Tainted Dynasty: The Ruling on the Rules Stands!

It is hard to believe that the Patriots organization in six months time went from being considered the ‘model organization’ of the NFL, to being hated by most football fans outside of New England! Spygate definitely helped taint people’s view of the Patriots, but in reality Coach Bill Belichick, the Devil in a hoodie himself, is the root cause of the hatred! They say success breeds resentment, and resentment breeds hate, but I am sure there is a lot more to this with regards to the Patriots.

Many consider Spygate and Belichick synonymous. Without Belichick, there is no Spygate. Belichick actually scoff’s at the reference "Spygate" since what he did at the Jets game was in plain view of everyone. But the Jets game is just one instance now under scrutiny. Due to Belichick’s interpretation of the NFL rules, it is unknown how many new instances there could be. Belichick has already admitted to his video practices since becoming Coach of the Patriots in 2000.

So what NFL rule did Belichick break? The League's Constitution & Bylaws (article 9) states: "Any use by any club at any time, from the start to the finish of any game in which such club is a participant, of any communications or information-gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, shall be prohibited, including without limitation videotape machines, telephone tapping, or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game."

Belichick felt his actions were in compliance with the NFL rule though. "My interpretation was that you can't utilize anything to assist you during that game. What our camera guys do is clearly not allowed to be used during the game and has never been used during that game that it was shot." This would rule out the theory that the films were used to make half time adjustments, if you believe Belichick of course.

"Just going back over the whole taping incident, if I contacted the league and asked them about the practice, I'm sure they would have told me - as they have done - that it is not permissible. Then I could have avoided all of this. I guess Belichick is of the school of thought that it is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission!

"On the tape of the signaling that we talk about, that film usually wasn't even completed until Thursday or Friday of the following week. It was that low of a priority. In other words, the video guys had so much other stuff to do on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday getting ready for the other game that a lot of times that film wasn't even processed until later in the week.” Belichick said the impact of the tapes were minimal to the Patriots' preparations, rating it a 1 on a scale of 1 to 100.

In the NFL, it is commonplace for scouts to attend games of future opponents and study signals. Detailed records are kept of those signals, including which coach is delivering them. The Patriots' videotaping of signals though was deemed to cross the line, which Belichick both apologized for and was punished for.

"I take responsibility for it. Even though I felt there was a gray area in the rule and I misinterpreted the rule, that was my mistake and we've been penalized for it. I apologize to everybody that is involved - the league, the other teams, the fans, our team, for the amount of conversation and dialogue that it's caused. I misinterpreted the rule. The commissioner made his ruling and we've been penalized for it and tried to move on."

Call it cheating, or call it semantics of the rules. Either way it is hard to look at this franchise as a ‘model organization’ anymore, all based on one man’s interpretation of the rules.

Note: The title Tainted Dynasty is only a reflection of the continuing Spygate saga and not of the New England Patriot Players and all of their accomplishments over the last seven years.