According to Colts coach Tony Dungy it was a really sad day for the NFL after hearing of Bill Belichik's penalties for video taping the Jets defensive signals. Most if not all the rest of the coaches had the common sense not to utter such non sense. This is after all, a league with a guy behind bars for murdering his wife, another who plead a murder rap down to a misdemeanor.
We could go on and on regarding other NFL problems such as previous rampant steroid and amphetamine abuse, animal abuse and other criminal activity but why bother? Let's focus on the main accusation against Belechik which was cheating, that by comparison is a mountain out of a mole hill.
Many in the media are appalled and just shocked and at the same time gleeful, that the arrogant and high and mighty Belechik has finally been brought back to earth by being caught red handed in the act of stealing defensive signals. This of course is the same media that has stood by for years with out so much as a single line or investigative report on the subject. A subject by the way that is acknowledged in some circles as common place. What they are really shocked and appalled about is that he simply refuses to allow the media to dictate what subjects he will address them on.
The whining in the media room today almost resulted in some of them breaking out in tears because Belechik would not speculate on how his reputation and the reputation of his players and their Super Bowl wins by the team are now tainted.
The NFL more than any other sport is a league whose principal method of analysis of opponents is done almost exclusively on film. Every single player and every single play in the NFL has been recorded for years. One of Belechik's great claims to fame was that as a kid he was always in the film room when his father was a college coach.
Since the advent of the quarterback helmet receiver there has always been a diligent effort by offensive coordinators to steal the opposing teams defensive signals and relay them to the quarterback. Any offensive coach that wasn't trying to do that should be fired. By the same token, any defensive coach that wasn't changing his signals on a regular basis must be a moron.
The use of signals in football is no different than that of baseball. Every person in the stadium can see the third base coach giving the signals to the base runners as well as the batter. Despite this, the pitcher and defensive players on the field still don't necessarily know what the batter or runner is going to do. I am sure a similar system is run by NFL coaches.
The circumstances surrounding Belechik's bust has some stench about it. The team that was playing the Patriots is the Jets coached by a Belechik protege by the name of Eric Mangini. Young Eric formerly served as the defensive coordinator for the Patriots. Of all people on Belechik's staff,the defensive coordinator would know exactly how the team was observing the opposing team. In fact, the son of one of Belechik's current coaches apparently works in the video department of the Jets.
It is rumored that Eric and Bill have a very chilly relationship since Eric's departure from the Patriots. Under the circumstances, if Belechik thought it was a big deal do you think he would have had a well known employee standing in full view on the sidelines taping the Jets? What is more likely to have happened is that Commissioner Goodell has been attempting to make a name for himself as a tough guy and knowing this Mangini saw an opportunity to embarrass Belechik and did so.
The bottom line is that this is an utterly foolish rule that should be eliminated so that everyone can conduct business the same way. The end result is that no matter what signals you have stolen your team still has to make plays on the field. The perfect example of this is the Green Bay power sweep and the USC student body right. At the height of their power each team operated the same way. The opponents knew they were going to run the play and they still couldn't stop it. This was in evidence last Sunday by Goodell's own admission. The taping of the signals had nothing to do with the butt kicking that was delivered to the Jets.
The Patriots won three Super Bowls because they were a physically more dominant team that out played their opponents. Certainly Belechik had a hand in preparing the club but once on the field of play Belechik did not catch a single pass or make a tackle.
