Sources: Goodell determines Pats broke league rules by spying on Jets By Chris Mortensen ESPN.com NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has determined that the New England Patriots violated league rules Sunday when they videotaped defensive signals by the New York Jets' coaches, league sources have told ESPN's Chris Mortensen. NFL security officials confiscated a camera and videotape from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella on the New England sidelines when it was suspected he was recording the Jets' defensive signals. Sources say the visual evidence confirmed the suspicion. Goodell is considering severe sanctions, including the possibility of docking the Patriots "multiple draft picks" because it is the competitive violation in the wake of a stern warning to all teams since he became commissioner, the sources said. The Patriots have been suspected in previous incidents. The Patriots will be allowed an opportunity to present their case by Friday, sources said, most likely via the telephone. The league also was reviewing a possible violation into the number of radio frequencies the Patriots were using during Sunday's game, sources said. The team did not have a satisfactory explanation when asked about possible irregularities in its communication setup during the game. Goodell is expected to have a decision no later than Friday but that is not set in stone. The league refused comment but did confirm Monday that they were reviewing a possible violation by the Patriots. Chris Mortensen covers the NFL for ESPN.
Slow down a sec and lets see this play out. Everything about this story breaks from ESPN news. Like maybe they have some kind of interest in keeping this story alive awhile, you think?
guess that made their 1/2 time adjustmens that much easier....but i doubt there was enough time to decipher anything serious... wonder who is gonna review last years WC game at foxboro. unreal
Agreed. They were caught cheating, therefore the result of the game is tainted and the result should be a NE forfeit.
Hey, there's always the chance of a replay or forfeiture by NE. I would not put it past Goddell to do it. Let's face it, if Goddell made NE forfeit the game for cheating, no team would EVER try it again. Hmmm...maybe we are really 1-0. Seriously though, the signals of the Jets might be extremely easy for NE to steal since it is the same system, and if they did know all our defensive plays beorehand it would explain the invincibility NE exhibited on offense and that is just not something that should stand.
I doubt the game would have been much different without the videotaping, however, we will never know. It is interesting that the announcers kept mentioning that the Pats O-line was basically pitching a shutout by picking up every blitz perfectly. As I said before, while the Pats may/will get punished, the Jets will get nothing out of it.
picks will NOT be given to any team....they will go poof. do not know what precedent they will use to decide the penalty. could be just their 1st rounder next year jil
nahhh. I dont think theyd blow this up like that falsely just to have a story for a couple more days, I really dont
Why can't ESPN.com just tell it like it is. Not "Goodell determines Patriots broke rules"....how about... "Goodell determines Patriots cheated"
I wouldn't. We're not talking about the Bengals here. This is supposedly being conducted by a team that has won recent Superbowls, a sporting event unequalled in perhaps the entire world and the very backbone of popularity for the NFL. It strikes at the very heart of the NFL. If tampering has occurred at Superbowls (or even the hint of such), this is a VERY serious blow to the NFL, something Goodell is not going to sluff off. Not really and especially not recently. Google "Michael Vick" for a sample. Goodell is not into looking like a paper tiger and he's especially on the warpath for infractions at this point in time. If you don't want to be made an example of, then don't break NFL rules in this day and age. Unfortunately the Patriots appear to have done so, and now they need to be made an example of.
