Read an article the other day saying the NFL was investigating Westhoffs claims that the "Pats do it all the time" (in regards to the Alosi thing) and the nfl was investigating this and considering sanctions against the jets for Westhoffs comments (apparently false alligations about another teams can get sanctions against you) http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/news/story?id=5928044&campaign=rss&source=BOSTONHeadlines Then I saw this article showing pictures of the Pats constantly doing the exact same crap with the players stacking the sidelines. Id be pretty damn shocked if we still got sanctioned for Westhoffs comments after reading this http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/16/...-coverage/?icid=main|aim|dl4|sec3_lnk2|190513 Figured id edit this in here. But this is some REAL bullshit. Weve all seen the OBSCENE amount of coverage of Alosi tripping that Dolphins player, yet this happened last week and I havent seen a SINGLE HIGHLIGHT ANYYYYYYYYYWHERE of this and imo this is far worse. Hell I had to find out about it from Glazers Twitter, a Panthers PLAYER coming off the Bench and completely laying out a gunner http://msn.foxsports.com/video/shows/nfl-on-fox?vid=3875aa2e-5503-4e09-b64f-00d24b45c6ec&from=foxsports/Home/headlines
Jesus Christ. Can someone just watch some video of every team, realize they all do it, and move the fuck on now? This has got to be one of the stupidest stories in that the media has ever managed to fill a week with. Talk about the trip all you want but this wall drama is beyond gay.
I was listening to a Boston sportscaster yesterday mocking the allegations against the Pats and then you see the proof....LOL
I don't care. It was petty and small to immediately default to "but everyone does it." The Jets poor handling of this thing has kept it alive unnecessarily. It should be all about one idiot tripping a player. They've now made the story all about cover-ups, who-knew-what-and-when, league-wide sideline rules, and, of course, more Jets-Patriots drama. What also gets overlooked, they fucked it all up at a time when all of the league owners and GMs were down in Dallas for league meetings, with a natural forum for continued discussion. Maybe that's why it was handled wrong. Maybe the front office had its attention elsewhere.
So even if you're telling the truth about a team, and it actually isn't even in reference to a rule being broken, you can be sanctioned? Really?
Very interesting I see the Op did alot of leg work on the matter. Please point out the Pats strength and conditioning coach so I can watch him trip and try to injure the opponent's gunner. Also, those really, really big guys in the white and red are called "players". Those types of guys tend to go on the field to "play" the game. Also, Belichick hasn't yet denied having players near the field. I realize this is complicated but the NFL has rules concerning where active players and game coaches can stand vs inactive and support coaches.
The issue about the Jets getting sanctioned is because of Westhoffs allegations that the Patriots are guilty of doing the same thing, and if such allegations were false you could see the nfl bring down the hammer on the Jets. And look @ the difference from when the Pats are punting vs the Steelers. When the Steelers are punting Pats players are all lined up (about 15 of them according to the article) right at the line. Vs when the Pats punt no such thing happens. Not to mention the article mentions that the players line up/bunch up oddly not near where they would go onto the field, but right into the gunners way. The point of the article isnt that the Pats are doing anything wrong (since its not against the rules or anything) just that they do the exact same shit and it substantiates Westhoffs claims.
Like a drowning person looking for anyone to grab on to. I didn't even know there was a rule about "lining up" but I do think there is one against tripping players. Now that we have a memo, I'm sure teams will make sure players are back.
Thats why this issue is dumb. The real issue is our coach tripping the guy. How teams line up on the sidelines on a punt should never have become the issue.
That's the whole point to Westhoff's comments. Alosi was suspended for the season for the trip. He was then suspended indefinitely for using the wall. No one objects to Alosi's suspension. Westhoff just thought it was strange that THAT was the tipping point to extend the suspension since teams all over the league do it.
Apparently lining up is illegal. Ok. Big woof. I can safely say that Belichick will pay attention to the memo this time!
By rule... Yep. Patriots players right on the edge of the "Coaches and Substitution Players Only" zone. The difference is that the Patriots players are all suited up, while the Jets were doing it with out of uniformed injured guys. If the Patriot players in the "Coaches and Substitution Players Only" zone were about to go into the game right after the punt, what they were doing is perfectly according to rule. A bit slimy, perhaps, but according to rule. And none of them were leaning out into the referee and chain gang only area to trip an active player.
Jet haters made it an issue. They were not satisfied with laying it all on Alosi. Pats fans and their supporters around the league were big in pushing this story to lessen their guilt for Spygate. I don't think it should be an issue, and agree that it should have been limited to Alosi. I also think Westhoff should be focused on Pittsburgh, and not making comments about the Pats. But even if this story has taken on a life of its own bereft of any real connection to the origins of it, that doesn't mean there's not something going on here. I don't care so much what media bloviators say, but this in fact is another chapter in the war between the Jets and the Pats. That goes on, and I think it is of note to those here who would like to move on from the Alosi story. The Pats are a big reason why it has not.
I am glad that this issue is getting so much analysis and attention. I'm sure the actual game this weekend will just sort of take care of itself...
Spygate Hey. I'd just as soon move on from Spygate too. It doesn't seem to happen. If anyone on any team does anything out of the norm, Spygate seems to come up. Maybe someday we can move on, but not it seems yet. But if a Jets coach does something blatantly wrong, it isn't the Patriots fault, and let's at least get the rule straight.
