Please just go away

With spygate rearing its head again, I need to just share my thoughts.

First of all, if the Patriots are found to have done more than they admitted to back in September, then I will be the first one to say that the punishment should be severe. But I think it should be severe for the coach, the owner, and his staff, not the players. More draft picks. Fines. Suspensions of even a full season would not be out of order. But do not punish the players or the fans by doing something like banning them from the post-season.

Secondly, I return to my original argument that even if the Patriots had video tape of signals and knew exactly what the defensive calls were, I do not see how that would help the Patriots own defense that performed so amazingly in the Super Bowl against the Rams. I also remind everyone that just knowing what someone is going to do does not mean you will be able to beat it. Tom Brady still has to make throws. David Patten still has to catch the ball. Adam Vinatieri still has to kick a 48 yard field goal. In the Super Bowl and 3 weeks earlier in a driving snow storm. No knowledge of signals caused that ball to sail through the uprights.

Finally, I offer this. We know that 5 days before the 2007 season started a memo was sent clearly stating that video taping was illegal. We know that the rule had been present since the 2006 season. What I have never heard is whether or not the rule, in any form, existing during the Super Bowl years.

It is quite easy to say that they video taped the Jets and that was bad, but to retroactively go back and say everything they did before that has been called into question is jumping the gun. While Belichick's claim that he mis-interpreted the rule from 2007 is ludicrous, if the rule was not so clear in 2001, 2003, or 2004, then let's not question those victories.

Illegal contact was not a point of emphasis until the 2004 season. The rule was there when aggressive defenses like the 2000 Ravens and 2002 Buccaneers won Super Bowls. We do not now go back an diminish their accomplishments because the rule is now 'emphasized'.

I am not saying that the Patriots were not breaking the rules in the Super Bowl years. They were video taping and I am assuming that the specific rule has been unchanged since those years. However, the specifics of the rule and the importance of it may not have come to light until the last couple years. So do not cast doubts on preceding years.

Just because you aren't paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you

Back in September the Patriots were caught cheating by video taping the Jets defensive signals. The party line from the Patriots camp was that they misunderstood the rule. I think the rule read something like, under no circumstances can you film the other teams signals, but whatever.

They were caught, they were fined, they turned over the tapes, supposedly, and the league moved on. There was some discontent that the NFL did not disclose what was on the tapes. Specifically, did the Patriots video tape the Super Bowls?

A couple days before Super Bowl XLII, a former Patriots staffer comes forward and announces that he had been instructed to video tape the St. Louis Rams walk through prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. Naturally the Rams former QB starts touting how he was suspicious that something was up and all Patriots haters start shouting, 'I knew it!'

Here are my feelings on 'Spygate'.

What the Patriots did was wrong and rightfully throws into question all of their success. They broke the rules and I think they got off easy. I was expecting Belichick to get suspended for at least a game or two. They brought it on themselves and it is a shame that everything they worked for will now be under a cloud of suspicion.

That being said, I think the value of having such tapes is minimal. It is perfectly legal for a team to be in possession of the opponents signals. The rule is only that you cannot use video cameras to do it. So, it is not against the rules for them to have the information. What is against the rules is how they obtained it.

Think of it like stealing a candy bar. There is nothing wrong with having a candy bar in your possession. The problem is the fact that you stole to get it. If you had paid for it, then no one can complain. If the Patriots had a person with a pen and paper making notes of the signals, there would have been no violation. Do not confuse the legal information they had, with the illegal way they obtained it.

Also, no matter what information you have, you still have to execute. Tom Brady still has to throw the ball to just the right spot. David Patten has to run a perfect route and make sure he gets down in bounds. Adam Vinatieri still has to hit that 48 yard field goal. Knowing a defensive signal will not help J.R. Redmond wisely dive for the sideline to stop the clock.

Supposedly the Rams walk-through prior to Super Bowl XXXVI covered their red zone offense. Well, the Rams were only in the red zone twice and they scored a TD on one of those trips. And let's not forget that the Patriots only won by 3 points. Not exactly the blow you would expect if you had such a great unfair advantage.

And one final point. Just knowing what the opponent will do, is no guarantee that you can do anything about it. In Super Bowl XXXIX, the Patriots lined up for a play in Eagles territory late in the game. The Eagles defense could be heard yelling, "Screen. It's a screen.", prior to the snap. The Patriots snapped the ball and in fact ran a screen pass. The Eagles could not stop it and the Patriots picked up about 14 yards.

The Eagles knew the Patriots were going to run a screen and couldn't stop it. How did they know? They learned the Patriots signals--presumably using a legal method. Even armed with the information, they still couldn't stop it. Why? Because the players still have to execute.

So I do not dispute that the Patriots brought great dishonor upon themselves, but I do not believe for a minute that this violation contributed to any of their success.

Its not how you start, it is how you finish.

My New England Patriots started the season on a tear. They ripped through opponents who seemed to be better suited for Division 1-A college ball than the NFL. They were in a class by themselves.

As the season wore on they began to look beatable. A close finish against Philly, a near miss in Baltimore. They were even grounded by the Jets. Then came the Giants and a chance at history.

The December match-up was like watching a street brawl. The Patriots took it on the chin and the mouth and the gut and managed to get just enough of their own punches in to clinch the first ever 16-0 season. But the damage was done. While the Patriots flower began to fade and wilt, the Giants seeds of success were planted right there on the field turf of the Meadowlands.

The Giants took their growing confidence on the road and beat 3 opponents using the same techniques that worked against the Patriots. That is, punch them over and over until they succumb in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots, meanwhile, stayed home. They took a week off to revel in their success. They then scored a couple more records against the Jags, though the holes in the armor were still evident. While their victory against the Chargers was never truly in doubt, they didn't seem to be the awesome powerhouse of a couple months before.

They obviously saved their worst for last. The Giants picked up right where they left off and punched and kicked the Patriots into submission. The Patriots did not help their cause by implementing possibly the worst offensive game plan I've witnessed. In fact, it seemed to be the same game plan they barely made work the last time they faced the Giants.

The game was really decided in the first 10 minutes. The Giants drove down the field and kicked a field goal, eating up about 9 minutes in the process. That kept the Patriots 'explosive' offense off the field for nearly 30 minutes after kick-off. Then, on the Patriots first offensive snap, Brady takes a sack. The tone of the game was set and despite the Patriots going down and scoring a TD on that drive, that was all they had.

Hats off to the Giants. They played exactly how they wanted to and needed to and did what many thought was impossible. They proved the lesson that it doesn't matter if you win the first 18 games, the only one that really matters is the last one.