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ESPN: "Spygate to Deflategate: Inside what split the NFL and Patriots apart"

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BokehKing

Banned
You're part of the problem, friend. Stop being part of the problem.

We know how that story ends though. It's one of my favorites ever told.

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Brady could have had 6 rings
Eli and the Giants said.... NOPE
 

Quotient

Member
The playbook aspect is hilarious. If this was so rampant why are we only hearing about it now a decade later and on an ESPN opinion piece. Breaking into an opponents locker room to steal play-sheets is a very big NO-NO and yet all these coaches instead of reporting it to the NFL, instead of leaking it to the media, instead of catching the Patriots employee's in the act just kept it quiet.

EDIT: The timing of this article is also so suspicious.
 
Just read through the first ~15 - 20% of this. This is grade A, tin-foil hat conspiracy fiction. It reads like a National Treasure: Book of Secrets script, or a 9/11 conspiracy.

It's incredible rubbish. I wasn't aware the ESPN was in the sports fanfiction arena.

I didn't know Adams was SO good at what he did that only the Patriots could keep him happy, as opposed to the 31 other teams that could've offered to steal him away with throwing money at him.

Oh wait, he's a Billionaire who's working as a lowly video coordinator and statistician, a guy so smart at matching stolen plays to video that literally no one in the NFL could ever do that.

LITERALLY NO ONE!

Also, this made me really chuckle.

Those investigators hadn't come up empty: Inside a room accessible only to Belichick and a few others, they found a library of scouting material containing videotapes of opponents' signals, with detailed notes matching signals to plays for many teams going back seven seasons. Among them were handwritten diagrams of the defensive signals of the Pittsburgh Steelers, including the notes used in the January 2002 AFC Championship Game won by the Patriots 24-17. Yet almost as quickly as the tapes and notes were found, they were destroyed, on Goodell's orders: League executives stomped the tapes into pieces and shredded the papers inside a Gillette Stadium conference room.

Just imagine Roger Goodell just stepping on VHS tapes and ripping paper in half, full suit and tie.
 

BFIB

Member
The playbook aspect is hilarious. If this was so rampant why are we only hearing about it now a decade later and on an ESPN opinion piece. Breaking into an opponents locker room to steal play-sheets is a very big NO-NO and yet all these coaches instead of reporting it to the NFL, instead of leaking it to the media, instead of catching the Patriots employee's in the act just kept it quiet.

You don't think other teams might not have been doing the same? Or doing something else that in turn could shed light on their cheating?

Pretty sure the Pats aren't the only team out there trying to win at any cost. Just the Pats have been caught.
 

Troy

Banned
You don't think other teams might not have been doing the same? Or doing something else that in turn could shed light on their cheating?

Pretty sure the Pats aren't the only team out there trying to win at any cost. Just the Pats have been caught.

There's not a single team that hasn't been caught cheating. Unfortunately many of them haven't been caught winning.
 

BokehKing

Banned
Meanwhile the Brady Judge was mingling with Kraft in the Hamptons this weekend. I'm sure judges go to the Hamptons social big name gatherings all the time
 

Quotient

Member
You don't think other teams might not have been doing the same? Or doing something else that in turn could shed light on their cheating?

Pretty sure the Pats aren't the only team out there trying to win at any cost. Just the Pats have been caught.

That is still odd. Let's say other teams were doing this too, you figure this would eventually come to light. ESPN/NBC etc would pay big bucks to a low level employee to get the juicy details of a play-sheet stealing scheme.

Meanwhile the Brady Judge was mingling with Kraft in the Hamptons this weekend. I'm sure judges go to the Hamptons social big name gatherings all the time

The co-owner of the Giants (Jon Tisch) was also there.
 

cdyhybrid

Member
Dirtiest franchise in sports. You could have Kraft and Belichick outright admit they sacrifice orphans in Satanic rituals before every game and their fans would still defend them, though.
 
Dirtiest franchise in sports. You could have Kraft and Belichick outright admit they sacrifice orphans in Satanic rituals before every game and their fans would still defend them, though.


All the teams do it. It's Goodell's fault because there are no rules against it and he supplies the orphans.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Deflategate aside, ESPN has been Patriots homers for ages, man.

Exactly. I'm now finding the "ESPN hates us! Us against the world!" stuff from Patriots fans hilarious. ESPN has been pushing them for over a decade.
 
Deflategate aside, ESPN has been Patriots homers for ages, man.

Read that article again and tell me you don't think there's some Illuminati shit being espoused by both writers.

I agree that ESPN was safely pro-Patriots and pro-Billichek for years, but this was published in ESPN The Magazine as most likely a cover story.

So was Goodell.

I was really surprised to read that Kraft was in the committee that decided Roger Goodell's compensation. Talk about an added incentive to protect the Pats.
 

vikki

Member
That is still odd. Let's say other teams were doing this too, you figure this would eventually come to light. ESPN/NBC etc would pay big bucks to a low level employee to get the juicy details of a play-sheet stealing scheme.

I really think they use the other teams are cheating to try and legitimize the rest of the article.

Dirtiest franchise in sports. You could have Kraft and Belichick outright admit they sacrifice orphans in Satanic rituals before every game and their fans would still defend them, though.

That article will come out after this one is debunked and ESPN apologizes at 2 am, again.
 

hom3land

Member
Remember people in the league believe the Patriots use the big screen outside the stadium to review plays before challenging a call.

Even though the pats can't see the screen and it's on a 17 second delay.
 
The playbook aspect is hilarious. If this was so rampant why are we only hearing about it now a decade later and on an ESPN opinion piece. Breaking into an opponents locker room to steal play-sheets is a very big NO-NO and yet all these coaches instead of reporting it to the NFL, instead of leaking it to the media, instead of catching the Patriots employee's in the act just kept it quiet.

EDIT: The timing of this article is also so suspicious.

Yea I'm not getting this at all.

The article acts like this is a major revelation, yet the coaches never went to the NFL or made it public and instead starting doing counter-intelligence against Bill.
 

Troy

Banned
Meanwhile the Brady Judge was mingling with Kraft in the Hamptons this weekend. I'm sure judges go to the Hamptons social big name gatherings all the time

The NFL couldn't choose the venue for the hearing fast enough. And yet this is another Pat's scheme, eh? Pats haters are what makes all of this so entertaining.
 
goodell probably shook because he covered up spygate and thought kraft would take the minor suspension of brady years later with his hands under his ass

not surprised that leaks are starting to spring
 
In fact, many former New England coaches and employees insist that the taping of signals wasn't even the most effective cheating method the Patriots deployed in that era. Several of them acknowledge that during pregame warm-ups, a low-level Patriots employee would sneak into the visiting locker room and steal the play sheet, listing the first 20 or so scripted calls for the opposing team's offense.

Cheats!
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
Great article.

Basically, the whole theory that Goodell mader Deflategate a big deal because he blew it was Spygate rings true.

Interesting that the article left out Spygate 2 with the Broncos. With McDaniels at the helm of that team, the case could easily be made that the taping activity was/is a part of New England's culture.
 

Dragon

Banned
Dirtiest franchise in sports. You could have Kraft and Belichick outright admit they sacrifice orphans in Satanic rituals before every game and their fans would still defend them, though.

Gotta admit, this is the king of strawman arguments!
 

ParityBit

Member
Patriots reply

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/09/08/patriots-espn-spygate-report-statement/


“The New England Patriots have never filmed or recorded another team’s practice or walkthrough. The first time we ever heard of such an accusation came in 2008, the day before Super Bowl XLII, when the Boston Herald reported an allegation from a disgruntled former employee. That report created a media firestorm that extended globally and was discussed incessantly for months.

“It took four months before that newspaper retracted its story and offered the team a front and back page apology for the damage done. Clearly, the damage has been irreparable. As recently as last month, over seven years after the retraction and apology was issued, ESPN issued the following apology to the Patriots for continuing to perpetuate the myth: ‘On two occasions in recent weeks, SportsCenter incorrectly cited a 2002 report regarding the New England Patriots and Super Bowl XXXVI. That story was found to be false, and should not have been part of our reporting. We apologize to the Patriots organization.’

“This type of reporting over the past seven years has led to additional unfounded, unwarranted and, quite frankly, unbelievable allegations by former players, coaches and executives. None of which have ever been substantiated, but many of which continue to be propagated. The New England Patriots are led by an owner whose well-documented efforts on league-wide initiatives – from TV contracts to preventing a work stoppage – have earned him the reputation as one of the best in the NFL.

“For the past 16 years, the Patriots have been led by one of the league’s all-time greatest coaches and one of its all-time greatest quarterbacks. It is disappointing that some choose to believe in myths, conjecture and rumors rather than giving credit for the team’s successes to Coach Belichick, his staff and the players for their hard work, attention to detail, methodical weekly preparation, diligence and overall performance.”
 

Dragon

Banned
See? Not even a simple "I wouldn't defend that!" - they just can't do it.

Haha. Such a thing was implied by my post!

I'm sorry I'm a Patriots fan. I apologize from the bottom of my heart that my team has done things it shouldn't. I wish it hadn't. I can't change what they've done. I will continue to root for them. It'd be crazy not to. It's where I from, it's part of where I grew up. It's in my blood, like coffee and lumbersexuals are in your blood cdyhybrid!
 

Chmpocalypse

Blizzard
Texans fan here.. lol let it go man, this obsession with one team is weird as hell. I don't care, show what you got on the field.

So cheating is okay?

I don't even want to know the mental process that allows this kind of thinking. I could never trust someone willing to let cheaters win because they happen to play a game for a team that person likes.
 

ThisGuy

Member
Haven't liked the pats since spygate. Their fans since then have been a total joke defending their shitty antics.
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
Patriots PR said:
“For the past 16 years, the Patriots have been led by one of the league’s all-time greatest coaches and one of its all-time greatest quarterbacks. It is disappointing that some choose to believe in myths, conjecture and rumors rather than giving credit for the team’s successes to Coach Belichick, his staff and the players for their hard work, attention to detail, methodical weekly preparation, diligence and overall performance.”

It's disappointing that a brilliant football mind like Belichick's has to resort to cheating/finding and exploiting loopholes in order to secure wins--especially when he's good enough to win already.

Same goes for Brady. One of the best QBs to ever play the game.

This "push the limit" stuff that the Patriots are known only serves to tarnish their image, which is kind of sad when you realize just how much talent and skill that organization has.
 

cdyhybrid

Member
Haha. Such a thing was implied by my post!

I'm sorry I'm a Patriots fan. I apologize from the bottom of my heart that my team has done things it shouldn't. I wish it hadn't. I can't change what they've done. I will continue to root for them. It'd be crazy not to. It's where I from, it's part of where I grew up. It's in my blood, like coffee and lumbersexuals are in your blood cdyhybrid!

It's not about you, friend. You're one of the good ones.

Coffee is great and so are trees.
 
When does the Congressional hearing start?
Senator Arlen Specter was apparently interested in that angle and the NFL desperately did not want to have to testify in front of Congress because they know they'd be in shit if they lied.


Arlen Specter is dead now though.
 

Dragon

Banned
Haven't liked the pats since spygate. Their fans since then have been a total joke defending their shitty antics.

Oh well. I guess I'll stop being a fan because ThisGuy doesn't approve of the way I go about rooting for a team I grew up with. Thanks for making me see the light ThisGuy. Without you I would be continuing to be a total joke!
 

ThisGuy

Member
Oh well. I guess I'll stop being a fan because ThisGuy doesn't approve of the way I go about rooting for a team I grew up with. Thanks for making me see the light ThisGuy. Without you I would be continuing to be a total joke!

Lol, defending cheating. You're such a tool if you think I'm the only one who thinks that's a shitty stance.

Your team and home are shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!
 
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