Here's the difference I see : The Patriots active DEFENSIVE PLAYERS are lined up on the sidelines ? Why one may ask ? Ummm, because they have to take the field right after the punt is recieved and returned. Just like offensive players are lined up when the punt is in reverse, cuz they have to get out there after the punt. They are not lined up uniformly, shoulder to shoulder, there are spaces between the players. If you zoom in on those pics the players are not all watching the gunner, some are, some are looking in other directions, or what appears looking at each other as if in conversation. The coaches/non suited up players are not uniform either and some are looking one way and some the other. Looks like normal every day " get ready to take the field " footage to me. As pointed out by many here and by Westhoff, there is nothing illegal about it. In any case.... if the Commish sees it differently than me, then the investigation will favor Westhoff. Which has nothing to do with the intentional, instructed actions of Alosi. It will only mean the Westhoff was not acting in bad faith when he called out the Pats. The cheating will still be there. Westoff will just dodge a bullet for breaking a DIFFERENT league rule. They are also investigating if Alosi acted alone, which no one one believes. Brian Billick said on Mike and Mike this AM, that ... Of, course Rex knew. Others have said the same thing, but they have chosen to remain annonomous. If I were a Jets fan I'd be more worried about that investigation. I have no opinion on that one, but what I do know is it will always be the perception. Goodells office has mishandled this from the get go, imo and many others, and if they find in favor of the Jets/Ryan/Westhoof, most will think they got a pass because of Goodell's ties to the Jets. Might not be fair, but that's how it will goo. Again, imo. YMMV Foxy
Sucks when you get in trouble for doing something that everyone else does huh. Teams all over the league taped defensive signals too, but the Pats lost a 1st round pick, 250K and BB 500k. The tapes were then destroyed because in the filming you could see other teams filming right back. That's why Goodell destroyed the tapes. Keeping the tapes couldn't hurt the Pat's, They were ALREADY severely punished for the action. A lot of Pat's fans wish the tapes WEREN'T destroyed. Yeah, sure sucks when you get a bunch of drama over nothing. Jimmy Johnson famously admitted that the practice was league wide and common, just like players standing on the edge of the sidelines during punts & kickoffs
The Patriots don't have inactive players and the strength coach along the sideline trying to trip and cripple the opponent's gunner. Active players are not inactive players and support people because players tend to have uniforms on. Westoff and Ryan are using the "what the definition of is, is" because the coverup "We didn't know about the wall" would be crime one. You can't lie to the league and then deflect with a bogus analogy. The real question is, did Ryan and Westoff order their goons to "kneecap" the guy? Would Buddy's desperate son do something like that?
You know what would be really useful to see what teams are doing on the sidelines during punts? If someone could only videota. . . .... ne'er mind.
can people just realize teams do this, and sal made a dumbfuck mistake? he had a player coming flying toward him, and didn't use his noogan.
Good point. The Pats don't bother with inactive players and coaches low down on the food chain. The real question is, would even a head coach try to impede a player on the sideline? [YOUTUBE]h42kTrO8ZA4[/YOUTUBE]
Hmm. One difference here is that the Jets put their own sanctions into place, and a low level coach was fined and suspended. The NFL didn't do anything. In the case of Spygate, the NFL levied the biggest punishment against a team in NFL history. Other than that, your analogy was spot on.
Where is the rule that says you are not allowed to stand on the sidelines? What the pats do is perfectly legal and Westhoff was correct. What is the Big Deal ???
Yeah The strength coach was "fined' with hush money so he doesn't reveal how the sideline goons were ordered to kneecap an opponent. Maybe Rexgenius got Soprano and Sparano mixed up. I guess it's a Jersey thing. Why is this guy suspended and not fired? I'd hate to be a targeted employee at Johnson & Johnson in the near future. Better stock up on PPE. Sal could be coming to an office near you.
And the last time you ever heard of Goodell letting discipline for breaking league rules be handled by " the team ", was when ? Ohh, that's right. This is the only instance, and it happens to be a team he was a former employee of. Goodells' lack of action at the inception is, in part, why this has continued. Foxy
"Hush money" implies they GAVE him money. They took a significant part of his salary around Christmastime and suspended him the rest of the season. Go worry about your own team you clown!
That reminds me, how hard did Goodell come down on Belichick's trip of Harrison in the 2004 AFC title game? Anyone who thinks Goodell has a pro-Jets, anti-Pats bias is about as ignorant to the blatantly obvious as possible.
Yeah OKaaaayyy Yooo, youse might wanna figure out why fined is in ".....". It does mean something in written English and serves a specific purpose.
Considering the fact that Roger became Commissioner in September 2006, it would be difficult since he wasn't like ya know the Commissioner. hmy: That'a a minor detail but it is sorta important.
And where was he working at the time? Oh, that's right. He was the head of the league's football operations and officiating. A minor point, but it's sort of important. (Sorry, I refuse to reduce myself to say "sorta" to anyone, much less a troll.)
