Patriots Coach Walks Out Of Press Conference Over Sideline Spying Scandal

Associated Press:

This videotape needs no interpretation: New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick walked out of his news conference Wednesday when pressed repeatedly about the sideline spying scandal that landed him on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's crowded docket.

Ten minutes before his regular availability, Belichick issued a one-paragraph statement apologizing to his team and confirming that he has spoken to Goodell about an "interpretation" of league rules that ban videotaping of the opposing sideline.

Read the whole story: Associated Press

Comments

[Destin]

04:46 PM on 09/13/2007

Anyone here remember Jerry Clowers telling of another sporting cheat scandal?? Talking about his alma mater, Mississippi State who was playing LSU in a big showdown. This being when LSU had Bert Jones playing for them at QB. Mentions how the LSU scoreboard operator rigged the game. How LSU was able to throw 4 passes, in 4 seconds, score the touchdown, then kick the extra point to win.... then the clock ran out.

[Destin]

04:47 PM on 09/13/2007

Meant to add, that LSU got the ball back with 4 seconds on the clock. That's what made the 4 passes, in 4 seconds, so significant. ;)

[Destin]

05:00 PM on 09/13/2007

Another sports cheat incident from way back when college teams used to travel by train. Ga Tech went for a big game against Auburn one year. Auburn faithful greased down the RR tracks, train didn't stop til it was about 2 full miles past the station. The Yellowjackets had to lug all their equipment 2 miles back to the station walking. The result?? Auburn went on to win that night in a blowout. Seems Ga Tech ran out of steam before halftime. ;)

[glitchr]

12:45 PM on 09/13/2007

I would hate to be the Chargers right now.. Or any team on the Patriots schedule this year. That Patriots are gonna murder them. I can't believe all the sanctimonious whining about the Patriots. After years of kicking the leagues ass all over the field, these whiny fans think that a video camera is gonna erase the Patriots dynasty. Sorry not gonna happen. The whining is also not going to help your weak ass teams this year either. Here is a shocker for you. ALL teams try an steal signals. If they did not try they would not have a job. The Patriots went too far and GOT CAUGHT. That is all this is about. The Patriots should and will be punished. Truth is, this rule is ridiculous. Signal stealing is officially sanctioned, just not with a camera. Huh?

Another fact is that this could ALL be eliminated if they gave the defense the same in- helmet communication system as the offense. They tried to pass this new rule and it failed by 2 teams. Which teams said no? Maybe it was the teams that already have a fool proof way of stealing signals and are using it to their advantage.

The uproar over this is a joke. At best, it should be a fine. I think ANY draft pick taken would be a travesty. I also think that the penalty for this offense should be universal. The commissioner should not be able to pad the penalty just because it is the evil Patriots or he is trying to send a message to the rest of the league.

[frappe]

01:14 PM on 09/13/2007

I couldn't agree with you more. Well said.

[ivangoldstein]

12:30 PM on 09/13/2007

Patriots will get a playful slap on the wrist.

[cabgx2]

12:16 PM on 09/13/2007

Maybe he needs to go to rehab and/or find Jesus. It seems to be the in vogue thing to do these days.

[frappe]

01:11 PM on 09/13/2007

Belichick is decidedly NOT a Repugnantican. I believe he's a registered Democrat. Tom Brady, however, (the poor soul) is a Republican. Oh well, we can't all be perfect, right?

[Destin]

04:56 PM on 09/13/2007

Oh boy, let's bring in politics. Billy B is an ethnic croat, most likely either orthodox or muslim, either way, makes him neocon. Definitely a republican.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

07:17 AM on 09/13/2007

Why are we worried about this? The Pats aren't going to win the Super Bowl anyway.

[frappe]

11:49 AM on 09/13/2007

Who is, then? Colts? Chargers?

No way, Jose.

[Danothemoderateguy]

12:14 PM on 09/13/2007

Whoever wins the super bowl it will probably not be a team from the NFC.( the Colts or Chargers are as good a guess as any in week 2) Anyway, this goes way beyond regular scouting and watching game films. Stealing signals is against league rules. Belichick & co. got caught. Goodell will come up with a penalty. End of story. If Patriot fans should be mad they should blame Belichick, not the League.

[GrouchoMarxist]

04:17 AM on 09/13/2007

Cheaters never prosper...errr...

[whoknows]

02:46 AM on 09/13/2007

Leave my team alone!

[Libsrule]

02:09 AM on 09/13/2007

Just amazing how far we as a nation have sunk over the decades. Honor, integrity, and a belief in doing things honestly.

Yeah, it's a fantasy, but at one time it was closer to reality than it is now, by a long long mile.

[argentino]

10:20 AM on 09/13/2007

so true libsrule! there is a culture of cheating that's pervasive in this country...you talk about honor & integrity and you're almost assured to be ridiculed...this goes hand in hand with the dumbing down of america...we should be very careful who we celebrate - i've always said that the cheating, bragging and general in-your-face unsportsmanlike behavior of the athletes of today started with muhammad ali...

[boonjava]

01:22 AM on 09/13/2007

First of all, Belichick walks out of all conferences after his 15 minutes (heh) are up. It wasn't necessarily out of frustration with the questions. He wraps up with "I think that's it" and heads out the door.

[frappe]

12:14 PM on 09/13/2007

That's right. He is always careful about his responses, regardless of the context. He never "volunteers" information. And before he left the press conference, he asked if there were any questions concerning the upcoming game with the Chargers. He was prepared to answer those questions. But none were asked. He made it clear that he would have nothing to say concerning the spying incident at the outset, that he would wait for the NFL's response before commenting again.

[GenXLiberal]

12:58 AM on 09/13/2007

I seriously doubt that stealing signals from another coach is always going to work. There is what..40 seconds in between plays and in he last 15 seconds, I believe, the radio communications end. It would be awfully hard to switch your play and personel in such a timely fashion, if, and this is a big if, the defensive signals were sent out right away. Even so, the middle linebacker or safety (both are usually signal callers for defense)can call an audible to fool the offense. This is much ado about nothing, unless there is something I'm missing here.

[chupacabra]

12:37 AM on 09/13/2007

I have always admired Belichick's coaching acumen. That being said, there are now two things that Bush and Belichick have in common. One is that they are both alumni of Phillips Academy in Andover...

[FogBelter]

11:34 PM on 09/12/2007

Some "Genius"

[GrouchoMarxist]

04:13 AM on 09/13/2007

No shit

[DrewOhio1]

11:29 PM on 09/12/2007

I am a Green Bay Packer fan 4th generation. I am so angry with cheaters such as this Patriot deal. The New England Patriots may have been cheating with signals from the sidelines for years. The SuperBowl wins now come into question. Were they cheating then? What the hell is going on here! I believe that New England should be banned from Football this season. No revenue, no NFL sharing of profits, nothing. Let Robert Kraft flip the entire payroll from his pocket and threaten to eliminate the team from new england all together.

[boonjava]

01:26 AM on 09/13/2007

Call them out on cheating, they deserve it. But you seriously think cheating had anything to do with winning all those superbowls? It's kind of hard to game plan during the actual game. Much like the injury report issue, it is what it is (:-)): A brazen nose-thumbing at the NFL for being too lax with regard to protecting defensive signal calling.

[Happyfella]

01:28 AM on 09/13/2007

Hey pussy, bring that tough talk to NY and let this Jets fan kick your candy ass.

[TheBurritoAssassin]

11:25 PM on 09/12/2007

Two schools of thought on this one:

1. Lots of money in pro sports. Teams need every advantage. Ergo cheating. To counter cheating opposing teams need to adapt and deceive the team trying to cheat. Not saying it's right, just saying...

2. Commissioner Goodell is a no non-sense guy. Enforce a forfeiture penalty.

Just my thoughts...

[allpoliticiansaretraitors]

11:29 PM on 09/12/2007

After your brilliant comment above to my comment, Burritoboy, I suspect someone explained things to you...and now you agree with me. Sweet.

[smartstuart]

11:44 PM on 09/12/2007

This is NOT cheating-it's the laziness of the Jets coach that is exposed here-he was a former Pats assistant-and used a lot of the same hand signals as the Pats do-and they realized it and took advantage of the Jets' coach's stupidity! Fine the Jets for being so God damn dumb!!! Oh...if these two teams play each other 100 times, the Jets might win 2 or 3 times!!!

[Destin]

01:36 AM on 09/13/2007

What about the Packers?? The NFL officials threw the same cameraman out of the stadium when the Pats played the Packers. It's not a Jets thing. And I for one, think that the Pats should be stripped of any of their wins for as far back as this goes, and we know it encompassed the entire 2006 season so far.

[thicky]

02:03 AM on 09/13/2007

"According to NFL rules, no video recording devices are permitted in the coaches' booth, on the field or in the locker room during a game. In this case, the cameraman was on the field." They broke a clear rule therefore it is clearly cheating.

[sonofsamphm1c]

11:15 PM on 09/12/2007

This is a whole bunch of sanctimonious posturing.

Every NFL team spies on the opponent and tries to learn its defensive signals. They try to read the offensive coaches lips to get an idea of what they are doing. That is why they cover their mouths with their play call cards.

It's legal to do those activities. They can use binoculars and cameras - even cameras with a powerful telephoto lens. The can use video from the networks.

In the past NFL coaches have bragged about getting all their opponent's defensive calls down as early as the 1st quarter, and almost always by the half.

I'm a Packers fan. Last weekend the Eagles stretched two towels in front of their defensive signal caller to prevent the Packers from getting a view of what he was saying and doing with his hands. They weren't doing that because my Packers are innocent little saints.

So what the Patriots are accused of is using a banned technology to do something that is otherwise clearly legal to do, and done by every team in the league. And it appears that technology is perfectly legal if used in the appropriate parts of the stadium.

The criticism of Billy B. and the Patriots is insanely over the top. He wins because he damn good, and nothing has changed that. He's won a lot of games where his opponent has had almost all of his defensive calls. That's a certainty.

[smartstuart]

11:39 PM on 09/12/2007

Exactly correct! The one who should be punished is that lazyass, Coach Mangini of the JETS, a former Pats assisstant, who used similar signals familiar to the Pats' coaching staff-and got caught with his mouth open!!! Give the Pats Kudos-and fine the stinking JETS for making a stink about it! This is complete hogwash-the NFL will do everything to destroy a dynasty so it can tell the public how "balanced" the NFL is. The new Commish is a fool!!!

[frappe]

11:56 AM on 09/13/2007

Do you live in or near Foxboro? :))

[Destin]

01:59 AM on 09/13/2007

sonofsamphm1c
"The criticism of Billy B. and the Patriots is insanely over the top. He wins because he damn good, and nothing has changed that. He's won a lot of games where his opponent has had almost all of his defensive calls. That's a certainty."


He's good you say??

You do realize, that Bill was the coach of the former Cleveland Browns (who became the Ravens) and that he compiled a 36-44 record there. ;) Remember how he cut Bernie Kosar in order to bring in his buddy Vinny Testeverde in a dazzling moment of brilliance that failed horribly?? LOL

By the way, who was the coach for the Pats prior to Bill arriving and inheriting a gold mine of talent?? He replaced Pete Carroll who has won a few national titles with the Trojans. Admit it, Bill walked into a gift situation where it would have been impossible for even Bush to lose many games. ;)

[Chris]

08:50 AM on 09/13/2007

Destin stick to politics cause you know nothing about this.

Facts in cleveland they were a playoff team (beeating the PAts in the wild card round) and things did not get band there until MOdell decied to annouce durign the season he was moving. Players quit fans quit and the fit hit the shan.
Bernie was so great that he did nothign after leavign Cleveland.

BIllie B inherited talent from Pete Carroll? What a joke.

LEt's see Billi'e firast year 40% of the starting O-line was cut (Max Lane and Eugene Chung) and no one in the entire NFL picked them up! That is talent. No to mention the glut of bad contracts and the genius moves of GM bobby Grier drafting Chris Canty for example who never palyed after leaving NE. Again lots of great talent.

[frappe]

11:20 AM on 09/13/2007

Destin, you shouldn't speak of what you know little of. You have made too many assumptions that are blatantly false. Pete Carroll was a terrible NFL coach. The Pats deterioted badly after he took over from Parcells. And, btw, Parcells has never managed to repeat his earlier successes without his defensive coordinator, Bill Belichick.

Bill Belichick, along with Scott Paoli, is largely responsible for the strength of the Patriots franchise today. Everyone who is knowledgeable on the subject of the Patriots, and expert pundits alike, readily admit to this fundamental truth.