Pats cheated in 2002 super bowl?

"a source close to the Patriots in the 2001 season "

The article should mention that he's a disgruntled ex-employee that was fired after the 2002 season.
 
I don't know what the truth is but who didn't see this coming? It's doubtful they started taping this year. It's also doubtful they were only team doing this type of thing.
 
When I first saw that Arlen Specter was jumping in to this, I was
pukey.gif

However, screw it. If they cheated as bad as some of this stuff has been insinuated, then they should get the book. Hell, if OU was doing something similar, most Hornfans would be all over it. We'd never hear the end of it.
F*** the cheaters. And, I really don't care to hear how everybody else does it or it couldn't help that much. They cheated, there is evidence, they're cheaters. Hell, there's more evidence of this than evidence on Barry Bonds and 75% of Americans want to throw him under a bus.
 
By far the most logical explanation for the commish destroying those tapes is because the situation is worse than he wanted the public to know.

His ostensible reason was because if another tape showed up it would prove that the Pats were lying about destroying their copies of the tapes. That makes no ******* sense. A cover up is my bet. Then again, he'll probably be successful with the cover up, because it takes proof to convict, and he knows it.
 
IF they have hard evidence of this then I definately don't see why they shouldn't have their title stripped from them. Obviously the timing of this being released is pre-meditated, but it was going to come out one way or the other and it's magnitude is just as great. Something has to be done about this if it is true.
 
A reporter popped off this week asking Belichick who he would like to see play him in a movie. Of course, Belichick didn't answer but we may find out soon enough.
..Who is the most grating bastard in hollywood right now?
 
Random tangent but a thought. So this could explain why their backup defense players seem to always develop well and make great plays. No matter who they put in, they produce. Is this why they did not try super hard to keep guys like Ty Law? Were good players made to look better by being in the right position or spot time and time again to make plays?

The players would not even know, they just have to execute the play called for them. There will always be mistakes, trips, over running plays, interference. But to be in the right spot to make executing easier, hmmm.

How good have the free agents or former players been when they go elsewhere? Again, random thought with no facts. But it is fair to raise as a maybe.
 
Just because a trophy is taken away does not mean it goes to the loser. There would just be no champion that year. It would not make the Rams the champ.
 
Just because an ex-employee is disgruntled, it doesn't mean that he's lying. And the fact that he's angry at the Patriots can be a reason why he is speaking.

Since the NFL is my favorite sport and the Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in the World, I would hate to see a cheating scandal emerge.

But this has been predicted by a few writers as a strong reason why the NFL destroyed the tapes. It made no sense to destroy the tapes. Goodell makes some excuse that he didn't want the tapes to be leaked. The answer to that problem isn't to destroy the tapes, but put together a staff that you can trust. Don't leave the tapes out for anyone to grab, but place them in a security vault somewhere.

On a side note, I like how Goodell was caught lying on Friday. He was asked if he knew of any allegations undisclosed to the public. He said no. The NFL has investigated the Super Bowl without the media knowing about it. Now the NFL is saying that he misunderstood the question. I can understand Goodell protecting the league. Part of his job. But once the media and Congress start coming down on you, full disclosure is the best course. It will come out, and you will look worse for lying.
 
If the speculation is true, I think that you have to yank their 2002 Superbowl triumph - and I normally don't like revising the books like that. But in a 3 point game when it really did seem like the Pats just "knew" what the Rams would do next - well, I think it's a difficult argument that the cheating didn't taint the result.

Still, I can understand the idea that the Patriots won the game, nobody can know what would have happened otherwise, and that there's a long and gloried history of cheating in major sports. If you buy that reasoning, I think you hit the Pats with crippling penalties, like what the NBA did to the Timberwolves a few years ago. Belichik might not be such a miracle worker if, say, he didn't have first day draft picks for the next 3 years.
 
haven, I agree that a major penalty would be required but it sounds like the NFL office might be drawn into the scandal as well. Especially if its determined that they destroyed the alleged Super Bowl practice tape. Difficult for the NFL office to hand down a penalty when they first swept it under the rug.
 
BA93:
I think that often inspires harsher penalties, not leniency. The NFL ofice might be forced by public opinion and Congressional attention to punish the Pats in order to cleanse itself of the taint of the cover-up.

*shrug* - I see your point, though - evidently, Goodell did want the entire affair swept under the rug.
 
On ESPN's pre-game show this morning Ron Jaworskie was arguing with Steve Young about how the Pats taping plays is "pushing the envelope" but he has no problem with any NFL team doing whatever it takes to get an advantage...basically stating that it's okay to tape the opposing team, sneak into private practices, etc. Young looked at Jaws like he was crazy. I like Jaws' as an analyst, but he's wrong on this one...if this guy Walsh is telling the truth, then the Pats were cheating, plain and simple, and they should be punished for it.
 
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