Now if the Pats had finished the season 7-9 or something like that after having been told to stop videotaping on the sidelines, you same people would have pointed to that as "proof" that the Pats had an unfair advantage up until the time that they were caught. But the Pats going 16-0 takes that argument away and puts the lie to the unfair advantage argument. If anything, the Pats were being hobbled and held back by all this videotaping.
How so? How could a team actually IMPROVE after being told they couldn't "cheat" anymore? Well I think the answer is obvious. I think all those videotapes causes the Pats coaching staff to over-analyze their opponents. They were more concerned with predicting what their opponents would do to them (by using info gleaned from the tapes) than to simply concentrate on their own game plan.
Being ordered not to videotape like that anymore, the Pats were essentially forced to just go out there and play THEIR game. And to the anger and dismay of many, the Pats actually discovered that they were even BETTER than they thought they were.
In my opinion, the Pats punished themselves by relying on those videotapes. They could have had five Super Bowl victories by now instead of just three. They almost certainly would have beat Indy in that AFC Championship game last year if they just showed up to play their own game instead of worrying what Indy would do to them based on all that data they evidently were obsessed with collecting on them.
In essence, the Pats have been playing with one arm tied behind their backs all this time. Most Pats fans will be secretly and eternally grateful to Coach Mangini for blowing the whistle on Belichick's tactics. Belichick meant well for the team but he was being too cute by half and he paid the price for it. After being caught and told to stop doing that sort of thing, Belichick had no choice but to tell his offense to just play their own game and open things up offensively - the result being a perfect 16-0 season.
This really angers the critics of the Pats who were expecting the Pats to go off the rails this season, exposing them as a fraud. I can understand all the hatred and anger out there because nobody likes being proved wrong.
It's similar to the hatred and anger many people have towards President Bush because despite all the criticism and hatred directed towards him over Iraq, he never shriveled up in the fetal position and gave up. Instead, he simply changed tactics (as Belichick was forced to change tactics) and ended up scoring an unexpected victory over there. Much to the chagrin of his critics, instead of giving up over in Iraq, Bush actually went on the offensive and ramped things up and the result was the total opposite of what his critics were hoping to see (defeat). In the same way, Belichick let his offense run wild and told his QB to just sling the ball out there and use his weapons to maximum advantage. The result is a 16-0 and boy, are the detractors pissed off about that!
None of this "oh we've got a 3 pt lead with a half to go"...better go into the prevent offense and the permit defense to preserve the lead.
Of course, the fact that they are an extremely talented and well coached team helps too.
Sam, Lad, I think we're on the same page re: President Bush. Let's not demean our president by comparing him to a piece of human garbage like Belichick.
I think you've got to just admit to yourself that the Patriots cheated. It is an unassailable fact. Once you do that, you can articulate your goofy theories about how the fraud did not make a difference and that the Pats would actually be worse if we let them keep cheating.
Once again, to summarize your position Sam: The Pats would be worse if we let them cheat.