Belichick's cheating could lead to dark days in the NFL

The situation with the National Football League is a lot worse than people realize, and the only one who seems to grasp this fully is commissioner Roger Goodell. You don't issue emergency orders backed by threats on Sunday morning of a game day, as Goodell just did regarding the New England Patriots' files of cheating information, unless the situation is a lot worse than people realize.

Why is the situation worse than people think? Because the NFL is on the precipice of blowing its status as the country's favorite sport. The whole NFL enterprise is in jeopardy from that single word: cheating. It's the most distasteful word in sports. And now the Patriots have brought the word into the NFL.

Think the NFL can't decline? Fifteen years ago, the National Basketball Association was going up, up, up by every measure and was widely considered the gold-plated can't-miss "sport of the next century." Since then, NBA popularity and ratings have plummeted while NBA-based teams have floundered in international competition. At the moment of its maximum success, the NBA became overconfident and arrogant in ways that need not be recounted here. Key point: There was no law of nature that said the NBA had to stay popular, and it did not.

Today the NFL is king of the hill in sports status, ratings, merchandising and association with the American psyche. There is no law of nature that says the NFL has to stay popular. Overconfidence and arrogance could be the downfall of the NFL, too – and we might be on that precipice. People will always watch and play football, of course. But nothing guarantees that the NFL's version of football must remain the super-successful money machine that it is today. There could be autumn Sunday afternoons in the near future in which the overwhelming majority of Americans couldn't care less what NFL games are being shown. Fifteen years ago, sports-marketing types would have said "impossible!" to the notion that only 11 percent of American households would watch the NBA Finals, which is what happened this June. Plummeting popularity for NFL broadcasts seems "impossible!" right now, but might happen fast enough to make your head swim.

Criminal behavior by NFL players, haughty owners who demand public subsidies, negative press for the union, coaches who snarl at the public instead of acting grateful for their privileged positions, insufferable egotism from multimillionaire athletes: All these things can be overlooked as long as the games themselves are good. If the games themselves are tainted, the NFL could tumble with amazing speed. And now there is a cheating scandal – cheating by the team that presented itself as the epitome of the sport – which calls the games themselves into question.

• Stats of the week • Cheerleader of the week • Sweet/sour plays of the week • Buck-Buck-Brawckkkkkkk • Wacky food of the week • San Diego at New England • Oh ye of little MPG • Rule change needed • Wide receiver runaway egos • Leftover Beli-Cheat point

First we learn that the Patriots were cheating by using video equipment to steal signs, in blatant violation of league rules. Then we learn that even after the scandal broke and Bill Belichick issued his Nixonian stonewalling statement, the Patriots were still keeping sign-stealing videotapes and notes from past games. Surrender of the tapes and notes was the subject of Goodell's emergency order, first reported by ESPN's Chris Mortensen. Sunday night on NBC's "Football Night in America," Goodell threatened more punishment of the Patriots if all cheating materials aren't surrendered, and repeatedly declared it was imperative that NFL games be fair and equal competition. That's exactly the crux of the threat Belichick has created to the league's golden goose.

Consider the Sunday night contest. New England had played San Diego just four games back, in the January 2007 postseason. Perhaps Belichick's cameraman was illegally taping the Chargers that day, and perhaps Belichick illegally used the information against the Chargers on Sunday night. The San Diego coaching staff has changed since the playoff game, so presumably its defensive calls are different. But San Diego's new defensive coordinator, Ted Cottrell, was defensive coordinator for the Bills and Jets, both AFC East teams, in the Belichick period. Perhaps Belichick has spied on Cottrell's calls before and took out the tapes of the spying rather than handing them over as Goodell demanded. Was New England cheating again Sunday night, when the Patriots advanced the ball with such ease it seemed they knew what defense San Diego would be in?

And the Patriots' cheating might have been more extensive than so far confirmed. Fox Sports reported that former NFL players believe Belichick had microphones installed in the shoulder pads of defensive linemen so the Patriots could tape other teams' offensive audibles and line calls. Needless to say, putting microphones on players violates NFL rules. Andrea Kremer of NBC reported that several teams might charge the Patriots this week with having stolen playbooks from the visitors' dressing room. The convenient "malfunction" of visiting teams' headphones at the Patriots' two fields under Belichick seems to have happened far too often to be an IT department error. The rumor mill says Belichick, Richard Nixon-style, has file cabinets of info on opposing coaches and assistant coaches – some gleaned honestly, some obtained by cheating.

It seems more than just an eerie coincidence that Belichick's unethical behavior involves illicit taping, the same offense that made Nixon's actions so sordid. The parallels to Nixon don't stop there. Caught, Belichick – like Nixon – tried to hide the true extent of the prohibited acts; Belichick – like Nixon – tried to claim his prohibited action hadn't been prohibited; Belichick – like Nixon – immediately stonewalled. It would be tempting to break the unhappy tone of this column with a Nixon joke – when the league plays Belichick's tape of the Jets' sideline, will there be an 18-and-a-half minute gap? But for all lovers of the NFL, there's just nothing to laugh about now.

The Patriots announced they have hired "Swede" Risberg to investigate cheating allegations against the team. What else is there about New England cheating that the team or league isn't telling us? Are the Patriots one bad apple, or is cheating common in the league? Worst, did the Patriots cheat in their Super Bowl wins? If New England was cheating in the Super Bowl, this will become the darkest sports scandal since Shoeless Joe and the Black Sox. If you don't think Goodell and all owners, including Robert Kraft of New England, are in abject terror of any possible disclosure that the Patriots were cheating in the Super Bowl, perhaps you just don't understand the situation.

The weasel wording of Belichick's Nixonian statement shows the New England coach full of contempt for the NFL fans, and the NFL enterprise, that made him a wealthy celebrity. Belichick declared that his super-elaborate cheating system was only a "mistake" caused by his "interpretation" of the league's rule. Wait, "interpretation"? The NFL rule bans teams from filming each other's sidelines. There's no room for interpretation, it's a ban! Here's the NFL policy, from a memo sent to all head coaches and general managers Sept. 6, 2006: "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." Prohibited. There's nothing there to "interpret." Videotaping opponent's signals even after getting this warning isn't a "mistake," it's cheating. Belichick's cheating was not some casual spur-of-the-moment blunder but rather an elaborate staffed system that took a lot of work to put into place and that Belichick worked hard to hide. And you don't hide something unless you are ashamed of it.

Michael Vick tried to deny and stonewall, but at the last owned up and admitted what he did. That's dignity. Belichick is now using weasel words to deny responsibility for his own choices. What kind of example does that set for the young? "Make good choices," football coaches constantly preach to the young. Now, caught, Belichick wants a special exemption to responsibility for his own choices. Belichick also is trying to close the matter by saying he won't talk about it anymore. So he cheated and now unilaterally declares the matter closed because he doesn't want to face the consequences of his own choices. But this is not over and not going away. Before the cheating scandal, Belichick had a reputation for being heartless but a really good coach. Now, he seems little more than a creepy con artist, and it's the refusal to act like a man and take full responsibility that's really offensive. Goodell's draft-choice penalty against the Patriots – either a first or a second and a third – is the highest draft penalty ever imposed in the NFL. The severity of this sanction shows how seriously Goodell takes the violation. If more disclosures are coming, there might be a lot more punishment of the Patriots. And unless Belichick comes clean and stops lying about his cheating, this event should disqualify him from consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame – it is, after all, not the Hall of Cheaters.

Will Belichick even be in coaching by season's end? When the Vick dogfighting scandal first broke, most football pundits, and most in the Atlanta and league offices, thought there would be few repercussions. Then they thought Vick would have to make some kind of apology. Then they thought he'd need some leave of absence. Then they thought he'd be suspended for a year. Now they wonder whether he'll ever be allowed to play again. By acting Nixonian, Belichick is accelerating his fall from grace. Today, Belichick and New England are trying to pretend the scandal is over. It would not surprise me in the slightest if, before the season ends, Belichick resigns, or is suspended, or is fired by Kraft, or even is permanently barred from the league. Belichick's head might be necessary to preserve the integrity of the game. Surprisingly soon, sacrificing Belichick to save professional football might seem an attractive option, even to Kraft. Remember, there is no law of nature that says the NFL must remain popular

Did I accidentally browse to DU? Maybe we can ban all sports except for those government-sponsored ones where all athletes have to submit to the most rigorous drug-testing regimens and the rules are handed down from congressional committee?

Shouldn’t you be off reading some Ayn Rand or something?

If stealing the defensive signals is going to cause the downfall of the NFL, just do what my son’s High School does for EVERY game: CHANGE THE SIGNALS! If a teenager can learn new signals, an NFL player should be able to. (I may have overestimated the intelligence of many NFL coaches and players).

GAining an advantage by being observant isn’t cheating. It’s being smart.

If it is against the rules, it is cheating. Period. Full stop. The rules prevent teams from taping signals. If you tape signals, you are cheating. It's not being smart, it is cheating. No ifs, ands, or buts.

This is the biggest witch hunt since Salem.
If you think that this sort of thing isn’t league-wide then you I think you are a bit naive.
The Packers caught the Patriots doing this last year.
Why didn’t the Packers rat the Patriots out to the league officials? Oh yeah, I remember now, because they were doing the same thing.
True, Belichick was perhaps a bit brazen by videotaping signals that are out in the open for everyone to see, but ultimately he is a scapegoat because, let’s face it, his team, along with the Colts, are the top dog in this game. If Tony Dungy did this (not accusing coach Dungy), nobody would say a word because he’s a “nice” guy.
If the result against San Diego, achieved under a microscope of league and media scrutiny, is not enough to show what a load of overblown rubbish this whole episode is, then I’m not sure what it will take for people to realize or admit that they really win because they simply are very very good. What must they do to prove it, go 19 - 0? Perhaps they will. The Patriot haters will always point to some excuse. Oh, the DB’s bump the receivers. Or the Patriots leave the cover off the turf in the rain to slow the other team down. Belichick has a snow making machine. Etc., etc.
Enough already. Any further focus on this just makes them madder. If there was one thing this team could not do this year it was to play the “they disrespect us” card. Now, they’ve even got that going for them. See you in Arizona for SB XLII.

Gadzooks, John, just join all of us... a gathering of many, many hundreds of thousands all around the world that have hated the Iggles and Deadskins and want to see them both lose every single game for many, many decades!

I would like to go on record as saying that I do NOT hate the Washington Redskins; I grew up as a Redskins fan.

The 2-0 Houston Texans are my #1 love now (I've had season tickets since their very first ever NFL game where they beat the Dallas Cowboys 19-10), and the Redskins are my #2 team.

HAIL TO 'EM!! ;-)

No, I'm not saying Billick is lying. I'm saying he needs to provide evidence that what he claims happened actually happened. There's a difference.

And I'm not a Patriot hater. I'm just a football fan who actually likes to see teams not flagrantly flaunt very clear rules, and who likes to see fans admit when their team screws the pooch instead of making excuses for them. I enjoy watching cheaters pay a heavy penalty for their transgressions, and watching their supporters end up looking like circus contortionists while trying to explain away what their favorite team did.

I'd love to see the league send investigators in to Belichick's office and confiscate any and all video tapes, as well as any video files on hard drives, since he's seemed more than just a tad reluctant to part with his stash. And I hope Goodell doesn't let this drop. They need to ride this pony until it dies of exhaustion. If that makes Belichick or Patriots fans uncomfortable, all they have to do is remind themselves that Belichick himself brought this on.

I am not so naive as to believe that this team is the only team that has sinned and come short of the glory of Lombardi. I have also seen “everybody does it”, “deal with it” and the like.

Just because “everybody does it” does not make it right.

The way that you “deal with it” is when it’s discovered, come down hard and fast to put an end to it, cheating in any form.

Let them serve as an example of what you can expect if you get caught. It won’t ever fully stop it, but the price for the act must be serious enough to make it extremely painful for the perpetrators.

That goes for all teams, your team, my team, everybody’s team.

First it's a little signal stealing in blatant violation of NFL rules.

Right there is the problem with the whole conversation, and 95+% of the condemnation of Belichick: It's not even remotely illegal to "steal signals", and yet this is what most of the outrage is over. "Stealing signals" is just figuring them out. It's no worse than figuring out the snap count. It's a legitimate part of the game.

The actual offense was the use of technology to augment human ingenuity doing something perfectly legal.

I might also note that it was done completely in the open, and by a clearly marked member of the Patriots staff - and thus the "spying" charge is a misnomer as well.

The author seems a little hysterical in making his point, but the point is valid.

I wonder whether the relatively-light punishment handed out to the Patriots and their coach was due to the possibility that the Patriots’ organization might be able to blow the whistle on other teams that also cheat in various ways.

It seems to me that the appropriate minimum punishment was to cause the Patriots to forfeit at least the one game in which they were caught cheating.

Couldn’t agree more - the NFL commercialization is just a sickening profit grab. Like the NFL doesn’t have/make enough $. A little bit of game sprinkled into wall to wall commercials - gotta luv it.

Cheating is the American Way (Win at any cost) its all about Money… This story getting buried.

New England had played San Diego just four games back, in the January 2007 postseason.

Can somebody, anybody, walk me through the math on this one? Four games back? Huh????? Seems to be a game or two missing here... Oh, well, I guess the facts aren't all that important in a hit piece...

“I already prefer baseball to football anyways.”

I agree. Even with the steroid problem you can still look like a normal human being and be a major league baseball player. I do, however, long for the days when ‘skinny’ guys like Ernie Banks were power hitters. I still like football, but baseball is the ultimate sport to me.

I'm not saying that the Patriots' coach didn't tape the Jets sideline. I freely admit that... it's a given.

I'm just saying that all the teams do the same thing, and the Patty's are being made an example of because they're the one team that makes the rest of the NFL look like a bunch of Pop Warner clubs, and that ain't good for the NFL.

Calling a standard League practice "cheating" doesn't make it so, because if all teams do it, it doesn't alter the tilt of the playing field to do so... as in "cheating."

Note that the guy with the camera was standing right out in the open, in plain view of everyone. Belichik wasn't trying to hide what was going on.

I find this funny because even without the watching of the other teams' signals, the Patty's are still going to annhialate the League.

;-/

Go ahead and try to make your case. It will be fun to see you make a biger jackass of yourself. Or just go away. Either way, we all win.

What case? That my joke was funny? That's not quite something I can make a case for.

I'd have an easier time making a case for you having no sense of humor.

Last time I checked I was entitled to believe (realize) that baseball was about as exciting as watching paint dry. You, too, are entitled to your opinion.

The rules are made to be broken. It will always be that way. Live with it.

I hope you feel that when when someone burglarizes your home or when your 14 year old daughter decides to bang the pimply faced teen up the street.

Rules are made to be broken...

Right?

Belichick's cheating could lead to dark days in the NFL

Only because the current commissioner didn't call every franchise owner
and inform them that the Patriot's owner had just fired Belichick
and a life-time league-wide ban on Belichick had been imposed.

And that if Belichick wanted to coach in Canada, that's up to him.

I say that as a modest Patriot's fan. I thought they'd replaced
the old 49er's "thinking man's team".
Instead Belichick turned the Patriots into just the
thinking-and-cheating man's team.

It's against the rules. Period.

He was told to stop by the Commissioner of the League.

He didn't.

Toss his recalcitrant ass out of the League.

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