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The big story this past week was New England Patriot’s head coach Bill Belichick. After having one of his coaches illegally videotape the New York Jets’ defensive coaches giving signals, he tried his best to sidestep the issue.
We all know that as great of a coach as he is, Belichick is an asshole. In a written statement apologizing for the incident on Wednesday, he said the he misinterpreted the rule. The rule clearly states, “No video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game." How there’s any room for misinterpretation is anyone’s guess.
Knowing the Patriots have been approached by the league in the past regarding this issue, this just shows that Belichick believes he is above the law. He thumbed his nose at the league, got caught, and now is punished by a $500,000 fine, an additional $250,000 fine for the team and the loss of a first-round draft pick.
While videotaping signals can give a team an advantage, the fact remains that stealing signals is common in all sports including the NFL. It became such an issue that during the league meetings in March a proposal was put to vote on allowing one defensive player to use a wireless helmet to hear signals much like the offense does currently. The proposal was shot down by two votes.
Since stealing signs happens, the fact the Patriots were videotaping is not all that bad. That’s why I feel the punishment is justified. But if the league had passed that proposal in March, we would not be here talking about this issue. That much is certain.
Week 2 Picks
Houston Texans over Carolina Panthers. This is my upset pick of the week. My gut tells me the Texans will plaster Panther QB Jake Delhomme and somehow muster enough offense to squeak by at Carolina.
San Francisco 49ers over St. Louis Rams. Before last week, I most certainly would have picked the Rams to win this one at home. But with offensive tackle Orlando Pace out for the season and an improved 49ers defense, expect Ram QB Marc Bulger to be on his back for most of the game.
New England Patriots over San Diego Chargers. Like I said earlier the videogate flap was much ado about nothing. The fact remains that the Patriots are scary offensively, and though they won't go up and down the field like they did against the Jets they will score against the stout Chargers defense.
Week 2 Picks: The Others
Cincinnati Bengals over Cleveland Browns
Jacksonville Jaguars over Atlanta Falcons
Green Bay Packers over New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers over Buffalo Bills
New Orleans Saints over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Indianapolis Colts over Tennessee Titans
Detroit Lions over Minnesota Vikings
Baltimore Ravens over New York Jets
Chicago Bears over Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos over Oakland Raiders.
Philadelphia Eagles over Washington Redskins
AP Photo by Michael Dwyer
