Donovan McNabb's mom put the plays on the back of a Campbell's Chunky Soup label.

12/31/2007 3:41:13 PM

The 2007 Patriots are an amazing team, one of the best ever. In this thread I never said I hated the team or thought that their accomplishments should be stripped or disregarded. They were fairly penalized and paid the price. If they run the table and win the whole thing, good for them. I'll tip my cap to them and that's it. I'm not going to hang myself if the Patriots run the table and blow every team out.

The biggest gripe I had with this whole thing is the statement/assertion that anyone who brings up the fact that this Patriot team broke the rules/cheated is either "moronic", "eats their own semen", or just a jealous hater that holds some kind of blind, unfounded grudge against the Patriots. How someone can state a fact and be labeled stupid at the same time just doesn't jive. I've had my say on this. I rarely, if ever, bring up the incident when talking about the 2007 Patriots. I don't run around constantly whining about it, regardless of what you might think. Did they break the rules? Yes (and it appears that everyone agrees on that point). Did it help them win? Debatable, but most likely not. Do I personally think it helped them win? No, simply because they are a more talented football team across the board. But that still doesn't change the fact that this team did indeed, cheat (by virtue of breaking written rules).

They will definitely go down as one of the best teams in NFL history, which I have no problem with. The point is, though, is that the incident will always be tied to the team. People who bring up the cheating are well within their rights to say so, because it is a fact. It just can't be dismissed. If one claims that the Patriots only won because they cheated, then that's something they will have to prove (good luck to them on that one). The claims of that the Patriots cheated vs. they only won because they cheated are two separate beasts. A lot of folks may not like it, but it happened, so it is perfectly fair and reasonable to bring it up. Simply because someone calls the Patriots "cheaters" (again which appears to be universally accepted) does not make them stupid or a hater. Now whatever they might say afterwards might make them one, but stating the fact that the team did break the rules, does not.





[Edited on December 31, 2007 at 9:17 PM. Reason : ..]

12/31/2007 9:02:43 PM

i'm tired of posting on this. i hate the patriots because i am a titans fan, thus i don't like any team other than the titans. I like certain players, and enjoy certain teams at times, but for the forseable future, the road to the superbowl will go through the patriots and that hurts the team i like. for me, that is the reason I dislike the Patriots. My gripe is that there are people that didn't hate the patriots prior till 3 weeks ago, and those people are now all the sudden saying "they cheated" "tom brady is a jerk" "their coach is mean" "they scored on a professional team in the 4th quater when they were up by a lot!!!"

Just say you hate them because you like other teams. But the reasons that have been giving to HATE them(hate is a strong word) is laughable. I mean seriously, someone said they hate them because their coach isn't a nice guy. Holly shit, that sounds like something a girl would say. Grow some balls and hate them because you should hate them since they beat your team and are better then your team. These other reasons are just stupid.

12/31/2007 9:59:46 PM

Quote :

"They're just fuckin funny to me because this batch loves their Red Sox and Patriots but won't show up to support Boston College."

What the fuck? That doesn't even make sense. That's like saying it's funny that all North Carolinians don't love UNC...

Memo: There are more than a few schools in Boston, with BC being smaller than BU, Northeastern and Harvard... Hockey rules there in college... why on earth would everyone like BC?

Speaking of that I would recommend you look up Hockey East if you think they don't support their schools. Hockey up there is like Tobacco Road basketball. Remember the old Big Four or Dixie Classic? Well that is the Beanpot still up there...

[Edited on December 31, 2007 at 10:08 PM. Reason : x]

12/31/2007 10:03:46 PM

Quote :

"^^^^^^^ so now you are implying that they somehow hacked into the Eagles communications to get their plays? The signals that were taped were defensive signals, offensive plays are sent in through the helmet mic."

I didn't imply shit, that's what multiple eagles said.

oops, I had it backwards, now I feel silly.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3017964



[Edited on December 31, 2007 at 10:30 PM. Reason : hfds]

12/31/2007 10:25:12 PM

1) Cheaters
[/thread]

12/31/2007 11:33:25 PM

^^^yeah but it's..

hockey.

1/1/2008 11:43:04 AM

they took the 21 off of their helmet after one week where as every other team has kept it on. Fuck em

plus, i dont like belicheck or the whole teams "us against the world" mentality

1/2/2008 12:22:08 AM

Quote :

"but for the forseable future, the road to the superbowl will go through the patriots and that hurts the team i like"

I think by the "forseable future" you mean "this year and maybe a couple more"

They are in the final few years of their prime, no team stays dominant long. The defense is old and Moss is going to be a FA, and being that he has had one of the best years ever for a WR, he's probably going to demand more money than the Pats are willing to pay.

1/2/2008 12:40:40 AM

isn't that the definition of forseable future?

1/2/2008 12:42:43 AM

not really, because I can foresee a time when the Pats won't be that good.

1/2/2008 12:43:28 AM

as long as they have brady, that coaching staff, a top 5 pick this year, and salary cap room they'll be fine. The O-line is also very solid, they have a young RB, and like I said, big thing is that they haven't fucked up their salary cap in a way that leaves them w/out money to work with.

1/2/2008 12:47:39 AM

heres the article i mentioned on the last page. sorry, forgot about this thread.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dr_z/09/13/cheating/index.html

the thing is, if they got one bit of advantage from their cheating, thats all it would take to sour a lot of people off of the game. that is, if they found out that they got some advantage in the super bowl. there is a difference between having cameras at the game and having a camera put directly on the damn guy making the hand signals to the D. don't forget that they paid a guy to do this on sundays

1/5/2008 1:21:01 PM

It all goes back to the War of Northern Aggression.

1/5/2008 2:16:49 PM

Yep, that's why we were all cheering for our southern brethren the New York Giants.

1/5/2008 3:51:52 PM

Quote :

"The 2007 Patriots are an amazing team, one of the best ever."

Yeah. At cheating
[/thread]

1/5/2008 5:23:49 PM

has anyone pointed out that they won 15 games after they were caught cheating?

that seems pretty nifty to me

1/5/2008 5:28:19 PM

So is it cheating if you have someone on your staff who writes down the play number in the game, the type of signal that the defensive coach made, and then compar afterwards? They do the signals in the open anyone can just watch the coach.

You guys do know that these signals are changed even at halftime of games. Hell, our high school team who sucked changed up calls week to week. Think about this, even if you know the defensive signals, you then have to see the signal the coach made, look down your list and say "oh they are going to blitz" then somehow get the proper play into the qb to your offense and then run the play, all this in a very limited amount of time.

I guess in all this, I am just not seeing how taping defensive signals would ever help a team in any significant way. I think I find myself asking more why the Patriots were even bothering to do it, and taking that risk. Just seems stupid to me for them to even have done it.

1/5/2008 5:43:13 PM

^^ what makes you think they stopped cheating?

1/5/2008 5:45:49 PM

What makes you think it helped?

1/5/2008 5:49:05 PM

ummm, the amazing 2nd half adjustments, maybe?

1/5/2008 5:54:08 PM

I'd imagine the fact that a lot of people in NC hate the Patriots probably has at least a little to do with the Patriots beating the Panthers in the Super Bowl.

But when I say "Panthers" I really mean "Team Steroids".

Quote :

"^^^yeah but it's.. hockey."

You know, considering the Hurricanes are the only thing even remotely close to a successful team in Raleigh, it's shocking that people still don't like hockey.

1/5/2008 6:12:50 PM

actually, I hate the Cheatriots because they are cheaters

1/5/2008 6:14:04 PM

Maybe you should go to New England and throw a yellow flag at them then.

Isn't that your retarded way of expressing things?

1/5/2008 6:15:35 PM

why don't you stick a dick up your ass?

isn't that what you normally do?

1/5/2008 6:18:23 PM

Good to see that sharp wit and creative mind of yours are still serving you well.

1/5/2008 6:22:07 PM

Quote :

"ummm, the amazing 2nd half adjustments, maybe?"

That is the best quote in this whole thread, considering many of the games this year were already over by halftime. Keep trying. Again, your telling me they filmed the defensive coaches signals, got into the locker room and sync'ed that up with the defense that they ran(mind you the signals are often changed by the formation the other team comes out it, it isn't like offensive plays) took that information and passed it along to the players. Then went back out on the field, saw the signals, processed that information, got it down to the qb, and ran the right play? The only time it might have helped is for divisional games, where they are playing teams again later in the season. And in my mind A: they should change their signals when playing a team again anyway, and B: the Patriots division was so bad, cheating or not they win those games.

1/5/2008 6:24:59 PM

$750,000 in fines and a 1st round draft pick means the NFL thought the cheating was somewhat significant. Who knows if it helped or not. But they did cheat and a lot of people don't like cheaters.

1/5/2008 6:32:28 PM

The reason for the penalty was more because they ignored the NFL when they sent out memo's that taping and that type of thing wasn't to be done. I'm guessing that those memo's were sent out because several teams had probably been doing it that type of thing. The penalty for the Partiots was more because they ignored the NFL, it had little to do with cheating.

1/5/2008 7:09:19 PM

^BS

Quote :

""This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field," Goodell said in a letter to the Patriots. "

1/5/2008 7:11:52 PM

titans78 isnt a titans fan, he just came on here to slob the pats knobs

1/6/2008 3:15:26 AM

I've already said several times i hate the patriots. I just don't think the cheating thing is a big deal, and nothing said in this thread has changed my mind.

I'd be posting the exact same things if it was the Dolphins or Saints that got caught doing the same thing. I'd hate the patriots whether they cheated or didn't, some people in this thread are saying they hate them just because they cheated, and would have not hated them otherwise. I just don't think the cheating thing is a good enough reason to envoke hate.

1/6/2008 8:47:17 AM