Do any of you remember Little League Baseball? At least once a game we had to change the steal signals because we thought the other team may have picked it up. In my eyes what is going on today is no different other than people are using technology to steal signals. You can't blame a coach for trying to gain an edge for his team. On the field an instinctive football player listens to his surroundings and picks up on little quirks that give him an edge concerning the play at hand. If an audible is called say "Red 347-Blue 236-Red 624" and the player your assigned to runs an out, the next time you hear any of those combo's of numbers called out, you'll start looking for consistency in the call (WR ran an out on a 7 call twice). A tight end leans on his knuckles when he's running a route and rests on his fingers when he's pass blocking. A guard eyes wander inward towards the nose tackle on every counter trey. Are these examples also cheating? All teams have acsess to films of other teams. Nowadays they don't even have to ask for them. On the college level one of the student assistants jobs after every game is to send game film to the upcoming opponet of the team they just played by Monday and return film sent to them from other teams. So what's the big deal? The Big deal is coaches are lazier than they have ever been and are getting spoiled by commissions defending them whenever they cry "foul". Change up your signals game to game or half time to half time. It's as simple as a fist clinch or removal of a hat. Do like Don Shula did for years and send in 2 even three sets of signals. Switch the "Live" man when sending the signal in. The coaches need to quit crying and start coaching again.
As much as I disagree with your screen name, I have to completely agree with your assessment. I was shocked at first when I heard about spygate, but then I thought about it and I was like "Well, they had tapes of the other team in the first place, why is this such a big deal?" Everyone tries to get a competitive edge in sports. I remember when I was playing linebacker in a game against one of my hs's big rivals and every time they were about to pass the linemen would yell out white, because it was something about their blocking scheme. I figured it out after a quarter and we got 3 big interceptions because we knew the pass was coming. Is that cheating? Great post.
Surely there is a grey area. However, if you know of a specific rule and you choose to break it, that's cheating. With that being said, I consider it a minor thing.
DBIX, I'd change the name if I could for I know the BIG10 plays good ball. I have enjoyed watching your team from way back in the 70's on through the Griese era to modern day. When I created the name the BIG10 boys were pummeling the SEC on the message board so I decided to stand up for my one true love "The Gators" here on earth, my wife is 2nd! ;0) You guys play good ball year in and year out and Iowa and Michigan give us fits. Adding Penn St. a few years back helped solidify your conference. It's just to bad the dogs in the BIG10 are almost always dogs. You seldom see a Purdue or Michigan St. rising out of mediocrity. They have "ok" programs but lack the intestinal fortitude to ever really contend on a consistant basis with the big boys. Man for Man the SEC is no better or worse than any other conference but team by team it is dominant. I'd love to see USC, Texas, Michigan play a schedule that looks like any of the SEC teams schedules. The SEC teams face a Gauntlet every year that makes it near impossible to escape unblemished. Playing Wisconsin and Penn st. one year and Ohio St and Iowa the next isn't quite as intense as facing a schedule that includes Tennessee,Auburn,LSU,Florida and Georgia in consecutive weeks. It's the depth of the SEC that makes it great, not any one team. I agree with coldbuckeye that rules are rules and are made to abide by if they are deemed reasonable, I'm just not so sure spygate type rules are rules worth implementing.
While I tend to avoid name calling.....Dodd is a baffoon.
I agree with the posts here but Dodd is missing a huge point. As a guy who posts for a living he should know better. Switzer sending guys down to Texas, your little league coach trying to read calls and you on the field trying to figure out the other teams route ques is part of the game. They are all things not specifically covered in the rules of the game. Therefore, they are fair game and if you're not doing them your not trying hard enough. However, the Patriots filming the other coaches signals to be decifered against game film to allow them to know their plays the next time you meet IS AND WAS SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITED BY THE NFL AND THE PATS KNEW IT. That makes it cheating and contrary to fair play and sportsmanship.
They cheated! Their wins against teams they had film on are at best suspect and at worst their SBs should be forfiet. Pats fans should apply the rule my parents tought me. If this had been the Colts during their SB year or Dallas during the '90s would they still think it was no big deal? PLEASE!
Yes, the Patriots were cheating. Is it done by many, if not most of the other teams? Probably. They got caught and they were punished. $500K, $250K, 1st round draft pick are pretty hefty for something that everyone is doing (stealing signs). Now it should be over. It seems only the conspiracy theorists want to keep it going. Teams cheat (or try to get an unfair advantage if you please) at the the pro, college, HS, and peewee levels. When they get caught, they get punished and then everyone moves on. Hey Dodd, Move On!
Stealing signals in any sport when done during the game is ok however that isn't the case with New England. These chumps had a production and video crew available.
I agree with ductil, it's the use of technology that makes it bad. Of course you try and steal signs in a game, but you don't have the benefit of being able to rewind and watch, looking for the indicators and all that, you have to just rely on on-the-spot deciphering.
If you use your head or pick up on tendencies it isn't as agregious as being lazy by recording or a batter looking down at a catcher's fingers. Think about it, do you ever see that? No, the batter would get plunked so fast.
Doing it during a game with your eyes and doing it before a game or during a game with video equipment is completely different. Bottom line it is unethical to spy before a game and to use video equipment during a game is using an outside source to gain a competiive advantage. At least that's how the NFL sees it. However you want to look at it, stealing signs during a baseball game with your eyes is very different than video taping signals in a football game. Note that MLB teams have had to forfeit games, players have been suspended, and teams fined for stealing home plate signals from the bullpen with binoculars. Key word here is binoculars!!!
Totally agree with you, I think it is one thing to try and steal a sign during the game or using your brain to decipher a play, but to spy on someone elses practice is over the line. I goto UM and during the closed practices they have a security guard in the parking lot that overlooks the practice field so that nobody can spy.
