Chad Eaton Fight: Bill Belichick Paid Me To Start Fight During Browns Practice

Who's ready for Fight-Gate?

In a profile in the Dayton Daily News, reitred defensive lineman Chad Eaton claimed that then-Browns head coach Bill Belichick paid him money to start fights with teammates while he was a member of Cleveland's practice squad in 1995.

"If practice was going slow, he'd look at me and just say, 'It's time,'" Eaton told the Daily News. "He wanted me to get on somebody's (case) and start a little fight. I was known for that and it paid off on Fridays. There'd always be some extra money in my locker."

While Belichick is undoubtedly one of the most successful coaches of all time, he's also one who has had his methodology, even his ethics, questioned most often.

Eaton is not even the first to accuse Belichick of actually paying players to instigate fights. In 2000, Belichick denied reports in that he paid Rob Gatrell, then a rookie center with the Patriots, to start a fight with veteran defensive back Lawyer Milloy during practice.

In 2007, the controversy known as "Spygate" arose when it was revealed that Belichick's staff was filming defensive calls made the New York Jets from a sideline location during a game. Belichick was fined $500,000 by the NFL for the incident and the Patriots were docked their first-round selection in the 2008 draft. In 2008, Belichick was also accused of having a member of his staff film the walk-through practice of the St. Louis Rams prior to the Super Bowl in 2002, another charge that he flatly denied.

The Patriots are currently 5-2 and will face the New York Giants on Sunday.

Comments

[Nighthawk1982]

03:27 AM on 11/07/2011

It was a good day today. The patriots lost.

[Pat Pepe]

09:10 PM on 11/06/2011

This is a non story it should be between the team players and the coaching staff.If you think that was bad you had to be in USMC Boot Camp in 1951(Parris Island) and it hadn,t hurt me or the other boots. At graduation the DI explained why it was done, and all were satisfied and went to Korea and Kicked Ass

[pepper1311]

07:02 AM on 11/07/2011

Paris Island 1966 here then VN, what happened on the island stayed on the island. What happened in VN stayed in country.

[jhooperaa]

12:17 PM on 11/06/2011

You know your at the top of your profession and successful when the media has to dig up stories that are 16 years old to try and disparage you. Personally I could care less about this. If he gave the guy a few hundred to start a fight to get the team fired up SO WHAT. The Partiots are hated because they are good. All the loser cities in America have a bunch of frustrated sports writers and fans and as such they have to write drivel like this to make sure the hate the Patriot crowd gets thier red meat. It is pathetic.

[dwi55]

12:08 PM on 11/06/2011

I'm not a Bilicheat fan, but I don't see the story here.

[alavol]

10:50 AM on 11/06/2011

The fights were during practice with their own team mates not against other teams. What's the crime in this? He was just trying to get them fired up and ready to play.

[mheld1957]

10:38 AM on 11/06/2011

I'm a Bills fan and we finally kicked thier a**, It felt good and it will feel better when we do it again!

[mdipary2004]

10:35 AM on 11/06/2011

When you are the best, everyone is going to try and get you off your game.

[terz81]

10:09 AM on 11/06/2011

why are fans jealous of the PATS its very simple, this is how a football operation should be run for the most part they strive for perfection and strive to improve them selves no there not perfect but they are close each and every year. they also donot have a cookie cutter offense and defense.

[Hotspec Smith]

10:47 AM on 11/06/2011

When your "perfection" comes off of CHEATING, then I wouldn't call it "jealousy" per say as much as it is contempt for glorifying this sort of "organization".

[terz81]

08:05 AM on 11/07/2011

Hotspec smith thank you for your reply. the fact is what the pats did was not cheating
it was spying and I hate to break the news to you but it happens all the time from little league to the NFL. the NFL teams have scouting departments these guys are suppose to scout colloge players and also nfl players in case a team is thinking a trade, they also
scout other teams and even go to practices I know because I know a couple of guys who have done that for a living, the problem for the pats was they got caught filiming
with high tech camera and other gear, the fact is you still have to strap up and play the game.

[terz81]

08:20 AM on 11/07/2011

Cheating;
Here is what I think on the Belichick issue;
THe NFL is a league of Hypocrites cheaters and worse.
The NFL has used its power and influence and money to cover its players when they have broken the law instead of letting them face justice untill some of them have gone to far like Plexico.
The league does sanction a form of cheating lets start with the exchanging of game tapes of up comming games for example than you have teams that try and get additional tape of there
opponents plus each team has scouting departments that not only just scout colloge players but also nfl players they might be interested in like trade but also scout other teams weeks in advance, that is cheating but its allowed

[terz81]

10:04 AM on 11/06/2011

Than you have the Mel Blount rule the former Pittsburgh Steeler was so effective in bump and run coverage that the league more or less made it illegal to bump&run after five yards.
Why are their so many injuries and seems serious injuries in the NFL as opposed to other leagues?
Could Steroids be an issue? or some other more advanced drugs ?
It can also be that the NFL as a whole doesnot practice nor teach or advocate proper basic techniques, also since the league agreed to cut down on padded practices sessions it appears
the number of injurys has risen also the basic techniques that these guys are taught have gotten worse. Former players have admitted from time to time on espn that they are not taught the
proper techniques of Blocking and tackling. and guess what they are not ! most plays that I see
you can watch the blockers holding, and worse the defenders what they call tackling in any other league would be tossed from the game its very rare to see proper form tackling, if the league would enforce proper form tackling and blocking you would cut injuries in half.

[tennisguy]

09:52 AM on 11/06/2011

Belichick would do anything to gain an advantage, and he has gotten away with it over the years.

He should be somehow shot down so this type of thing doesn't spread.

[awpaguy]

11:46 AM on 11/06/2011

Why would anyone be surprised by anything that shifty Bill does? He will use any means to win, legal or not. The man has not honor, if he did he would have kept his word all those years ago about accepting the coaching job with the Jets. But no he decided his word meant nothing so he went with the money. Sure, he wins, but it doesn't make him a more honorable person. That he will never be.

[terz81]

09:47 AM on 11/06/2011

Iam not a Pats fan, however; I know a good football team and a well coached football team when I see one, The pats are a good team, yes they got busted cheating, guess what so does every body else.
The league it self cheats by changing the rules because some teams become to good, example the Greenbay Packers of the 1960's had the famous packer sweep that was a freight train when it got started in other words it took a long time to stop it so the league and the owners used rule changes and changed the football field they moved the has marks in to eliminate the true short side and wide side of the field, they claimed it was ti increase the amount of passing, the only thing is with a few exceptions the pass the ball for about the same amount of yards today as the y did in the 1960's.

[repugnicansfearme]

09:08 AM on 11/06/2011

Same guy who paid guys to film the other team's practice sessions. So, once a cheat, always a cheat.

[fishin moretimes]

08:50 AM on 11/06/2011

Don't ya just love the NFL ( National Felons League)?

[emrogers]

08:38 AM on 11/06/2011

If there's ever been a bigger non-story, I'd like someone to post it. This is nothing...oh, except to Jets fans who have been whinning since the 60's. LOL!!!!!!

[sail508]

05:12 AM on 11/06/2011

Hey, I'm a Giants fan, but it was his OWN team - for God's sake, what's the big deal?

[emrogers]

08:39 AM on 11/06/2011

There is none. Should be a good game today with Pats, though.