Source claims Patriots taped Rams before Super Bowl

Exactly...the actual game plays the Rams ran through the season are much more indicative of what you'd see during the Superbowl.

The Patriots would have won that game with or without the tape.

 

Well, if it isn't valuable, then why do Belichek do it? Why do teams hold "private" walkthroughs then? Couldn't they just make them public then?

How much it contributes to winning is immaterial too. If in a 100m race, and one person got a .01 second head start, you could say the the head start didn't give him much of an advantage. But does that make it okay?

 

A pitcher can also say, "Here comes to heat, catch up to it. Here comes to hook, wait back on it." You still have to hit it.



Bottom line is, those defensive signals were in PUBLIC VIEW. Everyone can see them. They just took it one step further and videoed it. So what. Take the steroids out of football and then talk about the Patriots cheating.

 

why dont you read the whole article that talks about the specific situations when the Rams were in the red zone?

 

But a walkthrough specifically runs through the plays you plan to run for that game rather than a season's worth of random stuff. In other words, the Patriots would see specifically what you thought was best against them - and then they could be ready for it.

If it wasn't helpful, why go through all the effort to secretly videotape these things? It's the same as the steroids argument where people say "they aren't helpful." If they aren't helpful, why are all these athletes putting illegal drugs with long-term dangers into their body? Just for fun?

 

heres a better answer moe. and QFT on the *** the Patriots comment.

How much of an economic boost do you think it would have given Pittsburgh if they had beaten the Pats more than just once in the past few years in the playoffs? What if the Eagles had beaten the Pats in the SB? How much of an economic boost do you think Philly would have gotten?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/080202&sportCat=nfl

 

How is that the same? Gruden was Oakland's freaking coach. Bill Callahan practically inherited Gruden's team and pretty much ran the same plays Gruden used (don't believe me? Look at the final score)

What is in it for the NFL or Goodell to cover up for New England? When the Spygate thing happened, they weren't even anywhere near in the realm of "Hmm, this could be a perfect season" talk.

As for how it can effect that Super Bowl against the Rams, I'll say it once and I'll say it again: If all it takes is a videotaped walkthrough to bring down the "Greatest Show on Turf" then everyone pretty much gave the Rams too much credit during that period.

1. These same St. Louis Rams were a yard away from losing the Super Bowl against the Titans. Did Tennessee videotape that too?

2. Faulk had about 120 total yards against New England. He had 17 against the Titans. (I knew Tomlinson's disappearing act in the playoffs looked all to of familiar)

3. New England also had one of the best defenses in the league that year as well.

4. Warner had 365 yards passing in that game against New England (I don't see how he has any reason to protest the loss when the Rams offense outgained NE's 427-267)


Hey, I'm not saying that there's NO ABSOLUTE way New Englad didn't tape anything. That probably did happen. I'm just saying there's no way that something like taping a walkthrough or the like should have had an effect on an offense that was regarded as the best in the league that year (i.e. the idea that they only ran only a small sample of plays in-game is kind of hard to believe). Especially since they barely survived against the Titans a couple of years before that.

 

If your'e not cheating, your'e not trying. I love the Bellichick(sp?) way. He's my hero.

 

Why they bring this up today, why not before the other super bowls that New England have played, or after that super bowl.

And why do you want to keep those tapes, they already been punished, you dont need those tapes anymore, its ok to me that they destroyed it.

Its just jealousy.

 

Senators meddling with professional sports. Does anyone else have a problem with this or am I alone? These jackasses should be trying to solve the problems that their constituents face, not trying to make headlines meddling

Ridiculous

 

Patriots- 2002 Super Bowl Champions*

Patriots- 2008 Super Bowl Champions**

 

Hell, they've been video taping teams since at least 2002 so you might as well put asterisks next to 2004 and 2005 as well.

 

what a bunch of whiners.

 

If you're up for a job promotion, but so is a colleague, and you are both equally qualified, but at least going into it, you moreso, though you can honestly say either person should be promoted...

then, the colleague sleeps his/her way into the promotion, wouldn't you be pissed? even moreso if years later you're still doing the same old job and he/she is the CEO of the company?

it's a poor analogy, but cheating is cheating. If it was against the NFL rules to secretly tape other teams' walkthroughs, then it's cheating. who cares what the impact of that cheating was? we'll never know now because one team cheated. we can't go back in time and see what would have happened had team A not cheated...because they did.

In this case, though, regardless of how much game tape was available throughout the season, it would seem pretty obvious that taping a walkthrough of a team's planned red zone plays for a specific games would have some kind of impact...

 

The game was decided on one play (a Vinatieri field goal)....if the report is true, the Pats were privy to knowledge about the Rams most critical plays- their red zone packages.

With all that being said, how could it NOT have been considered an advantage? Even if it's just one play they were tipped off on, that's all it may have taken to change the outcome of a very close game.

 

Ding ding ding! If it even helped them on one single play it's already too much. You guys do realize that teams will script special surprise plays for special one in a lifetime games, right? This isn't Madden 08.

I love how some people here are convinced it had absolutely no effect on the game. I don't know how much it did, some of you don't know how much it didn't, but the point is that's a huge MF'n elephant in the room and the Patriots opened the door for it when they shouldn't have.

And before anyone colors me a hater, I'll be rooting for the Pats tonight just so I can witness history. In the grand scheme of things I don't give a crap about the NFL unless it involves the Browns.

 

This man knows of what he speaks! Amen!

 

Never said it was the same genius, I was making a comparison of what knowing what a team is planning to do is a definite advantage. Of course the Raiders were ****ed from the beginning. Gruden was lining up at QB against his own defense running the plays in practice before the super bowl because he knew all of them, thats why an NFL MVP throws 5 interceptions, the Bucs knew the routes and where the ball was going.

I'll give you another example. In a game against the Colts in 2001, with the Colts leading the Raiders 21-3 early, Raiders Linebacker Greg Biekert figured out Peyton Manning's signals and started barking them out to the defense. The Colts who looked unstoppable before that, could barely move the ball and the Raiders came back and won the game.


Like others have pointed out, If it gives you no advantage, then why are you doing it? I believe it is because Belichick is obsessed. I've heard ex-players and coaches talk about him. He has no life outside of winning these games. And if he thinks he can get away with something, you better believe he's gonna do it.

 

This guy might disagree.

http://deadspin.com/sports/top/men-keep-your-wives-from-bill-belichick-188681.php