters, got caught and the validity of your championships will forever be questioned. I feel bad for the players that played their hearts out for an organization that they believed in and will now forever be remembered as cheaters of "The Cheatroits".
Instead of spitting your venom at Erik, you need to go find your Coach Bellicheat (the one who couldn't win a thing at Cleaveland but became a genius in New England) and dress him down for forever tarnishing the astonishing accomplishments of your darling Cheatroits.
This is just one man's view, take it for what it is and, please do have a great day.
How the Patriots pulled the ultimate choke job, when they got beat by the Giants in the Super Bowl. Belicheat already looks horrendous, just based on the outcome of that game. He just likes to make himself look worse for some reason, and he does a great job of it. Talk about one sick puppy. Perhaps if he video taped the last game of the season versus the Giants the outcome would have been different. No advantage you say, what a joke. Any other coach does that and gets caught, automatic three game suspension, but since it was the "great" Belicheat, he loses a first round pick and gets fined, harsh but nowhere near harsh enough.
It's also kind of ironic that Matt Walsh comes out with his statement and claim a week before the Superbowl and what happens? Brady gets beat down on hardcore. You mean to tell me that Belichik didn't call off his video guys at that point? Come on, it was obvious as all hell that Belichik's genius mind had, for some reason, no idea what schemes the Giants were running at any given time therefore they had no way of gaining their usual advantage. Also, keep in mind that the Jets cameraman got kicked out of the stadium however they were never fined or addressed as cheaters. I wonder why? Maybe it had to do with the fact that the Jets had this information about the Patriots' practices and threatened to divulge the information. It ultimately happened anyways and I'm glad it did. I can't wait to see what happens this season...one can only hope that the two guys who came out of nowhere (Belichik and Brady) could finally return to playing the game legitimately for a change.
As far as anyone who claims to be a NE fan, you guys sicken me. Most of you only started liking them when they started winning...just like the kids who claimed to be 49er fans growing up because they were the IT team then. Enjoy it while it lasts, its only a matter of time before they get caught again and the NEXT penalty will be the biggest in sports history.
i remember sometime last year i watching NFL LIVE with schlarits and salsberry...whatever his name is...anyway,schlarits said something to this point...im not quoting...
we always wondered how they always knew what offensive and/or defensive play to call...they always seemed to know what was coming at the right time...now we know why...they were cheating...and also said he believes as all of us do that the patriot SBs are tainted...and never will be without an asterik next to them...
plain and simple they are and forever will be known as the cheaters who stole the right to be called champions in my book...and pretty much in every other fans book as well...
their team is an entire of team of barry bondseseseses...except with egos to fill the big heads.