SportsCenter & OTL Bringing Back Spygate (live, 9AM)

[nighthob]

I don't get it.  Can you explain this joke to me?

Four or five years ago there was a punt play where a Jests assistant tripped the Miami gunner as he ran up the sideline, while the Jests had formed that barrier wall on the sideline. When the whole thing went public they insisted they were just emulating the Patriots.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

Listening to a local Seattle radio station this morning. Refreshing.
 
First of all - they had a guy on the phone from ESPN and the entire gist of his conversation was that Soft Balls Gate was generated by the NFL as a distraction from concussions and off-the-field embarrassments...and it succeeded because no one was talking about those things from January to today. Only a single reference to the Patriots not being at fault for anything to do with "equipment violations" (as he termed it).
 
Second (and best):
 
The local announcer - "The Seahawks open their season Sunday against the Rams...after winning the last 1.99 Superbowls"
 
Got to admit that was one of the funniest lines I've heard so far. Kudos.

 

[Marciano490]

Four or five years ago there was a punt play where a Jests assistant tripped the Miami gunner as he ran up the sideline, while the Jests had formed that barrier wall on the sideline. When the whole thing went public they insisted they were just emulating the Patriots.

 
Oh, cool - you edited out your rape joke, then took time to come up with something else and explained that to me as if it were the source of my confusion.  Much obliged.

 

[Shelterdog]

I was responding to the contention that it would spawn an investigation and discipline. It will not -- I have said that 3 times, and won't say it again.

I had enough common sense not to watch any of the pre-game show.

The media willl never be fair, so look on the bright side -- this is excellent fuel for our season.

 
I'll make a Jimmy Fund bet that we'll hear about another investigation or rule change or procedure change reacting to something the Pats did this season.  This is going to be a dominant national story for the entire season and the league is so incredibly stupid that they'll bite on something sooner or later.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

 
is that guy Gronk?

Bite your tongue!

 

[Harry Hooper]

No.  Deflategate got huge because nobody had ever even considered the inflation level of balls before, except in one or two cases, and because it was a championship game. 
 
We already have literally dozens of people on record saying that this radio signal stuff happens all the time, in every stadium.   It would be impossible to prop this incident up as somehow "unfair play" when it's going on all the time. 
 
It would be like saying the Patriots should be punished because they didn't put a dome on their stadium and sometimes it rains.

 
 
Oh, c'mon, there's no roof so the Pats can illegally watch the big screen out in the parking lot.

 

[tims4wins]

What I love about this is that Tomlin says this happens every time they are in Foxboro. Ok, fine, I will take you at your word. Question for you, Mike: if it happens every time, why weren't you prepared for it? You could have, I dunno, practiced for such a scenario if you knew it was going to happen. Like another coach said he does.
 
It is almost like these teams want excuses for losing. Someone said it upthread - it is a win-win scenario, Pats keep winning, other teams keep thinking Pats cheat so they have an excuse for losing.

 

[Rook05]

One of Dan Patrick's lackies said that a league source--didn't want to name him because he was a friend--told him that the Pats have some of the crappiest/oldest infrastructure for the communication systems out there. He implied that the Pats haven't upgrade it because they are prepared for outages versus opponents who might not be.

To his credit, Dan effectively said that was horseshit, that it's a league issue, and if they wanted it upgraded they could make it happen.

Given how many of these my-sister's-cousin's-uncle's-college roommate stories we're being treated to, we're going to have to get a bigger bowl in order to make sure there's enough dicks to eat for everyone.

 

[dcmissle]

 
I'll make a Jimmy Fund bet that we'll hear about another investigation or rule change or procedure change reacting to something the Pats did this season.  This is going to be a dominant national story for the entire season and the league is so incredibly stupid that they'll bite on something sooner or later.

Oh there will be rule changes, to be sure. The stuff Ben complained about last night probably goes to the top of the list. Any and every tactic that puts a premium or preparation and attention to detail -- or can in any way be characterized as tricky -- will eventually be outlawed.

This is a three-fer for the owners; eliminates Pats advantage; saves th from embarrassment; keeps a kid on coaches salaries down the line. Why pay a premium for coaching when there is little coaching to be done?

 

[Marciano490]

What I love about this is that Tomlin says this happens every time they are in Foxboro. Ok, fine, I will take you at your word. Question for you, Mike: if it happens every time, why weren't you prepared for it? You could have, I dunno, practiced for such a scenario if you knew it was going to happen. Like another coach said he does.
 
It is almost like these teams want excuses for losing. Someone said it upthread - it is a win-win scenario, Pats keep winning, other teams keep thinking Pats cheat so they have an excuse for losing.

 
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-NISC-leb0[youtube]
 
Well, you think this means maybe you should think about getting some new shit?

 

[ifmanis5]

Verbate below of BB's comments on Headsetgate. Key quote is:
 

IT'S KIND OF SAD, REALLY, TO SEE SOME STORIES WRITTEN OBVIOUSLY HAVE AN AGENDA TO THEM WITH MIS-INFORMATION AND ANONYMOUS TYPE COMMENTS, YOU KNOW, WRITING ABOUT WARM DRINKS AND TRASH CANS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
I MEAN IT'S JUST A SAD COMMENTARY AND IT'S REALLY - IT'S GONE TO A PRETTY LOW LEVEL, SUNK PRETTY DEEP.

 
 
Full quote in spoiler..

Spoiler

BB: NO. I WILL JUST SAY, PHIL, THAT IT IS PRETTY COMMON, YOU KNOW, I MEAN LOOK THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF DOWN THERE. THERE'S THE COACH QUARTERBACK STUFF, OFFENSE AND DEFENSE. THERE'S HEADSETS FOR THE PRESS BOX,
THERE'S THE TABLETS, THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON THERE AND YOU KNOW WE HAD SOME PROBLEMS IN THE FIRST HALF AND IT SEEMED OKAY THEN WE GOT TO THE END OF THE GAME AND MOST PROBLEMS WE HAD WERE ON OUR
LAST TWO POSSESSIONS ON OFFENSE AND DEFENSE.SOME TIMES IT GOES ALONG FINE AND SOME TIMES IF SOMETHING HAPPENS,YOU GO TO THE GUYS ON THE SIDELINE WITH THE BLUE HATS OR PURPLE HATS, WHATEVER THEY'RE CALLED
AND THEN YOU TELL THEM ABOUT IT AND THEN THEY FIX IT. I MEAN I DON'T REALLY KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT TECHNOLOGY TO KNOW HOW ANY OF IT WORKS, BUT THAT'S HOW IT WORKS.WE ENDED UP HARD WIRING SOME OF OUR HEADSETS TO
KIND OF ELIMINATE THE WIRELESS PART, BUT IT'S NOT NOT AN UNCOMMON PROBLEM. WE END UP HAVING SIGNAL SOEMWEHRE IT PLAYS OFFENSIVELY, BUT WE COULDN'T GET IT IN. WE LOOK AT IT AS SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO BE PREPEARED
FOR EVERY WEEK. AND WE PRACTICE IT SO IT'S HOME, AWAY, I DON'T REALLY THINK THERE'S ANY COMMON DENOMINATOR. I'LL JUST SAY TYING IT IN WITH AC OUPLE THINGS FROM LAST WEEK OR EARLIER IN THE WEEK, I THINK OVERALL
IT'S KIND OF SAD, REALLY, TO SEE SOME STORIES WRITTEN OBVIOUSLY HAVE AN AGENDA TO THEM WITH MIS-INFORMATION AND ANONYMOUS TYPE COMMENTS, YOU KNOW, WRITING ABOUT WARM DRINKS AND TRASH CANS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
I MEAN IT'S JUST A SAD COMMENTARY AND IT'S REALLY - IT'S GONE TO A PRETTY LOW LEVEL, SUNK PRETTY DEEP. AND I - FIRST OF ALL WOULD SAY OUR PROGRAM HERE IS BUILT ON COMPETITION AND TRYING TO IMPROVE EVERYDAY AND TRYING TO WORK HARD.
AND IT'S NOT BUILT ON EXCUSES. AND WE TRY TO GO TO WORK AND IMPROVE AND FIND A WAY TO GET BETTER AND THIS ORGANIZATION HAS WON A LOT OF GAMES, PARTICULARLY IN REFERENCE TO THE GREAT TEAMS FROM 01, 03, 04, BACK IN THERE AND ALL
THE GREAT PLAYERS THAT PLAYED ON THOSE TEAMS - TY LAW, MALLOY, OTIS SMITH ,RODNEY HARRISON, BRUZKY, IZZO, MCGUINESS, RABEL, PLEASANT,SEYMOUR, WIGGINS, MATT LIGHT, ANT DREWZY, STEVE NEIL,BRANCH, TROY BROWN, BRADY, ANTOIN SMITH,
KEVIN FALL, CORY DYLAN, BONNIE PAXTON, ZENETARIE. THE TAKEAWAY FROM WHAT THOSE GUYS ACCOMPLISHED,WHAT THOSE TEAMS ACCOMPLISHED, HOW GOOD THEY WERE, HOW MANY GOOD PLAYERS WE HAD, HOW WELL THEY PLAYED IN THICK GAMES, HOW THEY CONSISTENTLY
SHOWED UP AND MADE BIG PLAYS AND GAME WINNING PLAYS, IT'S NOT RIGHT. THOSE GUYS WERE GREAT PLAYERS AND MANY MORE. THOSE WERE A FEW OF THEM AND GREAT TEAMS. I AM NOT GOING TO GET IN A BACK AND FORTH ABOUT IT, BUT THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT IT.

 

[edmunddantes]

It makes you wonder. What is it some of these coaches are doing when they only sleep 2-3 hrs a night, some times on the crappy office couch, slowly killing themselves. (Per all the stories)

Are they like that cube mate everyone has the brags about his early mornings/late nights that he is always doing even though he's just messing around 90% of the time, and just doing the hours for appearances?

 

[Bleedred]

 
is that guy Gronk?

Which one?

 

[brandonchristensen]

https://twitter.com/mikethomasmt8/status/642365277255110656/video/1

omg hahahaha
 
That's incredible

 

[brandonchristensen]

 

[prunikos]

What does warm drinks and trash cans refer to?

 

[joe dokes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oOWwN3T2xkc

 

[Tizzolator]

I'm actually a bit fearful this will lead to another investigation with more penalties. Kraft should be, too.

 
Given the present environment, this would not surprise me. But, hey, if it forced some of these anonymous sources to put their names behind their accusations, it may not be such a bad thing. 

 

[tims4wins]

What does warm drinks and trash cans refer to?

 
Warm drinks is the Gatorade reportedly not being cold
 
Trash cans, I assume, is referring to the Pats reportedly stealing play script sheets

 

[Ferm Sheller]

 
Warm drinks is the Gatorade reportedly not being cold
 
 

 
 
That happened ONCE - in a game against the Bears.  But it should be noted that some Bears players thought the Gatorade was too cold and others thought it was just right.

 

[djbayko]

One of Dan Patrick's lackies said that a league source--didn't want to name him because he was a friend--told him that the Pats have some of the crappiest/oldest infrastructure for the communication systems out there. He implied that the Pats haven't upgrade it because they are prepared for outages versus opponents who might not be.

To his credit, Dan effectively said that was horseshit, that it's a league issue, and if they wanted it upgraded they could make it happen.

Given how many of these my-sister's-cousin's-uncle's-college roommate stories we're being treated to, we're going to have to get a bigger bowl in order to make sure there's enough dicks to eat for everyone.

First, I don't believe this is what is going on here, since we've all heard the stories from other stadiums around the league.

However, IF this is the root of it, then I applaud Belichick. This is not cheating. It's Aurbachian home court advantage, like the divots in the parquet floor.

Be prepared.

 

[tims4wins]

I have watched the AFC Championship Game probably 10+ times in full, and I think my favorite part is that the Colts had chicken broth on the sideline... on a 55 degree night. As if they were playing in sub 0 windchill type weather.
 
Edit: the Gatorade temperature thing reminded me of this for some reason

 

[pappymojo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIBCPAWUEKM

 

[pappymojo]

First, I don't believe this is what is going on here, since we've all heard the stories from other stadiums around the league.

However, IF this is the root of it, then I applaud Belichick. This is not cheating. It's Aurbachian home court advantage, like the divots in the parquet floor.

Be prepared.

It might also just be a cheap owner.

 

[jimbobim]

It appears as if the ESPN nation reporters are running an ad hoc snitch/investigation and asking every coach before their game if they'd had issues with their headset in NE. Puke. Most have classily declined comment. Still pathetic  

 

[PayrodsFirstClutchHit]

 
 
That happened ONCE - in a game against the Bears.  But it should be noted that some Bears players thought the Gatorade was too cold and others thought it was just right.

 

 

[canderson]

Steelers fans deny they won't file a complaint, even after posting the team statement. These people are great.

 

[johnmd20]

 
 
That happened ONCE - in a game against the Bears.  But it should be noted that some Bears players thought the Gatorade was too cold and others thought it was just right.

 
Oh shit, that's really well done.

 

[pedro1918]

I didn't get it at first.  But that is pretty funny.  Well done indeed.

 

[bankshot1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoqQnR8NOVI

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

That happened ONCE - in a game against the Bears.  But it should be noted that some Bears players thought the Gatorade was too cold and others thought it was just right.

Thank you Ferm. I am dying over here.

 

[txexile]

 
Also heard Peter King on the pre-game show yesterday saying something similar -- that Goodell doesn't tolerate dissenting views and that people are getting sick of being shouted down any time they dare to question the boss.  Something about the NFL needing a "The emperor has no clothes" moment.

I thought the last Sally Jenkins column -- the one where she quoted various people remembering Goodell blowing a gasket in public places -- was a good start on the "no clothes" front.
 
 

 
[p.s. We really need to have a separate thread for some of the anti-NFL whispering going on.  Call it the Schadenfreude Thread or something]

Endorse, endorse! Separate thread for "voices from inside the Front Office" would serve as a magnet for these rumors.

 

[E5 Yaz]

"This organization has won a lot of games. Particularly in reference to the great teams from '01, '03, '04, back in there, and all the great players that played on those teams -- Ty Law, [Lawyer] Milloy, Otis Smith, Rodney Harrison, [Tedy] Bruschi, [Larry] Izzo, [Willie] McGinest, [Mike] Vrabel, [Anthony] Pleasant, [Richard] Seymour, Matt Light, [Joe] Andruzzi, Steve Neal, [Deion] Branch, Troy Brown, [Tom] Brady, Antowain Smith, Kevin Faulk, Corey Dillon, Lonie Paxton, [Adam] Vinatieri. To take away from what those guys accomplished, what those teams accomplished, how good they were, how many great players we had, how well they played in big games, how consistently they showed up and made big plays and game-winning plays, it's just not right. Those guys, they were great players. And many more; those are a few of them. And great teams."

Nah, Bill ... it's because you cheat

 

[JayMags71]

Warm drinks is the Gatorade reportedly not being cold

That happened ONCE - in a game against the Bears.  But it should be noted that some Bears players thought the Gatorade was too cold and others thought it was just right.

 

[bankshot1]

 
 
That happened ONCE - in a game against the Bears.  But it should be noted that some Bears players thought the Gatorade was too cold and others thought it was just right.

great stuff

 

[Joe D Reid]

Townies? There are no townies in Andooooover.

I looked it up, and it was actually Exeter. Which also doesn't have townies, except as measure by the standards of someone who goes to Exeter.

 

[Harry Hooper]

One of Dan Patrick's lackies said that a league source--didn't want to name him because he was a friend--told him that the Pats have some of the crappiest/oldest infrastructure for the communication systems out there. He implied that the Pats haven't upgrade it because they are prepared for outages versus opponents who might not be.

To his credit, Dan effectively said that was horseshit, that it's a league issue, and if they wanted it upgraded they could make it happen.

Given how many of these my-sister's-cousin's-uncle's-college roommate stories we're being treated to, we're going to have to get a bigger bowl in order to make sure there's enough dicks to eat for everyone.

 
 
Except for trophies and mementos, stuff in Foxboro should be no more than 14 years old.

 

[edmunddantes]

That weird line about "they ordered pizzas, but everyone waited for Goodell to take a slice, and the pizzas went cold" anecdote from deflategate spoke volumes.
 
I would bet the person that leaked that story did it show how in control and strong Goodell is, but it really shows how fucked up the office politics are in that building. Additionally what a megalomaniac Goodell must be that he has engendered a belief in his staff that if one of them took a slice of pizza before him it would have been a sign of something bad.
 
Just screams classic bad boss tactics. We all know the kind. They've read the latest management strategy. dropping the business buzzword bingo words, etc...
 
I would not be surprised that the long knives are out, and guys are starting to angle for a soft landing spot if it all goes south.

 

[EricFeczko]

It appears as if the ESPN nation reporters are running an ad hoc snitch/investigation and asking every coach before their game if they'd had issues with their headset in NE. Puke. Most have classily declined comment. Still pathetic  

We (collectively, of course) need to calm down on this; from ESPN's front page article.

 

 
The Patriots say their communications also were interfered with. The NFL took responsibility for the breakdown, saying it controls communications equipment, including headsets, for both teams.

 

 
The NFL released a statement Friday morning explaining that coaches' communications equipment, including the headsets, is provided by the NFL for both teams' use on game day, but that the home team "is responsible for the installation and maintenance of that equipment."
"Every team's game-day communications personnel are required to work with the NFL communications consultants to ensure wireless equipment is free and clear of interference and address any problems," said Michael Signora, the league's vice president of football communications. "Technological and stadium infrastructure issues of this type happen at many stadiums around the league, and whenever there are issues of this nature, we do a thorough review."
Signora said Thursday night that the interference in coaches' headsets was caused by a stadium power infrastructure issue in Foxborough.

 
Houston Texans coach Bill O'Brien, who worked on Belichick's staff in various capacities from 2007-2011, said "a headset issue happens every game. It happened in Dallas [Houston's final preseason game]. It happens here [in Houston]. It happens wherever I've been.
"I think what happens is, and I'm certainly not a technical person, but I think on gameday because of all the TV wires and everything that go in, the Internet, everything that's there on gameday, I think sometimes the wires get crossed with the headsets. That's been my experience. It went out in Dallas. ... It happens in just about every game I've coached in the National Football League."
Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy was asked about the matter Friday and said, "I think any time you compete in this league long enough, there's things that go wrong and you adjust. It's definitely not the first time [headset issues have] happened in a game, and I'm sure it won't be the last."

There will certainly be NFL fans of other teams that will egg us pats fans on this. There are two-three reasons for this:
a) These are the same fans that would assess a team's quality based on how many superbowls said team won.
b) They are trolling you; Pats fans often respond vociferously to such taunts.
c) They are jealous of our continued success and projecting that jealously.

Here's the trick to getting them to stop (if you want them to):

1) Accept the cheating by making a few pats-deprecating jokes yourself. Yes, its not true, but in this case, it is better to be smart than right.
2) After the laughter dies down, ask the person open-ended questions as to what occurred. Handled them like children. Empathize with their emotional weakness and let them talk out their bitterness and frustrations with a continually losing team.
3) After the crying (or whatever) stops, ask them about facts that contradict their version of the story. Again make it open-ended, so that they can come to the realization that they are deluded.
4) Let them come to the realization that the reason their team is losing is because the team is run incompetently; and that the Pats have been better than almost everyone else because they work harder.

 

[Marciano490]

Drinking warm liquid is actually better during competition. Your body doesn't have to waste any calories bringing it up to body temperature. Very, very minimal difference, but it's better.

 

[Investor 11]

An interesting note I picked out of the article on the Steelers website is that they mention that the Patriots broadcast was so loud that they couldn't communicate. To me, that says their communications weren't cut but that they were dealing with interference and couldn't hear each other over it.

That won't stop the blitz of accusations but at the same time they seem to be pushing a narrative that their radios were cut off. Im sure if you asked most people, who believe the Pats did something, what happened they would believe the same. Even though the Steelers own website appears to say something different.

 

[Red Right Ankle]

Drinking warm liquid is actually better during competition. Your body doesn't have to waste any calories bringing it up to body temperature. Very, very minimal difference, but it's better.

This is why I have a catheter that runs directly to a camelbak.  No waste.

 

[Rudi Fingers]

 
Andover.  Not the knockoff one.

 
Drew Magary went to the knockoff one (Exeter) per https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1c7qsp/i_am_drew_magary_deadspin_columnist_gq/
 
He clearly would have rather been at Andover, home of Belichick and Ernie Adams (and drleather and rudi)
 
 

[–]SurferDude 5 points


2 years ago
 
 




What dorm did you live in at Exeter, and could you ever really support an Andover athlete?

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[–]DrewMagary[S] 6 points

2 years ago
 
 




I lived in Soule. We had gang showers.
I'd support an Andover athlete. I don't really care anymore. I hate Belichick for Belichick. If anything, I get all tittilated when someone famous attends a Phillips school. OH I WENT TO ONE OF THOSE! I;m such a gash.

 

 

[Devizier]

It makes you wonder. What is it some of these coaches are doing when they only sleep 2-3 hrs a night, some times on the crappy office couch, slowly killing themselves. (Per all the stories)

Are they like that cube mate everyone has the brags about his early mornings/late nights that he is always doing even though he's just messing around 90% of the time, and just doing the hours for appearances?

 
There's a term for that.

 

[Devizier]

 

[AB in DC]

 
I'll make a Jimmy Fund bet that we'll hear about another investigation or rule change or procedure change reacting to something the Pats did this season.  This is going to be a dominant national story for the entire season and the league is so incredibly stupid that they'll bite on something sooner or later.

 
Or something the Pats didn't do, but everyone thinks they did

 

[djbayko]

An interesting note I picked out of the article on the Steelers website is that they mention that the Patriots broadcast was so loud that they couldn't communicate. To me, that says their communications weren't cut but that they were dealing with interference and couldn't hear each other over it.

That won't stop the blitz of accusations but at the same time they seem to be pushing a narrative that their radios were cut off. Im sure if you asked most people, who believe the Pats did something, what happened they would believe the same. Even though the Steelers own website appears to say something different.

Yes, this has always been the claim. The allegation is that the Patriots caused the interference.

The other claim is that the league didn't properly cut off the Pats' comms during the Steelers' issue.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

Drinking warm liquid is actually better during competition. Your body doesn't have to waste any calories bringing it up to body temperature. Very, very minimal difference, but it's better.

 
Is this really a thing that athletes take seriously?  Back of the envelope math would say that the energy to bring 40 F water to body temperature is about 16,250 calories.  (37c - 4.5c = 32.5 degrees x 500ml = 16,250)  To bring 70 degree water to body temperature requires 7,950 calories (37c - 21.1c = 15.9 degrees x 500 ml = 7,950).  So, the difference between drinking a half litre of very cold and very warm water is expenditure of 8.3 food calories.  A football player probably burns that putting on his shoulder pads -- or gets it by swishing gatorade around his mouth and spitting it out from the few mls that are left behind.

 

[djbayko]

 
Is this really a thing that athletes take seriously?  Back of the envelope math would say that the energy to bring 40 F water to body temperature is about 16,250 calories.  (37c - 4.5c = 32.5 degrees x 500ml = 16,250)  To bring 70 degree water to body temperature requires 7,950 calories (37c - 21.1c = 15.9 degrees x 500 ml = 7,950).  So, the difference between drinking a half litre of very cold and very warm water is expenditure of 8.3 food calories.  A football player probably burns that putting on his shoulder pads -- or gets it by swishing gatorade around his mouth and spitting it out from the few mls that are left behind.

I don't think he was being that serious - hence "minimal difference".

It's not a great argument because, like you said the difference in calories is more than made up by the fact that a cold drink just feels more soothing and enjoyable.

It's like the people who say that spending $1 on a $400,000,000 lottery ticket is foolish. Yes, pot odds say I'm throwing the dollar away, but I easily get my money's worth of pleasure thinking about the possibility of winning...and it's a fucking dollar.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

I don't think he was being that serious  

 
F*ck.  That keeps happening to me.  I think he's probably forgotten more about high performance athletics than I've known, so I was genuinely curious.  But back to your regular programming . . . .