You know, when you put it that way, it's obvious the league had the opportunity to nip this in the bud but instead let it turn into the shit storm that it is. This is certainly not the type of publicity any league would want.
Well it had more to do with him lying to Goodell. But bounties have been going back decades. Goes on today too, at all levels.
League sources have confirmed that the footballs were properly inspected and approved by referee Walt Anderson 2 hours and 15 minutes before kickoff, before they were returned to each team. http://m.espn.go.com/general/story?storyId=12202450&city=boston&src=desktop
Sure you can nitpick when you compare Giselle to other models. But the wives of most of the guys on this board probably look a lot more like the first photo below than the second one!
Actually, for most people, Spygate includes taping the Rams' walkthrough the day before the Super Bowl ... and ... Goodell destroying all of the videotapes without anyone else getting a chance to look at them. Most people believe Goodell covered-up the real nuts-and-bolts of Spygate to protect the integrity of at least one (and possibly three) Super Bowls and to avoid a full-blown BlackSox scandal (that would be talked about 100 years from now). Regardless, Goodell set the precedent with Payton's suspension: In the NFL, the head coach gets suspended for a year because of the actions of his players and his staff, even if there is no evidence he was aware of (or condoned) those actions himself, and even if it's a first offense. Further, the players involved (Vilma) and the staff involved (Williams) also get a year suspension. If the NFL has an ounce of integrity (which it does not), Belichick and Brady are suspended from right now until the week before next year's Super Bowl. Instead, they'll drag the investigation out past the Super Bowl, claim they can't find evidence blaming a specific person, fine the Cheatriots a million dollars and dock a draft pick and call it a day with no suspensions. Then Goodell will go hang out with his best friends and celebrate ...
You realize that the Spygate investigation concluded in September of the undefeated season and that the rumors (untrue) occurred the day before the Superbowl that season? People who think Spygate was related to the Rams walk through are idiots. And before you say that you wouldn't trust a Boston source, this is the paper that broke the story to begin with. http://web.archive.org/web/20080515132526/http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1093898&srvc=home&position=0 @Axel3419: this an example of further misinformation.
They're full of shit. The difference in feel is tiny if anything, especially if you don't know that you're being tested. The difference is a dry, slightly wet, and soaking wet ball is way more pronounced than a 1.5 PSI difference.
I see what you mean, though misinformation spreads on both sides. Blind loyalty to the Pats (which is not what you have, but many Patriots fans I know do have that) is just as bad as being unfairly biased against the Pats. Both are flawed but understandable, however -- no Pats fan wants the legacy of Belichick and Brady to be tarnished and no Jets fan wants the Patriots to get away with cheating if it actually occurred.
When he says they include the Rams thing in "spygate" he means many suspect that the Pats videotaping goes beyond just the Jets game they were investigated and punished for. Many wonder the extent to which they were videotaping other teams including sidelines, practices/walk throughs and god knows what else. Before you call me "misinformed" I am fully admitting this is speculation. As for the rumors being untrue, being found not-guilty doesn't mean you are innocent just means it cannot be proven. Again this is speculation. I think the Pats biggest enemy in all of this is Godell. many suspect he destroyed the evidence because it was way worse then he could handle and a complete PR nightmare, doesn't help with how buddy-buddy him and Kraft are. Pats fans like yourself will say it's because their was nothing interesting on the tapes. Easy answer would have been for Godell to release them to the public. Instead he destroyed them and speculation will continue to be a cloud hanging over both this subject and to many this generation of the Pats.
