NFL, Week 1 Comments

[jdcord]

1.  The NFC East is pathetic! 
The Eagles aren't even a semblance of what they used to be.  The Redskins offense looked pretty good, but the defense allowed Miami's weak offense to look downright decent.  And speaking of sad looking defenses, the Cowboys and the Giants both look completely incapable of stopping any team from running or passing.  .......... my, how the mighty have fallen.

2.  Attention all college football programs and Athletic Directors: 
In early January, John Gruden will be available for any school interested in a tough, mean, verbally abusive, stubborn, egocentric, and overrated, foul-mouthed football coach, enthusiastic about the prospects of being a head coach in college (because they will likely never see another NFL head coaching job).  The line forms on the right.

3.  New England and Indianapolis are still in a class by themselves: 
And every other team is straining their necks just to look up at them.

4.  The jury is still out on Jay Cutler: 
Has he really arrived?  Or is the Bills' defense just that bad?

5.  Can anyone stop the Cleveland Browns? 
.... from just folding up camp and going home, that is (if they haven't done so already).  But for now, anyways, it appears that the Browns will just be an extra "bye week" for every team on their schedule.

6.  Adrian Peterson is the man! 
Billy Simms has been reincarnated, only this time in a Vikings uniform.  Let's hope he can avoid the injuries this time around.

7.  And in the "Who lit a fire under that guy?" category: 
Randy Moss has clearly found some motivation.  Most likely from the barking, commanding, sharp toned mouthes (and Super Bowl rings) of both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick (not to mention every other adult on that team who'll kick his hiney if he ever puts forth anything less than a full effort).

   

[Scott]

7.  And in the "Who lit a fire under that guy?" category:
Randy Moss has clearly found some motivation.  Most likely from the barking, commanding, sharp toned mouthes (and Super Bowl rings) of both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick (not to mention every other adult on that team who'll kick his hiney if he ever puts forth anything less than a full effort).

Who?

A QB with a WILL to win
A coach that can lead
A city that has a winning tradition
An actual chance to make it to the Super bowl

[bishopnl]

3.  New England and Indianapolis are still in a class by themselves: 

I don't think Indy WANTS to be in the same class as New England...because New England is completely classless.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3014677

New England is under investigation by the NFL for stealing defensive signals and using multiple radio frequencies during Sunday's game against the Jets.  Of course, Robert Kraft offered the usual excuse of them being picked on because they are "successful."  Whatever.  For those who have in the past made comments about what a great and upstanding team the Pats are...they've (past/present) brought in troubled NFL vets Corey Dillon and Randy Moss (despite both of those players very ugly legal and personal histories) and now their coaching staff has resorted to cheating to win games.

I hate the Patriots.  I've hated them for a long time, and this only confirms what a bunch of lowlife's they all are.  If they can't come up with satisfactory explanations for their obviously unethical behavior, then the NFL is going to (potentially) dock them multiple draft picks.  I can only hope that it will help to drag them down to the bottom of the NFL scrap heap, which is where they belong.  Btw, the Jets coach, Eric Mangini, appears to be the one who tipped off the NFL...and he's a former assistant under Belicheck.  Which means this isn't a recent development by the Pats...they've apparently been cheating for some time.  The same cameraman was kicked out of a game against the Packers last year for suspicion of the same thing.

And as for Randy Moss receiving motivation...I'll be waiting for him to implode, whether it be on the field or off.  Moss has been in trouble since BEFORE he went to Marshall...didn't he lose a chance to go to Florida State or something like that because of legal problems?  He's a self obsessed jerk, and I don't care how much talent he has or how many touchdown's he can score, sports needs less of people like him.  The best thing for football is if Randy Moss would just fade away into obscurity and give way to someone who actually has character.

[bishopnl]

Oh, and I almost forgot...I saw an interview with Moss after the game where they were asking him about a turnaround in his career, motivation, etc. (I don't remember what the exact questions were, but you get the picture) and his response was that the media was the one to blow things out of proportion and do all the talking...however, his exact words were "You guys, all the talk shows and games shows..." and then proceeded to make his point.

Game shows?  Like Pat Sajack or Bob Barker are offering up commentary on Moss's past laziness and bad behavior?  Not only is this guy classless, he's also an idiot.  Game shows indeed.  R-r--ra-randy...maybe you need to get an education before opening your mouth. 

[Scott]

As we learned when he lived  here,  Randy ain't Bright, he just catches footballs.

He is rude and arrogant too. I was at a restaurant and he parked his Jet Black Escalade behind my truck and refused to move it. He was too busy drinking and acting cool. He did however at the managers request, allow a busboy to move it after a while.

He got mad and ran over a traffic cop once

[jdcord]

Concerning the whole "the Patriots are just a bunch of cheaters" nonsense, Don Banks of SI did a story last April detailing how almost all of the NFL teams are using the whole sideline videotaping tactic to gain an edge (the ones that don't are the teams known for their "cheap"owners).  The Patriots just happen to be the ones that keep getting called out for it - perhaps because they consistently dominate.

The Jets themselves are known to videotape from the sidelines, so this whole thing is pretty silly.

[bishopnl]

Concerning the whole "the Patriots are just a bunch of cheaters" nonsense, Don Banks of SI did a story last April detailing how almost all of the NFL teams are using the whole sideline videotaping tactic to gain an edge (the ones that don't are the teams known for their "cheap"owners).  The Patriots just happen to be the ones that keep getting called out for it - perhaps because they consistently dominate.

The Jets themselves are known to videotape from the sidelines, so this whole thing is pretty silly.

Or it could be that since sportswriters love to fawn over any sports franchise from Boston and the Patriots in particular, they might've just been making excuses explain away past questions concerning the Patriot's tendency to cheat.

You don't hear these allegations about other teams that have dominated in the recent past (Bronco's, Rams, etc.).  Which leads me to believe the Patriots either do it way more than the other teams, or not that many teams do it.

[Scott]

The Vikings did it for years and still didn't win -

They wondered why and realized that they were stealing their own plays.

*shrug*

[bishopnl]

Further on the Patriots cheating front:

They were fined $750K and forced to forfeit a 1st round pick if they make the playoffs, and a 2nd and 3rd round pick if they don't.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3017964

The above is an article about the Patriots dominance of the Eagle pass rush in the Super Bowl.  It also points out that while occassional sign stealing may be considered part of football, recording it is a different story altogether.

For my part, I think the Patriots probably got off easy.  I think they're lousy cheaters, and I hope (probably in vain, however) that they tank this season. 

[jdcord]

Bishop,

With all due respect, you obviously view everything through shades of hatred for the Patriots, so your opinion on whether or not other teams are doing the same thing is not exactly "objective", if you know what I mean.

Also, as to why it was the Patriots who were called out for it, think about it for a moment.  Who were they playing?  ...... The Jets.  You know, the team with one of the Patriots' former coordinators as its head coach.  Essentially, even though as a member of the Patriots coaching staff Mangini himself had taken part in the past with using the whole sideline video taping thing to try and gain an advantage, last Sunday he hypocritically whined and moaned about the tactic, as if he himself were some kind of saint who would never dream of doing such a thing.

The REAL reason for this whole fiasco has nothing to do with "cheating" - this whole thing is about the ongoing clash between Belichick and Mangini.  Mangini figured that by turning into a traitorous snitch he could possibly gain an advantage over the Patriots.  And it worked:  the Patriots will now be without their first round pick next year, which - as long the Jets draft wisely - should allow the Jets to possibly make up a little bit of ground against the Patriots.  But since this is a feud, after all, even if the Jets don't gain any advantage from this I'm sure that Mangini is quite happy with simply having hurt Belichick.


So please stop trying to make this out to be some kind of "the Patriots are the evil empire " thing, because we all know good and well that the Dallas Cowboys are the REAL "evil empire".



 

P.S.

Two other thoughts about this:

1.  Having himself been a part of it before he went to the Jets, Mangini knows good and well that the Patriots use the sideline video taping; so if he did not adequately prepare his staff on how to deal with it then he is an idiot.

and,

2.  Belichick knows that not only does Mangini hate his guts, but that he is familiar with all the different ways that the Patriots get their sideline video taping accomplished.  So Belichick should've known that the one team the Patriots should NOT be trying to video tape in that manner is the Jets!  The fact that he did not call off the video taping for the Jets game was incredibly stupid of him.

[bishopnl]

Jd,

I admit I'm not objective when it comes to the Patriots.  I despise the Patriots, for a whole lot of reasons, not the least has been the "goody two shoes" image they've tried to sell to their fan base, when in fact, they're just like every other NFL team in their willingness to win ball games no matter what it takes.

However, even my biased view doesn't change the fact that OTHER teams besides the Jets have had the same problem in the past with the Patriots.  These allegations aren't new...it's just the first time the Patriots have been caught.  And knowing that you've fawned over the Patriots in past years makes me believe you're bias is leading you to make excuses for the Pats cheating ways.

As for an ongoing feud between Mangini and Belicheck, I was unaware of such, but it doesn't really matter to me.  It's been widely acknowledged, even by me, I think, earlier in this thread, that Mangini was able to tip off the NFL b/c he had worked for Belicheck in the past.  So what?  Just b/c Mangini's a hypocrite doesn't mean everything is all cool with the Pats.

The fact is the Patriots are cheaters....they now fit in the same category as Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, two other cheaters who got caught. 

[Q-tip]

In a memo to NFL head coaches and general managers on September 6, 2006, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson said, "Videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room, or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game."

This was copied from the following link:

http://sportsbiznews.blogspot.com/2007/09/patriot-games-roger-goodell-disciplines.html



While there are probably many teams who have chosen to ignore a standing rule on the use of video for the purpose of cheating, I believe a message was sent to each team on the opening day of the regular season(three days before the patriots/jets game)  that the NFL intended to enforce this rule. 

What has happened in previous seasons by this team or any other team is made irrelevant by the issuance of this memo to all NFL teams at the beginning of this season.  A directive was issued and it should have been concluded that the NFL would be looking to enforce this rule. 

The fact is that the Patriots were caught, not only cheating, but ignoring this directive.  An action that is unbecoming of a franchise that takes on the reputation of being high class.

While I am not a fan of the Patriots I do have an indifferent attitude toward them.  They are a good team that is very well coached, but I can not understand why they would chose to ignore a rule that was brought to their attention only three days prior to the game.  Was it arrogance?....I hope not.

God Bless.

Chris.

[bishopnl]

Was it arrogance?....I hope not.

Call it a total disregard for the authority of the NFL and a lack of respect for their fans intelligence.  They need to stop posturing and posing as the golden boys of the NFL.  Their owner is a commie loving hypocrite.  Their coach is a cheater.  Their quarterback is a big playboy.  Their new star wide receiver...well, enough said.

[jdcord]

Their owner is a commie loving hypocrite.  Their coach is a cheater.  Their quarterback is a big playboy.  Their new star wide receiver...well, enough said.

You for got one thing.

...... as they proved overwhelmingly on Sunday night, they don't need to cheat because they are head and shoulders above every other team in the league, and now they've been given that little bit of extra motivation for stomping every opponent into the ground!

What the Patriots did on Sunday night was very bad news for the rest of the NFL.  It was awe inspiring!!

..... come on, Bishop.  Tell the truth.  You know you LOVED IT!

*LOL*

[JakeLeonard]

Let's just say that I don't care for the Patriots...simply said

[Scott]

Even though I was raised in Michigan, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Pats and the Celtics..

but the RED SOX!

Now that is a team I hate almost as much as I hate the Dodgers, perhaps even more.

[bishopnl]

...... as they proved overwhelmingly on Sunday night, they don't need to cheat because they are head and shoulders above every other team in the league, and now they've been given that little bit of extra motivation for stomping every opponent into the ground!

I think they're still cheating.  They've just got the camera hidden now.

[Scott]

They were framed I say FRAMED!