Belichick's legacy rests on 'if'

Editor's note: This column was published Thursday morning, hours before the league handed down its punishment on the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick.

Bill Belichick -- his career, his legacy -- is in trouble if the reports are true. And that's the nicest word I can think to use right now to describe this situation: if.

That tiny little word -- if -- trumps the other words that come to mind. Words like "diabolical" and "cheater." Words like "performance" and "enhancement." Words like "Super Bowl" and "asterisk."

If the allegations are true, the punishment should be swift and harsh. (Getty Images)

If the reports are true, it taints everything Belichick and his New England Patriots have achieved since 2001, including three Super Bowl championships in four years. All three of those Super Bowl rings are tarnished -- if the reports are true.

The reports are damning, and the fact that Belichick on Wednesday offered a vague, Jason Giambi-like apology "to everyone who has been affected" -- without actually admitting to anything -- makes him look guilty of something.

Guilty of what? Well, the reports say the Patriots illegally used a video camera to study the New York Jets' sideline on Sunday and steal the Jets' signs. The Patriots traveled to East Rutherford, N.J., and made winning on the road look easy 38-14.

If the reports are true, you have to wonder just how many points such sign-stealing, such ill-begotten knowledge, would be worth. A field goal? A touchdown? More?

If the reports are true, did the Patriots just steal an NFL game?

But the reports are even more damning than that. They suggest that this problem goes deeper than Sunday's game. They suggest that the Patriots have stolen signs from several opponents dating to last season, including from Green Bay in a 35-0 blowout win. Minutes after that game, Green Bay cornerback Al Harris told the Boston Herald:

"It's almost like they knew what we were doing, you know?" Harris said on Nov. 19. "You have to tip your hat to them. They ran plays designed for us. They ran plays that made us check out of some things. I don't know who calls their plays, but Belichick is pretty good. Honestly, he's pretty good."

Chilling words. All of this makes you wonder how far back this scandal -- if it's true -- might go. Might it go all the way back to 2001? Might it include any playoff games? Might it include a Super Bowl? Or two? Or three?

If this is true, Bill Belichick is the NFL's version of Barry Bonds.

It's performance enhancement, people. For a coach, knowledge is power. Illegally obtained knowledge? That's a strategic steroid. That's coaching HGH.