Frankly, I think Belichick would have had a good deal of success in Boston even without the cheating. He is a good coach and has had some great players. But it is impossible to say how much of their success is attributable to the cheating.
The Patriots apparently have a great play-caller in the booth. I do not know his name, but he is, apparently, a genius at detecting defenses and making appropriate adjustments, and Belichick is said to rely on him heavily. I suspect that this man, who's name escapes me at this moment, is the one who made good use of the videotaped signals.
The taping of opposing coaches is expressly against the rules of the NFL, precisely because these tapes can be very useful in just this way. Belichick knew the rule, was reminded of the rule, was sanctioned by the league, but never stopped doing it. This should indicate how valuable these tapes were to his team, that he was willing to break the rules to get them.
Now, that’s a very good clarification. Thank you.
That statement is highly disputable, and two parts are outright incorect.
He may or may not have known the rule. His actions were completely consistant with having misunderstood, however, one can always be cynical.
He was sortof reminded of the rule. The reminder was mis-stated and proscribed the taping of defensive signals being used during the game, which he not only didn't do, but never was afforded the opportunity to do. One can assume he saw the reminder or not. He says that he didn't.
He was sanctioned by the league, but there is currently no evidence that he continued the taping after that time.
Even if he did understand the rule differently, it is his job to get such things right, and properly, whether by mistake or intent, the league punished him for it forcefully.