heels, sox & steelers
The Steelers were caught cheating - kind of - a few years ago when they lost a third round draft pick for "circumventing the salary cap."
Living in Pittsburgh with a bunch of people who constantly moan about the lack of a salary cap being the end of baseball as we know it (in Pittsburgh) I find that to be a far worse crime than trying to decipher hand signals, figure out what they mean, relay them to the sidelines, relay them to the players on the field, and get everyone in position to make it all work all before the ball is snapped.
Of course, none of it changes anything. Steelers #1. Everybody else: Boo.
ANd I haven't spent all season rooting against New England because they cheated. I've spent all season rooting against them because they're a bunch of douche bags. Pardon my french.
Adam,
Good points. Particularly the last one.
I didn't care much about Spygate until this latest revelation of filming the walk-through. That's specific game-plan work. That is much different that filming a coach on the sideline during game day.
As for the Steelers' "Cheating", if you recall it was Dan Rooney who paid Wilford money for switching positions and then called the league on himself. I didn't and don't see any comparison to sneaking inside a closed stadium and filming an opponent's Saturday walk-through.
Happy Holiday everyone.
If the Steelers were caught cheating? I'd be disappointed, and have to question some of the success they had. By the same token (and my stance is the same with the Pats), players play the game, and still have to execute.
Saw on NFLN this morning that Charles Grant, DE, of the Saints was stabbed in the neck last night during a fight outside a club in Atlanta. A pregnant woman was also shot and killed. Grant is expected to be ok....
I would give a toe to see the Pats lose today.
If Troy Edwards wouldn't have run out of bounds for no reason none of this would be an issue.
Plaxico Burres? What he done?
- Troy Edwards
I'd feel exactly the way I do now -- I simultaneously doubt:
1. Other teams don't do it (or something similar) all the time;
2. It gives that much of a competitive balance.
I wrote a long time ago that if the JETS had been caught for doing something similiar (oh...wait...) no-one would care because they don't win much. Same thing with, say, the Falcons. Let's say they get caught photocopying other teams playbooks. Does Comcast get involved then? Of COURSE not: there's a fine, everyone laughs at how bad the Falcons are at both cheating AND winning while cheating, and we move on.
The 70's Steelers have been acknowledged as cheaters for a long time -- their use of (granted, not-really-documented) steroids is that of legend, and therein lies a form of cheating that CERTAINLY contributes directly to play-on-the-field. I don't really care because....well, everyone was doing it and the 70's Steelers are awesome. There is an arrogance and vindictiveness, a moral superiority, in the discussions of Spygate that belie not a real belief that Spygate is such a big deal, but that the Patriots are aholes and are deserving of a different degree of moral/ethical treatment and discourse than any other team.
Sidenote -- I'm from Pennslyvania, and let me say this: Spector is an embarrassment. Regardless of how you feel about the Pats, this is an area that the US Government should have NO jurisdiction. Hopefully, at some point in time, there'll be an investigation into his TIMING (since his motives are pretty clear) and this thing will turn on its ear.
That's it! 16 minutes into the Fox Pre-Game and I have to switch back to NFLN. Ryan Seacrest and a red carpet? Are you kidding me?
I'm watching Rangers-Canadiens.
More reason to watch NFLN - Marshall Faulk stated that no matter what happens today he still considers the '75 Steelers the best team ever.
Hey...if you are a young guy, have a son, or just a weekend warrior like myself...
UnderArmour is taking pre-orders on their Cross Trainers on their site as we speak...
You'll be seeing the commercial today during the Super Bowl...
And it continues...
NFLN: Debate about the best QB of all time, and does Tom Brady deserve to be in the conversation?
Fox: Bunch of guys/actors standing on a street corner, half from Boston, half from New York, talking trash. With an emphasis on trash, debating who has the worst accent.
NFLN is winning this hands down.
Apparently Sal Pal over at ESPN reported this morning that IF the latest rumor about the Pats taping the Rams practice is true, Coach B would be suspended for a year.....stay tuned.
I have one question about the whole "Spygate" thing:
First, a few assumptions- Bill Belichek is among the most intelligent coaches ever; perhaps the most intelligent ever. The current New England Patriots franchise is a model organization in the modern era of the NFL. Few other teams match the Patriots acumen for drafting, scouting, scheming, gameplanning, etc.
With those assumptions in mind, why would they waste their time doing something that was of little tangible benefit? Even if you don't think Belichek is a "genius," he is certainly not a stupid person. It seems utterly ridiculous that someone has smart as he would waste time, energy, and resources on something as utterly "silly" as this unless he was, in fact, getting something out of it.
RE: Spygate - Calig, I believe it has to do with (if true) BB's obsession with winning.
More Pre-Game for you:
FOX: Replay of various parties from Super Bowl week including celebs predicing the game.
NFLN: Debate/discussion of Jeremy Shockey - referring to it as 'addition by subtraction'.
RE: Spygate - Calig, I believe it has to do with (if true) BB's obsession with winning.
I agree that BB is obsessed with winning, and doing whatever it takes to ensure victory. But that goes back to the question: Why would he invest time and energy into something that was both against the rules and not helping him attain victory?
Again, BB isn't stupid. If those videotapes weren't helping him win, he wouldn't have been having them made.
Perhaps Calig, it's as simple as arrogance.
There's a problematic circular logic there -- they must have contributed to winning, because BB love to win; thus, anything BB does must contribute to winning, thus taping helps teams.
Using that logic, and assuming they have stopped taping, wouldn't we then have to say: BB loves to win, BB has gone undefeated this year, thus not-taping has been proven to win more than taping does? Thus, doesn't this year prove it is not as effective as when he isn't taping?
Why would he invest time and energy into something that was both against the rules and not helping him attain victory?
Reminds me of Watergate. Why on earth did CREEP think they needed anything underhanded to beat McGovern.
That is assuming that Belichick and the Patriots aren't still cheating in other ways. (snicker)
By the way, Ryan, what happened to the permalink ability for each thread on HSS?
Henigin, does it work when you click on the time the link was posted (for example, for this post it's the "11:00 AM" at the bottom of the post.
If that doesn't work, let me know.
Also, I'm an idiot; I just realized that I NFLN has their own pregame coverage. I 've been watching Fox like a jackass.
Is it me or do the Pre-Game show hosts (on both networks) seem a bit bored??
I've been gone all weekend. Just got back an hour ago.
If the Pats lose the Super Bowl, I'll be thrilled, but I doubt they will. And if they win, I really won't even care. Brady's a schmuck. Belichick's a schmuck. Hell karma will get them in the end.
Oh, and I really hope the thing about them taping the walkthrough is true.
Ryan...my point exactly
Fox just announced that 'for the next hour we'll concentrate solely on the game itself'....
What a brilliant idea!
If the Steelers had been caught, I would have rationalized it away just like Steed getting caught using steroids and other boo-boos.
The fact is, the Patriots still had to go off and beat EVERY TEAM they played.
Ever since they beat the Rams, I've thought they had superior (ahem) game planning. Now we know why. Belichik is smart and so is their staff. I hate their guts.
If it had been the Steelers, I wouldn't care too much except it would be a little harder to say "they're as clean and good an organization as there is in football."
I can say that right now. And thats an important thing to me as I get old(er)
Fox continues to out do itself by stating that 'you just heard what Dr. Phil and Jay Leno think about the Super Bowl..' as an intro to Frank Caliendo.
Earlier Fox celebrated what great Super Bowls had taken place on Fox..
Note to Fox:
Nobody cares about celebrities and their band wagon jumping predictions
Nor does anyone care what station it is on.
Highlights would have been a much better intro.
Jordin Sparks (Philippi's daughter) looks a bit nervous.
Nice job Jordin - glad I voted for you last year.
Prison Break ad showed the teams in the wrong uniforms - you would think a Fox show would do some research....
(is this thing on?)
Brady is already pissed - that they didn't win the coin toss.
Nice early drive by the Giants - nice play by Eli.
The NFL.com Gamecenter Field shows a Patriot logo in the middle. Umm hey guy's this is the Super Bowl
How about that leg drive by Bradshaw!?
Bad start, good ending to the Diet Pepsi Max commercial...funny....
Special Teams...Special Teams...Special Teams...
Just saw the UA commercial - I now want to tackle someone..
Giants D has done a nice job...now if they could only repeat that first drive on offense.
..and another sack of Brady...Steve Neal is hurt....
(glad I like the sound of my own post)
We've been saying it all year - get to Brady, hit Brady - well two deep pass attempts to Moss and two incomplete passes. Both times Brady was hit..
First two rounds of the Draft - O-Line and D-Line.
See what happens when Brady doesn't have time?
8-14 82 0-0
I think Brady's still a little gimpy. He looks pretty awful. Either that, or Gisele has pulled a Jessica Simpson on him.
Reminds me unfortuantely of the Steeler game. The underdog/good guys are the better team in the first half, but still find themselves down by four points at halftime. I hope it has a different ending.
Once gain, first drive in the second half is huge. Pats get the ball first, If they score a TD watch out...
I could do without the concert at halftime...
I hate college sometimes. As soon as this game's over I have fifty pages of Saint Augustine to read and a paper to write.
For those of you scoring at home (or elsewhere):
TOP 19:27 - 10:33 Giants
Total Yards 139 - 81 Giants
Re steroids - were they not even classified as illegal until like 1989? Not saying their use was a good or evenm a fair thing, but was there a rule against it?....
Saint Augustine? Who did he play for?
How long is this halftime? Dear God
Petty won't back down.....
To this point, Spagnuolo's stock is going through the roof.
12 men on the field? This could be a major momentum swing if BB wins this one....
Interesting that video would help out the Pats huh?
Men/Sarah....
This is the definition of Defense.
And why opt out of the FG there?
Eli is spreading the ball out, but surprisingly Plax only has one catch
Does Wes Welker have some magic force field around him that either prevents defensive players from seeing him altogether, or causes them to just bounce away from if they get too close?
BigBen sings...!
Why did we get rid of Plaxico again?? Are you kidding me????
Good defense, solid running game, efficient QB..that's the model we should be following...
A rookie D-Lineman with a huge Sack! Draft D-Line! Sorry, got carried away
Remember kids....It's not how you start, it's how you finish.
Heh.
Belichick has left the building - priceless
BB. What. An. Ass.
Can't stay on the field.
Ryan...please note somewhere that after the Steeler/Jag game Ben waited, yes waited for Garrard to finish his interview.
In this game, the Super Bowl, Brady left the field without shaking hands...
5 Rings.
Priceless.
New England Cheaters.
Classless.
For 58 minutes of clock I watched none of this game. The TV was off, I listened to Rush, drank Cherry Vodka and coke, and read the Great Shark Hunt By Hunter S. Thompson.
Then my brother called me, late in the fourth quarter, and told me I had to watch.
I did.
That was awesome. I loathe Eli Manning, I despise Tom Coughling...but that was awesome.
16-0 means nothing now. Meaningless. Justice prevails. Sort of.
I don't know how anybody can want to play for BB after he leaves his team on the field for the last play.
Disgusting.
Yeah really.
True colors baby.
Not pretty.
16-0*.
* - Lost Super Bowl to Eli Manning.
Tim,
You owe us a toe. I'm sure it was worth it! Great Superbowl!
I was sitting in a Manhattan bar on December 9th. I had a game to play at 2:30, and of course had to get to my Steelers bar for the Patriots' game.
Anyway, I just sat there by myself, and watched the Giants game, observing the townspeople.
There were two dudes from New York on my left. Both Giants fans.
And they HATED Eli. I mean despised. Every time he dropped back they were smack-talking.
What a difference 6 weeks work. Really.
My phone is text-ing off the hook right now. . .
So happy.... no words...
I cannot tell you how excited I am for Belihick's interview.
ESPN the Magazine asked fans of every team who they were rooting for in this game. Every team's fans but the Pats were rooting for the Giants. So there is joy across the country.
I wrote a post before the AFCCG that incorrectly predicted a Jags win. But I did write something that captured my feelings throughout this season: "Watching the Pats is like watching Darth Vader: I’m impressed and have a sense of constant dread, but I know there are weaknesses and I expect them to be exploited eventually if there is to be justice in the universe."
http://www.haloscan.com/comments...3997243/
#263759
It's official, folks...and say it with me now...Tom Brady is a choker. Three years running, he can't win the big one when favored.
Can't wait 'til Moss starts popping off this week.
Oops, in the AFCCG, I picked the Bolts, not the Jags... I was wrong but not that wrong...
Tomorrow's Question of the Day:
What lessons should the Steelers take to heart from the Giants' upset win in this Super Bowl?
Randy....
Good defense + Franchise QB = Super Bowl
Randy -
Haven't the Steelers already learned that lesson? But maybe you mean they've un-learned it recently.
QotD: Score more points than the other team.
Randy, I'd say that the lesson is the importance of being able to get to the QB without blitzing. So a rush DE would be nice.
I feel great for Plax...
Anyone still want to mirror the Pats on the off-season?
Free at last, free at last, thank you Eli we are free at last!!
We have been saved from hearing 19-0 for the next 50 years.
There was much rejoicing!!
I never would have believed that I would be happy to see that Pats go 16-0. But having them go undefeated only to choke in the Superbowl, while Brady and Bellichick show poor sportsmanship... I think I'll smile everytime I hear 16-0 now.
And yes, I am a petty asshole but all is right with the universe now.
Seeing Strahan come off the end like that - and the flashes that Woodley showed this season....
It just goes to show that cheaters never win. And knowing is half the battle. I am glad now that I watched all those G.I. Joe cartoons when I was a kid.
I feel happy that Plexico got that touchdown catch at the end. Good for him.
I do wonder about the Patriots play calling on 3rd and 20, and 4th and 20. Granted they needed some yards for a field goal try to tie the game, but why try and get it all on one play? Why not try for the first down there?
QOTD Part II
With the loss of the Pats in the Super Bowl, how do you now feel about the Steelers this past year? Does it make you feel better at all?
Eric, some might think it is petty, but I'll call it one of the all-time great moments of karmic justice. And schadenfreude, too. Going 18-0, having your entire "dynasty" called into question for cheating, going up late and then losing in the last minute in the Super Bowl... it really can't get much worse than that.
SteelerBill, a few of us (Eric, I think was one of them) said we'd get more satisfaction out of the Pats losing than the Steelers winning this year. I'll stick to that.
Also, Brady was offended that Plax's inaccurate predicted the Pats would get 17 points. Way to back that up with 14 points, Tom.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/pl...tory?
id=3222404
SteelerBill, right after the game was over I said, "This last year of football wasn't much fun for me but having the Patriots lose in the Superbowl makes it all OK."
Watching the struggles of the inconsistent o-line was very frustrating and the constant Patriots chatter only made it worse.
The ball never lies. And Eli is still a nerd. A lovable nerd, but a nerd nonetheless. And yeah, I'm very happy for Plax. He's just like Hines -- he cries!
With Rivers' heroic performance in the AFCCG and Eli winning the Super Bowl MVP, Ben's QB draft class is starting to look pretty good...
Plax earned his ring this year. I can't believe he played (and played well!) on that ankle. He's gotten tougher since leaving Pgh. I think he's matured too.
Just got back home from Oakland. Much rejoicing in the Burgh. A nation of haters vindicated.
That TD catch by Plax was terribly similar to the one he dropped in the '04 AFC title game.
D'oh.
Oh, and did the Patriots win or lose tonight? I can't tell from the post game on ESPN.
Emmitt Smith is always good for a chuckle. He just said that the Pats offense got "debacled."
Uh Adam, that catch was wide open, the 04 game was a pretty hard catch, even though he should've made it.
I wonder what it feels like to be Cooper Manning.
Was it? I thought he was pretty open.
I take it back then.
Had the Pats won, this would have been my least favorite seasons ever (keep in mind, I've only been following football since '95--I'm a good bit younger than most of you). With the Pats losing, it became one of my favorite seasons (possibly second only to the season that ended with XL)
To complete the night, just try and picture Bill Belichick coaching the Pro Bowl next week.
I was watching that game with my in laws and thier friends, who included Eagles, Cowboys, Redskins, Rams, Raiders, Dolphins, Bolts and Colts fans. All of us were rooting for the Giants, and cheered like our respective teams had all just won. You know what? We did. Because none of up have to look up at the Pats and thier perfect season as something that our teams may never even get close to. BTW, my friend the Pats fan left at half time to find a Pats bar. His lights were off when I got home.
Adam,
Belichick doesn't coach the pro bowl. That's Norv (the loser of the conference championship game). Belicheat gets no consolation prize.
I am so happy, I can't even express it. I seriously considered not even watching the game today--that is how low I had sunk. And then, this! The Giants will forever have a little corner of my heart. Damn! I look forward tomorrow to reading back through this entire game thread, and then posting some more scheaden--whatever--induced ramblings. And, as a side bonus--I saw the Steelers were voted the best dynasty ever! Couldn't have went much better! From the cusp of perfection to the agongy of congressional investigations. The BB interview at the end was priceless!
Damn. That's right.
Too much vodka. I'm out.
All season long, my two Giants fans friends had been talking up Plaxico's stats, and all season long I told them "Just wait and see, he'll break your heart." For the first 59 minutes or so, my prediction proved correct and I was resigned to having to hear about this Patriots team for the rest of my natural life.
When he caught that touchdown, any ill will I'd harbored against Plax slipped away and I couldn't stop smiling. Loved his post-game interview, loved Belicheck scurrying away as fast as could be.
Wonderful ending to a roller coaster of a season.
Above post was from me.
YES!!!!!!!!
It couldn't have happened to a bunch of nicer guys.
And, there is a God.
Belichick and Seymour get the douche-bag award for their in-game theatrics.
I wonder how much that book is selling for now?
And to answer one of the QOTD's, I couldn't be happier if the Browns, Bungels, or Raisins lost the SB. Well, actually, I take that back. Well, maybe not.
I dozed a bit (well, alot) through Field Pass during the first half, but at halftime went to the other room to watch the rest. Just absolutely spectacular.
And Belichek is a real jerk.
When the story of this game is written (warning: internal Jewish reference coming up) and read every year in public, the Patriots' will be introduction will be in a single breath and little children will make noise every time Belichek's name is mentioned.
With Rivers' heroic performance in the AFCCG and Eli winning the Super Bowl MVP, Ben's QB draft class is starting to look pretty good...
How rings do those 1983 guys have and how many tries and how many years did it take them?
The only thing that would make this any better would have been a shot of the 72 Dolphins popping their champagne in the stadium as the post game celebration raged around them.
I didn't watch the game. I had sunk even lower than New Eric. I had no desire to watch a coronation, and I had work to do.
But I did check the score every half hour or so. Maybe a little more frequently as the 4th quarter rolled around. And I did tune in for the last series. And it was glorious. I'm glad I did -- otherwise this would have been the first Super Bowl since 1976 for which I'd not seen a single play.
As it was, I wish of course that I'd watched a bit more of it. But I'll take the result, by god, and I'll be smiling again. Football exists again, even though the cheating bastards tried to squeeze the life out of it. Now let's see if Specter can squeeze the life out of them instead.
To the last QOTD, I don't know how this game would make me feel better about the Steelers, per se -- but as much as I rooted for Tomlin to succeed this year (and he did), I knew from about week 2 on that I didn't care what happened this season as long as the Patriots didn't win the Super Bowl.
And then the impossible happened and they didn't.
No more "Eff You!" from those crybabies -- it's all Eff Yeah! from here on.
When Belichek made his post-game grunts about "getting our hands on a few balls" (I quote from memory), did anyone else sense it might be dangerous to be names Asante Samuel? Might he therefore be available?
Watchign BB's presser I kept thinking what a.pompous.ass.
...but was that really different from his normal pressers?
And I had to say Brady was good in his presser. Not exactly effusive in his praise for NYG but certainly sportsmanlike and in no way d-baggish-ly churlish like BB.
All's right with the world boys!
I FIGURED IT OUT! IT'S BECAUSE GISELE WAS AT THE GAME!!! TOM BRADY WAS DISTRACTED!!!!!!111one
Sorry. I got three hours of sleep last night.
Watched the game with my wife and youngest son (which tells how little interest I had in the game; ordinarily when I watch the Steelers everyone leaves the room because I act like a total a$$).
I wasn't pulling for anyone, but once they went up on the stand to receive the trophy a small part of me liked Tom Coughlin and Michael Strahan.
I won't comment on the Patriots. To pull against them on that stage is petty; I can't imagine the pressure, and I think how angry I used to get when people said Cowher/the Steelers choked. I think its best (for me anyway) to just tip hats to the Giants. They flat out beat the Pats, something we wish the Steelers could have done.
Did anyone watch the X-Files? Doesn't this almost feel like the episode where the smoking man says "The Bills will never win the Super Bowl"? I could swear Brady looked like he had given up in the second quarter EVEN WHEN THEY WERE WINNING. Its almost as if Bob Kraft or Belichick p-ed off the qrong person and now they're paying in the most painful way.
That game was great but bizarre. My son loved it when the janitor cracked on Big Ben.
To pull against the Patriots on that stage is petty? Welcome to the home of the free, land of the petty.
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