The controversy that won't go away

2008-09-10T07:16:34-04:00

2008-02-19T11:46:51-05:00

2008-09-10T06:40:28-04:00

2008-03-18T15:11:16-04:00

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redskinfanmx

Tuxtla Gutierrez 166475

A wolf is a wolf even if it wears a lamb siut as a disguise. So cheating is for cheaters and thet shoul hace bean punish. And what the NFL take away form tha Pats, for me is not what it should have. They should have had an extraoidinary punishment like for example... No rounds in the first day (1st and 2nd) and a extra cap hit for 2 years of 3 millions. Why? Very simple, ask yourself how many teams/gm/head coaches are thinking right know..."well if we bend/brake this rule and land this free agent, draft prospect or have this edge in this game (play off or not) as far as they can punish us is with a first round, and if we win the super bowl it's almost like a second round..."so beat it". Now...on facts...WHY IN THE GAME SAKES the NFL punish them with their later round????!!!! WHY, WHY, WHY?!!! Goddel form me show in that desicion that he is willing to play the "poppet roll" with his bosses and that's MALO, MALO, MUY MALO. That softness is smelled and feeled in the NFLPA and like sharks they are ready to bite that weakness in the next contracr negociations (bye bye salary cap). So if you see the "whole enchilada" (picture) is more in sake that just the spy gate thing, doesn't it? Like Mart Shottenhemmer likes to say "details, details, play attention to those little details and you can become a winer in this league". 1351685

2008-02-24T13:27:13-05:00

herbw

Victoria 97123

Belichick and Pioli left themselves little or no real wiggle room. Let's assume that they are not lying outright. Then, at worst, we have a minor version of what the assassin, Exton, says at the end of Shakespeare's King Richard II: "Did thou nor mark the King, what words he spake?/ 'Have I no friend will rid me of this living fear?'" Much milder, an eager beaver would hear a coach say he wished he knew what would happen if... and took it upon himself to film the walk through. Then film would exist, unordered, and the key would be if Belichick or thge defense co-ordinator used it 1191966

2008-02-22T16:50:26-05:00

lon-ton

Nashville 154221

bigzilla, maybe you have access to archives of other peter king articles mulling over spygate. the ones on his SI archive are very "spygate-free" from september until specter got involved and matt walsh became a person of interest. in the meantime, he he several articles talking about the dominance of the pats, what a treat they are to watch, etc. it has also been reported that peter king voted for belichick for coach of the year. if you think he's been "on this like a hawk since day 1", i disagree. as far as brady being good at the end of games, that's my own speculation. i notice that you had no qualms with my assertion that belichick must have known the rules. cracking defensive signals. . . it wouldn't take a cia-level decryption to watch a tape, pause it, look at the defensive coverage and subsequent blitzes, drops into coverage, to figure out a few signs that would aid your team. sounds like they have mass quantities of kool-aid up in your neck of woods, too. 1184405

2008-02-21T12:41:40-05:00

Bigzilla

Myrtle Beach 348680

Bob Z., you have lost your mind. King has been on this like a hawk since day 1. And you question that Brady was good at the end of games? How is that Kool Aid anyway? And since you asked, yes, you're too skeptical. Teams change their signals because they assume people are watching them. Have you not been paying attention? The Patriots do not have a CIA-level decryption team beneath the stadium cracking codes from quarter to quarter. Do you understand how ridiculous you sound? 1173611

2008-02-21T12:36:16-05:00

Bigzilla

Myrtle Beach 348680

Blutwulf, whether I'm a Patriots fan or not (I am), the fact that Peter King, nor people like you apparently, are willing to address the other side of the issue is what p's us off most. If this had been ANY coach other than Belichick, this issue would have gone away in September. You don't have a problem with that? How do you account for that? 1173536

2008-02-21T10:16:43-05:00

lon-ton

Nashville 154221

I still don't think that Belichick could have truly misinterpreted the rule. Your quote of the rule was "devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game" It says "during the playing of A game" not "that same game". "During a game" includes any game, not merely the one that the illegal footage was gathered in. I think he has a weak case for his interpretation, not that anybody outside of New England truly believes he didn't understand the rules AND missed the multiple plain English memos from the league regarding this rule. I'm a little skeptical of Belichick's assertion that he only used the footage later. Technically speaking, it would not be difficult at all to have a couple of people reviewing the footage quarter by quarter as the game progresses and using the stolen signals as they're cracked. Call me too skeptical, but I find it a little fishy that Brady historically had his best moments late in games rather than in the first half. I'm glad to see that you've started to take these allegations toward these years of New England cheating a little more seriously than you seemed to be doing earlier in the season. Best Wishes, Bob. Z 1172351

2008-02-20T10:49:31-05:00

PaleHoseFan

Palatine 142884

You can be a bit obtuse sometimes. So Walsh was fired for taping a conversation with Pioli, what does that have to do with anything? It's the same as McNamee keeping the gauze, needles and bottles from Clemens. When you don't trust someone, what do you do? Protect yourself. Also, Walsh was hired to tape stuff and asking him to tape stuff that might be borderline against the rules, and then firing him for taping something else that might be against the rules, seems a bit hypocritical to complain about the second, but defend the first. The Pats are not much better than Clemens here. A pox on their house. 1166321

2008-02-20T05:59:09-05:00

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Blutwulf

Winchester 209575

"1. More thoughts on Spygate" Wow. All of the previous posts from fans were apparently from rabid Patriots fans. I was going to accuse King of minimizing the possibility of Bellichick being culpable, and of carefully indicting Walsh. While I have always (and still do) accuse King of allowing his Patriots fandom to influence his articles, I must admit that seeing his article contrasted with the above posts makes him seem as unbiased as a rock. "2. New York Giants Super Bowl DVD" Is King getting a gratuity from NFL films for hawking their wares in his articles? Possibly not. Possibly so. I have offered both possibilities, so nobody can accuse me of pitching one. (Writing gambit I picked up in the first few paragraphs of King's article.) "3. Steroid and HGH abuse" Screw it... Let pro athletes eat drugs like candy. I actually don't care. "4. Hall of Fame thoughts" The constant media sensationalization of pro athletes is far more ubiquitious today than yesteryear. The bar has become too low. Also, too many sub-glory players have made it in, and now it will be difficult to cure. "5. Who'll open the season against the Giants? " Dallas or Green Bay. The NFL knows who people watch. 1165065

2008-02-19T23:09:41-05:00

Bigzilla

Myrtle Beach 348680

Oh, and I'm shocked Peter, that you don't find it curious that the Matt Walsh story broke the day before the Super Bowl. I'm sure that was just coincidence, right? But don't bother bringing that up yourself. After all, if he's got something, that's more important than the methods in which it comes out. We want to make sure Matt Walsh has full credibility no matter what. You're writing for the wrong site, too. It's ESPN.com that's full of the Patriots haters. Also, I'm shocked that you don't question the fact that Walsh is insisting on complete legal indemnity before he comes forward to the NFL or to Mr. I've Got Nothing Better To Do, Arlen Specter. That means he couldn't face legal retribution EVEN IF IT'S FOUND HE'S LYING! That doesn't strike you as odd? 1164142

2008-02-19T15:53:34-05:00

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RonnieGardocki

Taunton 243261

Peter, you should be ashamed of yourself. I am so disappointed in you, fans like John Reardon of St Louis, and so many fans around the country. You people talk about the Patriots filming a walkthrough at Super Bowl 36. You have no idea if it happened. If it did happen, Matt Walsh may have done it on his own; you have no idea if it was done at the Patriots behest. However, you have no qualms about assuming it is true and printing garbage like reader John Reardon ???I, along with a group of friends, shelled out thousands of dollars to head to New Orleans to see (what looks like in retrospect) a superior Rams team get cheated out of a championship. I don't feel a need for financial remuneration, but I would like to get to the facts.??? What a joke. I am a Patriots fan, and I realize people around the country despise the Patriots. I understand that, and I respect the passion of NFL fans. The Pats broke a rule in Week One, they were punished, there was proof they broke a rule, and I have no problem with them paying the price. They deserve the punishement they got, and I have no problems with that, and the shame that came with it. However, this is a different matter. This is a classic case of the media taking a story, running with it, stirring up the public and getting everyone worked up over nothing more than a story from an either an unnamed source (The Herald Story, presumably Matt Walsh) or Matt Walsh himself, who has proven on resumes, bios, and interactions to be less than a earnest human being. I am not na??ve enough to believe that innocent until proven guilty applies to the court of public opinion, but doesn???t there have to be some shred of evidence that a wrong doing was done before we rush to judgment? We live in a world where you can be caught on a surveillance camera robbing a bank, walk out, smile at the camera, and the Evening News will call you a suspect. However, when an unnamed source leaks a story ironically 1 day before the biggest game in Patriots history, 90% of the nation assumes the Patriots are guilty. I expect that from fans; I expect better from you, Peter. Also, it was reported the week of the Super Bowl that Pepper Johnson (a Patriots assistant) caught the Rams filming the Patriots walk through. But hey, why believe Pepper Johnson, who has been around the NFL for over 20 years, when we can believe unnamed sources, and Matt Walsh, sho has lied about everything he has done and whose NFL career (if we can call it that) lasted a few years before he was fired for being a snake? Why report facts when we can report unsubstantiated stories? Pepper Johnson reported it there and then, it was a blurb in a paper; an unnamed source (again, presumably Matt Walsh) says it the day before Super Bowl 42 and the nation is in an uproar. I know this will not get printed, Peter, and I know you probably will not even read it, but I will say this. I am not surprised that people in the media are missing the point in this story, but I am disappointed in you. Get your facts straight before you print your stories. Do a little homework! 1162014

<a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com//2008/writers/peter_king/02/19/mmqbte/index.html" target="_blank">Today in Monday Morning Quarterback Tuesday edition.</a> 1. More thoughts on Spygate2. New York Giants Super Bowl DVD3. Steroid and HGH abuse4. Hall of Fame thoughts5. Who'll open the season against the Giants?  2641 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/759/78/thumb/king-fn-150.jpg 1 NY

Peter King

New York 76278