First and '07:
I enjoy listening to Fox Sports Radio on my way to work in the morning. I enjoy Steve Czaban's humor, and his rapport with his cohost and producer. However, his consistent harping on the Patriots over what amounted to filming from the wrong location made me shut off the radio this morning for a good 10 minutes as he ranted about "Belicheat" and how the commissioner screwed up the punishment. It shows a clear lack of understanding of what exactly the Patriots "crime" was last season; the same lack of understanding that has permeated through the media and down into the fans. Yes, the Pats were filming defensive signals, but that is not what they got in trouble for. They got in trouble for videotaping from the sidelines. They could have been filming two hours of Ed Hochuli's bulging biceps, and they'd have been breaking the same rule.
I enjoy listening to Fox Sports Radio on my way to work in the morning. I enjoy Steve Czaban's humor, and his rapport with his cohost and producer. However, his consistent harping on the Patriots over what amounted to filming from the wrong location made me shut off the radio this morning for a good 10 minutes as he ranted about "Belicheat" and how the commissioner screwed up the punishment. It shows a clear lack of understanding of what exactly the Patriots "crime" was last season; the same lack of understanding that has permeated through the media and down into the fans. Yes, the Pats were filming defensive signals, but that is not what they got in trouble for. They got in trouble for videotaping from the sidelines. They could have been filming two hours of Ed Hochuli's bulging biceps, and they'd have been breaking the same rule.
A few seasons back, when the Pats were in the midst of their back-to-back Superbowl run, they lost to the lowly (at the time) Dolphins. Miami made Tom Brady look terrible. Dolphins defensive players after the game proudly announced that they had flummoxed Brady so effectively because they had tapes of his audible calls. No fines were levied against the Dolphins, no investigations launched. Why not? Because those signal calls are out there for everyone to hear. Many of them are audible on television broadcast. If you're going to shout something loud enough for everyone to hear it, you better expect them to take note of it in some way, and try to use it against you. The same goes for defensive signals.
Before this year, when radios were implemented on defense, all defensive plays/coverage had to be sent in using very visible hand signals. There's nothing stopping the other team from seeing those signals and trying to interpret them. If you don't think nearly every coach in the league was trying to do just that, you are fooling yourself. And, if you don't think many of them used legal videotaping to do so, you probably also think Wade Phillips is actually a good coach.
The Pats were punished appropriately for the offense they committed - videotaping from the sidelines. I would expect the host of a nationally syndicated sports radio show to understand a little more about what happened than the average fan. I don't mind the gloating that the Pats missed the playoffs (which he did), but please don't try to write it off as some great karmic victory. Especially with the argument that "the team they were caught cheating against" losing to eliminate them was some sort of punishment from the football gods. What about the Jaguars? Had they won, the Pats would be in as the Wild Card team. It came down to the Pats making a couple of critical errors (Dave Thomas's penalties and Gaffney's drop against the Colts, a poor start and terrible D against the Jets) that lost them a couple of games. They won their final 4 games just to stay alive, and managed to win 11 games without Tom Brady, and with a defense that was mediocre-at-best to start the year and wasn't any better after losing nearly 75% of their starters to injury over the course of the season. Yeah, the Jets loss was the final nail in the Pats' 2008 coffin, since their game ended after the Jags/Ravens, but it wasn't any sort of "retribution" from the football gods. It was Brett Favre and the Jets being Brett Favre and the Jets (don't forget, their own playoff lives were on the line, and they still crapped the bed).
It's a minor irritation that this is still coming up; that is to be expected in the sports world. It was a big story, and will never go away. What is more frustrating is how quickly everyone lost sight of what rule the Pats actually broke, and how people in the national media - people whose words influence sports fans all across the country - still disseminate this erroneous information, perpetuating the myth that Belichick and the Patriots are vile, underhanded cheaters.
It's a minor irritation that this is still coming up; that is to be expected in the sports world. It was a big story, and will never go away. What is more frustrating is how quickly everyone lost sight of what rule the Pats actually broke, and how people in the national media - people whose words influence sports fans all across the country - still disseminate this erroneous information, perpetuating the myth that Belichick and the Patriots are vile, underhanded cheaters.
2nd and '08:
Later in the segment, Czaban asked what fanbase felt worse this morning, Pats fans or Cowboys fans.
How is that even a question?
The Pats started the season as favorites, and then Brady got hurt. Most Pats fans at that point predicted they wouldn't make the playoffs. People were optimistic when Cassel showed he can actually play in the NFL, but with the aforementioned terrible D, no one but the biggest homers thought it was a lock that they'd make the playoffs, especially with the rest of the AFC East playing so well. And then the injuries started to pile up. The season really felt like 2002, the season after their first Superbowl win, when they didn't make the playoffs (coincidentally, they needed help from a Favre-led team). People are upset and disappointed, but no one's really shocked. The Pats won these last 4 weeks. They did what they had to do. They unfortunately put themselves in a position where they needed help, and didn't get it. Oh well, time to figure out how to shore up that defense, keep the offense rolling and make another run next year.
How is that even a question?
The Pats started the season as favorites, and then Brady got hurt. Most Pats fans at that point predicted they wouldn't make the playoffs. People were optimistic when Cassel showed he can actually play in the NFL, but with the aforementioned terrible D, no one but the biggest homers thought it was a lock that they'd make the playoffs, especially with the rest of the AFC East playing so well. And then the injuries started to pile up. The season really felt like 2002, the season after their first Superbowl win, when they didn't make the playoffs (coincidentally, they needed help from a Favre-led team). People are upset and disappointed, but no one's really shocked. The Pats won these last 4 weeks. They did what they had to do. They unfortunately put themselves in a position where they needed help, and didn't get it. Oh well, time to figure out how to shore up that defense, keep the offense rolling and make another run next year.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, had their lives in their own hands, and failed miserably. They let the Ravens slip through their hands (literally; have you ever seen tackling that bad? I'm pretty sure they thought Saturday games were two-hand touch), and then, when they were in the ultimate win-or-go-home game, they laid down and got their heads handed to them.
I'm ok with the way the Pats' season ended. They did what they had to do in weeks 14-17. Things didn't break their way. The Cowboys gagged and choked away their season. I will guarantee this: Dallas area sports talk radio stations will be flooded with calls for Wade Phillips' head. Boston area sports talk radio will get calls about why Belichick isn't being considered for coach of the year.
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