The “cheating” you refer to was a confiscated video taken before half time of the first game of the 2007 season against a team coached by a former assistant coach of the Pat’s. that video was never viewed by a single person on the Pat’s coaching staff. So, please explain to me how they benefited from that? The Pat’s beat the Jets without the video, and the won their next 17 games without any video as well. So, how did they cheat? Cheating requires a benefit from the act. If you just go by intent, well then there a lot of teams in the NFL and other pro sports who could be accused of having cheated. The NFL did not institute that “NEW” rule for the 2007 season soley on the basis of one team “cheating”. It was instituted because their was a wide spread practice of this tactic. Are you positive that no other team did the same thing this year? Or, are you and others only willing to pick on this team because of their record (without the benefit of a single video).
“Cheating requires a benefit from the act.”
No, it doesn’t. *Attempting* to get something by doing something “illegal” is all that is needed.
Again, look at the post about burglary. Doesn’t matter you never managed to make off with the goods.
“Are you positive that no other team did the same thing this year?”
Again, rationalizing with the “everyone does it”. Clinton’s OK because everyone does that. Probably many teams have and are, and hopefully they’ll be caught and spanked. That doesn’t erase the fact that the Pats were caught and deserve the attention for it.
1 doesn’t go easy on robbers just because they aren’t the only 1s doing it and lots of others have never been caught.
Get the popcorn ready. It's going to be a looong off-season for the cheaters.
Okay. I give.