The Day Bill Belichick Died To Me
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I want to make it clear that just because I posted that quote I don't think what the Patriots did was okay. I like that the Packers refuse to use it as an excuse for losing, but I am ASTONISHED that people aren't more outraged about what the Patriots did.
The argument a lot of people give is that because Bill Belichick is such a good coach he didn't need to do this so it doesn't even matter that he did. What? Are you kidding me? How can we ever know definitively how good of a coach Bill is and how much he owes to cheating? No one can say for sure that this didn't help him or make him. The only person who can come close to knowing is Bill Belichick and he didn't stop videotaping after he was warned by the league. He didn't skip a game when he knew that his former mentee, Eric Mangini, was on to him. Clearly Belichick thought his videotaping was invaluable and worth the risk.
We all want to blast Barry Bonds, but knowing what the defense is going to do is infinitely more advantageous than taking steroids. Yet, Bonds is vilified and Belichick is laughed off. But if you were given the option of adding an extra 20 feet to every ball you hit or you could know exactly what pitch and where the pitcher was going to throw you're telling me you wouldn't pick the latter? And the Patriots have been accused before of jamming other team's radio frequencies (how the coaches communicate with the quarterback) so he may have known the opponent's offensive plays as well.
Another thing that is striking to me is how many media members just casually say we should put radio's in the defensive captains helmets and this wouldn't be an issue anymore. Oh, really, you don't think the NFL never thought of that before, that it wasn't obvious? The NFL has good reason for not doing this and one is because the defensive captain is usually involved in a lot more collisions than a quarterback and there would be an injury risk. Also, I am not quite sure how exactly this would work because the radios by rule are supposed to be shut off when the offense breaks the huddle. You can't have coaches talking to the quarterbacks, helping them read the defense. How would this work on defense when you don't dictate the time you spend in the huddle? What do you do against the Colts when you are never allowed to huddle? Plus, how will this stop Bill Belichick who may already be listening in on play calls?
And let's say that the Patriots cheating didn't help them one bit (even though it clearly did). Then wouldn't Bill Belichick have to be one of history's biggest morons, right up there with Richard Nixon, because he cheated after being repeatedly warned to stop. I used to love Bill Belichick. He was supposed to stand for integrity, hard work, sacrificing for the team, doing things the right way. Now with this, his divorce (he reportedly had an affair with a married woman), his refusal to congratulate Eric Mangini after they beat New England last season, and his treatment of former linebacker, Ted Johnson, it becomes very difficult to conclude that Belichick is a good guy.
People will argue that it doesn't matter Belichick cheated because everyone else was. Well, I don't know for sure how many people do or don't cheat, but while he probably he isn't the only one cheating, there are those who don't cheat. Tony Dungy doesn't cheat, Vince Lombardi didn't cheat, Bill Walsh didn't cheat. It isn't fair that because Bill Belichick did cheat he will be remembered as a greater coach than these guys. Maybe if Belichick plays by the rules Tony Dungy is the one with 3 Super Bowl rings. Maybe the Steelers have 7 World Championships instead of 5. I hope Roger Goodell doles out a penalty with enough severity to make coaches think twice before cheating in the future. When Danny Almonte was found to be to old to pitch in the Little League World Series his team was forced to forfeit all it's games. But this punishment didn't allow all of the teams that now won to experience the joy of winning and going onto the next round, there were a team of boys out there who should have had the chance to experience playing in the little league world series that never did. There is no penalty that could give those boys what they lost. The same thing could be said for other NFL teams out there who are affected by the Patriot's cheating. Maybe there's a coach out there who would still have his job. One more win last year puts the Packers in the playoffs, how many other teams would have gotten a round further?
If it were up to me I would ban Bill Belichick from the NFL for life. In my opinion his actions hurt the integrity of the sport far more than what Pete Rose did. Because that will never happen, I will say I hope he is punished more than the assistant coach who was suspended five games for taking a banned NFL substance to treat impotence caused by his diabetes. If Roger Goodell doesn't come down hard on cheaters than he is punishing those who don't (and believe it or not there are coaches out there who don't cheat). Last night on a local Green Bay radio station former Packer Johnny Gray said something that I would like to end this rant with, "Why should the highest level of football be held to the lowest level of ethics?"
