Sources: Goodell determines Pats broke rules by taping Jets' signals

ESPN ^ | 9-11-2007 | Chris Mortensen

[jmc813]

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, according to league sources.

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.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said on Tuesday that no official decision has been made and that the club has not been notified.

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.

[anymouse]

I think the the commish should just rule that the Pats are to forfeit the use of their sideline\pressbox communication system for the rest of the season.

Just rule that they have to padlock the luxury suites for a season and refund any reservations/season passes for those suites. That will leave a mark on the Patriots bottom line without affecting the game or even most of their fans enjoyment of the game.

[My Favorite Headache]

Word has it they will lose all draft picks next year...ALL OF THEM...and forefit the Jets game since they cheated or be given the option to forefit a game later in the season.

Plus a $500,000 dollar fine.

[Brakeman]

Yeah, he’ll take a billion dollar asset and turn it into zero in one day.

[Bender2]

RE: I expect Goodall to unmercifully hammer the Patriots over this. He has established himself as a true "no tolerance" commissioner when it comes to player misconduct, so I expect that he will make sure the message is sent that he will show the same policy towards owners and teams.

Okay, okay! I confess... I recorded all the Jets' defensive signal and passed them directly to Tom Brady via my omnidirectional head antenna.

As my punishment... I hope Roger Goodell forces me to marry Bridget Moynahan to give Tom's little bastard a true father he can look up to...

[My Favorite Headache]

Final decision to be made within 48-72 hours on punishment. Sources coming out of Fox Sports South tonight were losing all rounds next draft, forefit the Jets game or forefit a game later this year. The fine will be between $500,000-750,000.00.

[rod1]

For a start they the PATS should forfeit the game to the Jets since they were caught cheating in that game. Other sanctions then follow.

and in saying that.. I am not even a Jets fan (rather a hopeful Cowboys fan).

[My Favorite Headache]

You are not far off from what is happening behind the scenes.

(Cowboys fan here myself...since birth!)..Romo lookin tight the other night...we need to tighten up the D and we got the East.

[Chode]

tooo funny...

[Logophile]

The Patriots will be allowed an opportunity to present their case by Friday, sources said, most likely via the telephone.

They should just tape it.

[rawhide]

If they forfeit the Jets game, the Jets pick up a win? If they forfeit another game, then the Jets do not? Is that the way it would be?

[scott says]

LOL. Yeah...Moss not practicing for the entire training camp with a “fake” injury is really cheating. Lets see...the guy sits out practicing with the team not learning to gel with his new QB,yeah thats really cheating.
The incident of not letting other teams medical personnel to tend to his injured players—you must be referring to the Harrison injury in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago.
NO coach would allow another team to touch one of their players in a situation like that, at the time the extent of the injury was not known and the other teams trainers have NO BUSINESS touching another teams player unless they are explicitly asked to do so. Faking injury reports? Yeah, nobody else does that. As far as THIS incident is concerned I think it is stupid for the Patriots to break the rules and they SHOULD lose a draft pick....it is unacceptable and should be punished. The things you listed are hardly cheating.

[Eddie01]

This is worse than selling military hardware to Iran.

Just downright unAmerican.

[Radix]

You read like a sore loser.

I never heard about any of this crap before, and now suddenly it seems that half of the loser teams in the NFL are accusing the Patriots of cheating.

BS!

And by the way it ain’t as if the Officials go by the rules when it counts either.

Yeah, the tuck rule was outrageous, but the NFL defended it the next year. Fortunately it went against the most criminal team in the history of the NFL!

Last year the Officials cost the Patriots the Super Bowl trip, and they admitted it.

The point is, the Game is comprised of a substantial amount of subjective decisions, and it seems always to me that what goes around comes around.

[commish]

I would imagine the game "later in the year" is the next game against the Jets (they play twice a year).

So the choice is Forfiet this game and be 0-1 or forfiet the future game (meaning it would not be played) and lose all the revenue the team would have made from that game. Not a hard choice

Bottom line Jets will be 1-0 and Pats will be 0-1. I don;t see any other solution, it would be blatently unfair to the jets and the rest of the league if the Pats get to choose which team gets that win.

[jmc813]

If they forfeit the Jets game, the Jets pick up a win?

I will literally be the happiest man on Earth if that happens.

[lepton]

Is it illegal to steal signals? ...Or is it merely illegal to steal them with this particular combination of technology? As I understand, it would have been legal to take pictures with a Poloroid, just not both electronically and from that particular location.

As to potential severity...the worst part is the principle of open flouting of rules, not the actual “offense”. One can tell by the ways that teams do their signalling that they all assume people are attempting to steal their signals.

Gee...you’d think players (and coaches) are never traded, and never remember what they learned from their previous team.

[Bronzewound]

...what goes around comes around.

Exactly.

[LetsRok]

"...Moss not practicing for the entire training camp with a “fake” injury is really cheating. Lets see...the guy sits out practicing with the team not learning to gel with his new QB,yeah thats really cheating."
His alleged "injury" caused the Jets to game plan based on a less than 100% Randy Moss. The guy had NO effects of an injury and had 183 yards of receiving. Talk about playing oppossum.

[rawhide]

I wonder how all the bets would go down if they forfeit this past game?
And even if do not forfeit this past game, those who lost money on their bets, may not be to happy to know they lost, because of the cheating?

[SCHROLL]

if a player does it no. having a camera do it for you is still a no-no.