thanks for the clarity of the 1st round pick... lets face it guys - thats going to be pick 31 or 32..... i would think a bigger statement would have been made if it was the 49er pick. still unreal jil
All I can say is this. It is enough of a punishment to deter other teams from doing it, and that's all Goodell's job is....deterrence. Why is that so hard to understand? He is trying to enforce the rules and make other teams reconsider doing this, if they are. I think he accomplished that, don't you? His job is not do destroy the franchise, much as you would wish.
I am not satisfied either with the ruling, but now we have to live with it. This, IMO, puts a very dark stain on the Patriots and their orginization. Not in terms of the penalty, it wasn't heavy enough, but here you are one of, if not the premier football team in the NFL and now you are branded a cheater - poor sportsmanship, etc. I can live with the penalty, but I think they should have thought it out a lot more than they did before leveeing. What the Patriots did to the Jets, for me, is nearly the same caliber, possibly worse, as what Shula did creating the mud bowl in the AFC Championship game.
It doesn't stain the Pats as much as it stains NFL football in general. The fact that the penalty by the League is so trival makes this even more a stain on the league than on the Pats. By trivalizing the penalty the League shows that they really don't care about this because they recognize every one is doing it to some extent and they don't want to blow up the league over it.
Wasted money? Moss signed for 3 mil i believe. Pretty good bang for your buck when he smoked the jets for 9 for 183 and a TD.
With 90% of the teams & coaches in the league the loss of a 1st rounder and 500K fine would be huge... the Pats & Beliqueer don't fall into that... but after thinking about it I don't know if you can dole out punishment based on who the team and coach are... I'm mean punishment has to fair even if the offender wasn't being so... but I also have to believe Goodell is going to be all over the Pats this season with hammer in hand just waiting to drop it... the radio frequency this hasn't been explained yet... nor do I think it will at this point... but it's something that I think will be closely monitored... and knowing the arrogance of this organization, it'll be much sooner than later that they cross the line again...
This is the most I've ever agreed with you. Personally, the only way I see this "penalty" working out as punishment is if it motivates teams to beat the Pats this year, resulting in them missing the playoffs. This accomplishes two things: 1) By missing the playoffs, it solidifies the feeling around the rest of the league that they can't succeed without cheating. 2) They lose the picks that are more precious to their style, the two and three, while simultaneously forcing them to spend double the first round money, thereby leaving it unavailable for free agents. If they lose their first, it'll be low in the first round, possibly even the last in the first round. Therefore, the only team that actually benefits is the worst team, who will then get a first round talent, for second round money. Also, that $250k, while not being much at all, should come out of the team's 2008 salary cap. Otherwise, it's not really a fine at all, but more like a "service charge".
How is it a good enough deterrent? $500K to a coach making $4.2mm...$250K to a guy worth over $1.1b...a low first round pick...a terse letter from the commissioner? Not that most teams are inclined to cheat, but this penalty actually encourages those that are to cheat at the highest level. Why wouldn't a team attempt to cheat in a conference championship game? The $750K would be more than made up by making it to the SB. And, what team wouldn't trade a low 1st round pick to get a shot at the title? The fact that the Pats cheated this season and the penalty has zero impact on the team this year makes no sense to me. That is why I was in favor of a 2 - 4 game suspension for Belichick. (That the Pats have two first round picks is meaningless as I don't think they cheated to get the 49ers pick. :wink: )
You've got it!:up: Who the team is should not be the deciding factor, it is strictly about the offense and the severity of it. The punishment has to be the same regardless of th team, or the commisioner has no credibility.
No the Jets probably still would have lost (although no one can say yes with 100% certainty). And Brick would still have been beat. But that has nothing to do with Jarvis Green, he would still have been playing next to Clarke and the Oline would still be 3/5s crappy.
500K is the highest fine available to the commisioner. What BB makes is irrelevant....they don't factor a player's salary when they fine players...just the nature of the offense.
Doesn't your statement prove my point that the fine is not a deterrent and the without a suspension the overall punishment was weak? (what about my other comments)
At the end of the day I'll hang my hat on them being labeled as cheaters and their dynasty forever tainted
And if they make the playoffs and win the SB then i ssolidifies that they are a great team and legitimizes their other three rings.
So should the money that would have been paid to the forfeited draft pick. Thats my point, it's not really as much a penalty as it leads to believe. A lower 1st round pick usually gets 2nd tier FA money. (Merriweather at 24 got in the nieghborhood of 11M, 6 G), and unlike a draftee you know if the FA can play in the nfl or not. That forfeited pick is only punishment if you use the slotting system to determine the cap hit and term of the forfeited pick.
agreed....Money is expendable to them, the draft pick or picks however the season goes may hurt a touch but when u get Randy Moss for a 4th rounder your in pretty good shape. Lets just see throughout the season if they start losing some games to average teams how much this really affects them
Kraft knew about what was going on, he will be giving Bellicrap half the fine. No big deal to the Pats, only now they will be dealing with there credibility. Bellicrap couldn't even say he was sorry to the rest of the league or the Jets.
funny. i didnt know bringing in randy moss, wlker, and every other person constitutes a team from 5 years ago.. btw- even if u win, it will be looked at as tainted. Thye still may have more ways and secrets on how to steal stuff. Belicheat is such a sick fuck he would strap that Estrella guy to the top of Foxboro in camo an make him shoot from up there with a high powered lens
