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This didn't take long. I guess when you look at the tape and it's 30 minutes of pure defensive coach play-calling porn, it's an easy call. i just want to hear how the Patriots are going to explain (wriggle) their way out of this. The Pats sure have fallen from grace in a quickie.

If this the NFL thinks this is a serious offense, then they need a serious punishment. I think losing a 3rd rounder is a good start.

yeah.. patriots shouldnt be able to draft this year.. they have been linked to this for a while now.. so just dont let them draft anyone.. not like it will be a big deal for them now.. but they are getting old on defense it could hurt not next year but the year after..

Cheating Mother Funkers, I wonder how long they been doing this ! If found guilty they should be stripped of them Lambardi's and Belichick fired and banned from the NFL ! What a waste of a good team I feel sorry for Brady and the players that did'nt know. I knew the Chargers would have won last year ! Thiers know way that they could have come that heavy in D at the half ! Ohhh Well this is this year-----> Go Bolts It wont happen again.

Curious.. Losing a top three draft pic is a good start, but with free agency I am not sure it is much of a factor. And fines are a joke, what is money to these owners? Cannot wait to hear the coaches reasoning, should be something. He no doubt had nothing to do with it. Yeah right!

Ted Johnson's issues with this organization and Belichick are well documented. Rodney Harrison gets caught using HGH. Now Pats fans get penalized because Belichick gets caught cheating for the fourth time. Nothing in football operations happens in the Pats organization without Belichick knowing what's going on - he has been caught breaking the same rule for the fourth time. The wins and the Super Bowls allow New England fans to keep ignoring this stuff. Outside New England, some of the luster should come off this "model" organization.

Well, in the real world, espionage is punished by death. So I say the Pats as a team dies. Hold a mid season draft and let their organization be picked clean by the rest of the league! OK, that might be a little extreme, but seriously.....fines???? loss of draft picks???? what's that going to do??

they should forfeit the game

I love this commissioner. In a little over one year he has cleaned up a fairly impressive amount of the trash that collected during Tagliabue's watch. How much more is out there?

I'm definitely disappointed with the confirmation of the allegations against the Pats. I'm positive though, that the Pats aren't the only team that continues this practice. That doesn't make it right, but people ought to keep that in mind when they bash the Pats.

Larry, I am a dedicated fan, but you sound like you're full of ****.

LarryB, how'd that Kool-Aid taste? I commend you as a Pat's fan, I really do, but this nugget is great:
"[the Jets] were filming the jets defensive calls so that AFTER the game (not during), they could prove the Jets tampering to the NFL."

This is like explaining to the judge "yes, your honor, I solicited the woman, paid her for sex, then had sex with her, but it was only to prove she was a hooker" or "you see officer, I bought the crack from that guy to prove he was a dealer, then I was going to call 911. Honest!"

Give me a break. How about the Pats alert the NFL and let them deal with the Jets if they are up to no good.

Honestly, the worst thing about this is that it is going to fire up all the Patriots haters out there, people who were already convinced that the pats had to be cheating somehow, and that suddenly their championship seasons are illegitimate or something. Larry B, I think you may be over the top a little but there is one point you make that is accurate - every team uses every edge they can get. The patriots brought in ex-Jets last week too. If videotaping signals was so foolproof a path to victory as people seem to think, why would they have bothered?

Overall, I think it's very embarrassing for the Patriots and I wish they had never done it. It seems like a very stupid thing to do. I'm honestly not surprised that if they were to get caught it would be against Mangini, who was the insider and knows pretty much everything they do.

Finally, Basketball Jesus is right. "Everyone does it" is not an excuse, but every team tries to get any advantage, and anyone claiming their team to be above this stuff is probably naive.

"I'm honestly not surprised that if they were to get caught it would be against Mangini, who was the insider and knows pretty much everything they do."

Interesting point Jofo, maybe this is why Belichick is so paranoid about his coaches leaving for better jobs.

In almost any sport then penaulty for cheating during a game is forfeit of that game. But, since the Patriots have already been caught doing the same thing to another team they should also lose a first round draft pick.
We used to all think Bill Belichick was the most intelligent coach, now it sounds like he has the best intelligence.

In defense of Bill, and not for stealing signals but rather for getting pissed at Mangini, he did give the guy a start and pretty much help him cultivate a career. Each of the AFC East teams has, since 2003, tried to hire one of BB's assistants or close friends. The Bills wanted Weis in 2003, the Dolphins hired Saban, and then the Jets--the hated NYJ--went after Mangini. I would get paranoid too if each team in my division was that desperate to get in my head. It is not just leaving for better jobs--it is taking insider knowledge to division opponents and rivals. Crennel went to Cleveland, you think he got the cold shoulder?

"We used to all think Bill Belichick was the most intelligent coach, now it sounds like he has the best intelligence"

I tend to think that it is really a varying combination of both.

Oh...good comment SEEKER of TRUTH...love the "best intelligence" blurb. Whether a Patriots fan or a fan of another team just the knowing that this crap happens is disappointing. First we have NBA the referee deal, now the Pats. Professional sports continue to escalate their salaries to play a sport that quickly is approaching the question of integrity across the board. I've always questioned the supporters of Belichicks "mastery" of the game. Didn't matter who is assistant coaches were, he always managed to win not only games but Super Bowls. Not taking anything away from Brady and the team itself but this is definitely a telling saga where the coach is now brought into question as well as the question of how long has it been going on? Like I posted yesterday...they proposed that the defensive captain have a speaker in his ear just like the QB has to receive the defensive set and the owners and PA turned it down in the offseason. I think this is a primes example of why they should entertain that idea once again.

Just read this in USA Today:

"NFL spokesman Greg Aiello denied an ESPN report that the league determined the New England Patriots are guilty of wrongdoing for allegedly using a sideline video camera to pick up opponents' defensive signals in Sunday's 38-14 rout of the New York Jets.

Aiello said Tuesday night that an investigation is "ongoing" and added, "There is nothing to report from us on this today. No decision has been rendered. When we have a decision, we will communicate it."

New York Jets spokesman Bruce Speight declined to comment beyond saying, "I can't confirm the ESPN report."

Aiello also said an NFL Network report that New England coach Bill Belichick has been ordered to come to New York to meet with league officials is "wrong."

"There is no face-to-face meeting involving this situation," Aiello said. "The bottom line is these reports that he's coming to New York are inaccurate. It's not true.""

Who freaking cares....everything team does it, and with technology today their is no telling what teams are doing. Pats were too arrogant about it and got caught.

Furthermore,

**PREDICTION**....the NFL makes an example out of Pats and everyone moves on with better ways to steal signals. Cooking and Entertainment at 7:00.........

Who else has been caught? The Patriots name has come up a few times for "cheating". Video tapes, HGH. Where does it stop? Are their Super Bowls tainted? Did they cheat to get themselves there, too? I am not saying that all the other teams are innocent of any of this, but they are obviously better at it if they are not being mentioned in the articles. Certainly there is more to come, but it doesn't help that Mangini and Belichick (and thus the Jets and Pats) have such a bitter relationship (presumably attributed to Belichick).

As for Caldwell, he is a Free Agent. The Pats cut him. That means he has every right to go to any team and discuss anything he wants (unless there is something in contracts, which I doubt). This is the same as using scout films to see trends, behaviors, etc of your opponents.

It will be interesting to see the fallout from this, but everyone had been warned and one can see that Goodell is not messing around with cleaning up the garbage in the NFL.

The punishment should fit the crime...

1. Patriots forfeit the game against the Jets. NYJ is now 1-0, and the Pats are 0-1.
2. Deny the Patriots the right to play in this year's playoffs.
3. Suspend the owner and head coach for X games.
4. Lastly, the Pats forfeit draft picks.