check out the last paragraph http://www.nypost.com/seven/09122007/sports/jets/belicheat.htm?page=1 By STEVE SERBY September 12, 2007 -- After having his hand apparently caught in the cookie jar by Roger Goodell, Patriots coach Bill Belichick apologized to the rookie NFL commissioner for the ruckus caused by allegations that his team spied on the Jets during the team's season-opening game. According to an ESPN report, Goodell is poised to penalize the Patriots severely for blatantly violating league rules when they videotaped Jets defensive signals during the course of their 38-14 season-opening romp at Giants Stadium. That is likely to mean one high draft pick, one medium-round draft pick and a hefty fine. Belichick said he spoke with Goodell about the "videotaping procedure" during Sunday's game and "my interpretation of the rules." "At this point, we have not been notified of the league's ruling," Belichick said in a statement. "Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players. Following the league's decision, I will have further comment." Serby: Robbed Jets Deserve Re-Do The Patriots will be allowed an opportunity to present their case by Friday, but it is likely to fall on deaf ears. “There is an investigation going on now, and perhaps an adjudication of it, and I think it would be inappropriate at this time to make any comment,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters at a charity appearance. “When you’re successful in anything, a lot of people like to try to take you down and do different things. We understand that. We worked very hard to try to put an organization together that we all could be proud of in New England, and we’re very proud of the New England Patriots organization and the record that they’ve established over the last 13 seasons and one game.” CONTINUED NFL security officials confiscated a camera and videotape from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella on the New England sidelines when Jets security chief Steve Yarnell smelled a rat and suspected Estrella was recording the Jets’ defensive signals. This isn’t Estrella’s first offense, either. He was apprehended during a game last year in Green Bay -- a game the Patriots won 35-0 -- and removed and escorted from the sideline. “From what I can remember, he had quite a fit when we took him out,” Packers president Bob Harlan said. Goodell received the camera and tape in a sealed box and could not have been pleased when his suspicions were confirmed that Belichick has been added to the list of bad boys. Belichick’s relationship with Jets coach Eric Mangini, his former longtime aide and defensive coordinator, has deteriorated since Mangini left to become Jets head coach a year ago. Chargers superstar LaDainian Tomlinson, who accused the Patriots of lacking class after losing to them in last year’s playoffs and gets a chance at revenge Sunday, said he was not surprised by the story. “People in Miami, the Jets, have been complaining about something that the Patriots have done,” Tomlinson said. “Either get in their playbook somehow, or bringing a player in just because they’re playing them that week. So it really doesn’t surprise me that they’re trying to gain an edge any way they can.“ NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said no official decision has been made on the I Spy incident. No video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches’ booth, on the field or in the locker room during the game. Videotaping of an opponent’s offensive or defensive signals on the sidelines is prohibited. I Spy will not sit well with classy Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who was recently voted Owner of the Year. The league also was reviewing a possible violation into the number of radio frequencies the Patriots were using during the game, the report said. The team did not have a satisfactory explanation when asked about possible irregularities in its communication setup during the game.
Don, there's no way it's that little. If everything (the filming and the radios) is true, it compromises the integrity of the game of football more than anything we've ever seen.
They don't get a win because the better team on paper cheated? So it's alright for a team to cheat as long as they are better. "Sorry man we can't give you the win even though you got low-blowed repeatedly because you suck compared to your opponent."
Bill Bellicheat is a coward -- on top of being an Infidel and a cheat. Great leadership. Oh, and he dresses like a hobo.
I love how the heads on ESPN never mention the wiretapping and radio jamming. This is a huge part of the story. I swear 25 people on Disney property looked at me funny as a screamed at my car radio on the way to work...
Mike Martz Chimes In.. 2001 Bowl.. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...nginis_aboutface_on_spying_burns_belic-1.html Mangini's about-face on spying burns Belichick big time Thursday, September 13th 2007, 4:00 AM Eric Mangini coaches the Jets during their season-opening loss to the Pats on Sunday. Below, Bill Belichick apologizes during yesterday's news conference. Spying on the Jets? If the Pats are found guilty of spying on the Jets should the NFL suspend Bill Belichick? Yes No Most Recent Columns Bill Belichick should be suspended if found guilty Giants' season rests on Eli Manning's shoulder Eli Manning's injury ruins good performance Ten things you can count on happening in the NFL in 2007 Real Tom Coughlin not always so cheerful Jet liftoff time is now Giants players say Michael Strahan's holdout not a distraction Michael Strahan shows Big Blue true colors The phone call that changed history Jets coach Eric Mangini may get a ticker-tape parade down Broadway for standing up to Bill Belichick and exposing him as a cheater by using inside information to humiliate his former boss. The Patriots, with their three Super Bowls this decade, are the NFL's answer to baseball's Evil Empire in the Bronx. It's certainly part of Mangini's job description to take down the Pats. He learned well from Belichick how to use every piece of information to his advantage. But one source, who was with the Jets during the time Mangini was an assistant to Belichick in New England, is turned off by his self-righteous approach to video spying. "Here is the sad part," the ex-Jets source said. "When Mangini was defensive coordinator for the Patriots, they were doing it. It's like crying wolf. He was a part of that mess. Now he's on the opposite side. Now he's saying they can't do it. Wait a minute. You were part of that staff. He's on the same team. He didn't go and tell Bill, 'We can't do that.'" Mangini was a young assistant coach in New England who owed his career to Belichick. He was not about to tell him how to run his team or warn him he was breaking NFL rules. But when Mangini was in position to use it against Belichick, he jumped at it. That's makes him a hero to Jets fans, who will never forgive Belichick for quitting after one day as the HC of the NYJ. Why didn't Mangini nail Belichick when the Jets played the Patriots three times last year, including in the playoffs? Belichick is a master at mind games - what do you think that handshake silliness is all about? Mangini missed an opportunity last year to get inside his mentor's head. But he's made up for it now. It was foolish for Belichick to continue to try to steal the Jets' signals once Mangini became their head coach. Obviously, Belichick knew that Mangini knew. And why take that kind of chance when Mangini had inside information and the Jets' security director is a former FBI special agent? Try it out on anybody but Mangini, who is getting even with Belichick for the condescending way he has treated him the last year. "I'll put it this way: That's not the only team that has ever done that," one head coach said yesterday. "It's a bunch of nothing. That stuff goes on everywhere. It ain't like it's something new. Are you kidding me? Half the teams do that crap. We've never done it here, but I've been involved in staffs that have done it." The Jets were aware of Belichick's passion for video espionage long before Mangini came back to the Jets. Crossing the line to find an edge is apparently nothing new for Belichick. A few years ago, when Herm Edwards was coaching the Jets and Mangini was working for Belichick in New England, the Jets coaching staff noticed a Patriots employee on the sideline pointing a video camera at the Jets coach who was sending in the defensive calls with hand signals. The Jets coaches reacted by smiling for the Patriots camera and stopped just short of saying, "Hi, Bill." "At times, we would wave at the guy that was filming over there," a Jets source, who is no longer with the team, said yesterday. "We just gave false signals and waved at the camera. I don't know if they picked up our signals or not. We didn't really worry about it too much. We didn't make a big deal out of it. Sometimes we would just send a guy in with the play instead." It's hard to accept that everybody does it, but only Belichick had the misfortune to get caught. It would be like a player who is caught using steroids trying to talk his way out by saying so many others are beating the test. The NFL has rules against cheating. Belichick, who said yesterday he already has spoken with Roger Goodell, issued an apology to everybody in the Patriots organization without apologizing for anything specific. "It's childish with the Jets and the Patriots," one coach said. "When the Jets cut a guy, New England brings him in and interrogates him. When the Patriots cut a guy, the Jets bring him in and interrogate him." Belichick won three Super Bowls in four years. Did he do it by cheating? This is not the NCAA, so the NFL is not repossessing the Vince Lombardi trophies. But if he was stealing the Rams' defensive signals, did that contribute to the second greatest upset in Super Bowl history when New England beat St. Louis, 20-17, after the 2001 season? "If he did steal signals in that game, he didn't do a very good job," said Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz, the Rams coach at the time. "Going into the last drive, they had 100 yards of offense. He got the wrong signals. If he had our defensive signals, it didn't help him much." The Patriots actually had 214 yards going into the 53-yard drive for the winning field goal on the last play of the game. Tom Brady's offense managed only one TD, 15 first downs and was 2-for-11 on third down. Belichick won two more Super Bowls in the next three years. "He won legitimately," Martz insists. "Those players had to line up and play and win those games. And they did." One good thing for Belichick: He's good with electronic equipment. When he gets out of coaching, he can get a job selling camcorders.
For those saying a forfeit are out of the question read this. Penalties for Unfair Acts The Commissioner?s powers under this section (UNFAIR ACTS) include the imposition of monetary fines and draft choice forfeitures, suspension of persons involved, and, if appropriate, the reversal of a game?s result or the rescheduling of a game, either from the beginning or from the point at which the extraordinary act occurred. In the event of rescheduling a game, the Commissioner will be guided by the procedures specified above ("Procedures for Starting and Resuming Games" under EMERGENCIES). In all cases, the Commissioner will conduct a full investigation, including the opportunity for hearings, use of game videotape, and any other procedures he deems appropriate.
Latest word from the New England rumormill.... BB knew about the memo warning about videotaping signals. He has been pushing for allowing defensive players to be miked, like the offense is allowed to do. The rumors say that he wanted to force the NFL to confront the issue and allow for defensive mikes. Thought you'd all like to know.
New England spin machine hard at work... before you know it he'll be hailed the saviour of the NFL. :breakdance:
I'm confused. If he knew about a memo waring about videotaping the other teams signals (is that right?), what does that have to do with defensive players ti be miked? I don't get how that is relevant at all.
So, the commissioner can issue a forfeit if he wants, or just a replayed game from any point or the beginning. I think the Patriots, if it is in the rules as acceptable, have to forfeit here. They cheated and even more stuff keeps coming out about the radio tapping the Jets and what not, only a forfeit or a total replay of the game is acceptable.
Eric Mangini was a young guy, who had only coached semi pro football in Australia. He was a nobody. Bill Belichick found him working as a PR intern with the Browns, and gave him a job as a coaching intern. He then got him a job as a coaching assistant, when BB was the defensive coordinator for the Jets . When he left to become head coach of the Patriots, he brought Mangini to NE with him, and gave him a job as an assistant coach. He later made him his defensive coordinator. Mangini rode Belichick's coat tails all the way to three Super Bowls, and a head coaching job of his own. Eric Mangini owes Bill Belichick a lot. I have no problem with Mangini or the Jets preventing the Pats from taping their signals. If he knows that they are doing it, he has every right to stop it. The Packers apparently did this last season when the Pats were in Green Bay. They removed the camera man from the sidelines, and sent him on his way. In Sunday's game the cameraman was removed from the sideline in the first quarter. The crisis was over. The Pats could no longer tape the Jets signals. The Jets then called in league officials, confiscated the tape and the camera, to make it a league issue. This would essentially end the practice forever. Case closed. They then went a step further, and leaked the story to the news media, to make it a national issue. This was done solely for the purpose of embarrassing Belichick. Eric Mangini reaped the benefits of being brought along, and mentored by Bill Belichick. He never blew the whistle while he was with the Pats. He never got a conscience and walked away until he got a multi million dollar head coaching job of his own. Only then did he spill the beans in a very public way. Eric Mangini is the very definition of a RAT!!!
Posted this in another thread. I'll restate it here. I spoke with someone yesterday who knows a little about this whole thing. Here?s his take: The Patriots on Friday are going to press the argument that the video taping is legal. The reason, as I?m told, is that the instruction from the league office was that there be no videotaping from the sidelines or coaching box ?for use during the game.? Belichick?s argument is that he doesn?t use the video during the game; and doesn?t even use it during the season. It?s collected as a library for off-season evaluation. This explains the Belichick statement of yesterday: ?Earlier this week, I spoke with Commissioner [Roger] Goodell about a videotaping procedure during last Sunday's game and my interpretation of the rules. At this point, we have not been notified of the league's ruling?..? He?s anticipating that the league will provide a ruling on whether videotaping for future use is, in fact, a violation. Might have something further later.
any reason why you felt like you needed to write the whole thing over again? Also, thanks for the history lesson. One other thing, has anyone said that it was Mangini who alerted the league? I still haven't found anything that has said that yet other than speculation
