Pats Preview: Week 2
Some NFL analysts study trends. Others study stats. Our man, Gonz, does neither. But that won’t stop him from breaking down each week’s Patriots’ game. His picks are for amusement purposes only, since last year he dropped a small fortune to the world’s worst bookie.
Week 2 is nearly upon us, and good news, the Pats are undefeated. They thumped the Jets 38-14 in the season opener. Bill Belichick’s boys gave them such a beating that it was almost like they knew exactly what New York was going to do.
Oh. Right. Which brings us to the bad news: they did know exactly what New York was going to do. After the jump, the latest fallout from New England’s Spy Games and what it might mean for this weekend’s Sunday night clash with San Diego.
The hammer dropped last night and the penalty is severe. Belichick is out 500Gs (500Gs!), the maximum fine allowed by league rules. Meanwhile, the Patriots organization was docked an additional 250Gs. But that’s not the worst of it. The Pats also had draft picks taken away. If they make the playoffs, they’ll lose a first-round selection. If they don’t make the playoffs, they’ll lose a second- and third-round pick. Honestly, I’m not sure which scenario is worse.
“This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to the Patriots.
Goodell said he had considered suspending Belichick but didn’t “largely because I believe that the discipline I am imposing of a maximum fine and forfeiture of a first-round draft choice, or multiple draft choices, is in fact more significant and long-lasting, and therefore more effective, than a suspension.”
Wow. Kind of makes it hard for the apologists out there (like these guys and these guys) to defend Belichick, doesn’t it? (Somewhere, Ron Borges is smiling.)
Meanwhile, Belichick — who, on his weekly WEEI radio appearance shortly after the scandal broke, dubiously claimed he “didn’t really know the details” of the sloppy signal-stealing debacle (as though there’s anything that happens on that team without his knowledge) — changed his tune earlier in the week.
I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players.
So very interesting that Belichick would bother to apologize for something he previously swore to know nothing about. As I mentioned in a previous post, and our friends over at Deadspin have noted as well, this whole thing looks more and more like a bad sports send-up of Watergate with each passing day. (Incidentally, does that make Pats PR flak Stacey James our very own Ron Ziegler?)
Now, what does all this mean for Sunday’s battle with San Diego? Well, it’s not good, that’s for sure. For starters, the Pats spent all week talking about their brazen, astonishing, the-rules-don’t-apply-to-us theft, which prohibits you from doing what you need to do — like game planning for every defensive coordinator’s nightmare, LaDanian Tomlinson. Not to mention: How good will Belichick and his guys be without their, uh…what’s a good euphemism for cheat sheets?
The Pick: This is about as low as a team can sink. San Diego 28, New England 21.
September 14th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Your comedy is about as funny as your pick!!
September 14th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Pathetic, pal. Funny thing is, it’s only you MEDIA people who actually think that the Patriot players themselves make smug comments. Instead, you are actually completely making them up. Your entire article was complete garbage. No wonder you work for Boston Magazine, and not some newsworthy publication. You are completely lying when you said that the Patriots “spent all week talking about their brazen, astonishing, the-rules-don’t-apply-to-us theft”. That’s ridiculous. The MEDIA did, and the Patriot players at times answered a question or two. Get off your high horse. You absolutely know NOTHING about football. Isn’t it interesting that John Madden and Bill Parcels says that everyone records those signals and watches them after the game? There’s NO proof that the Patriots have EVER used them during games. Ever wonder why the Patriots had such a bad second half against the Colts in the playoffs last year? Gee, if they were cheating, wouldn’t they have had an even better second half than their first? What an ignoramus you are.
September 14th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Like the other tow guys said.
September 14th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
I agree 100% with Mark. It’s been the media, not the NFL, not the coaches, not the players, but the media - that’s blown this WAAAY out of proportion. Mr. Gonzalez, your article wasted my time and having to express my opinion has wasted more. If you were a true fan, you’d know that the Dolphins did the same thing to us last year. It cost us the game, and the opportunity to host the AFC Championship and almost certainly another Super Bowl. Know your facts before you write!
September 14th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
I’m at the airport, about to hop on a plane, but I can’t help myself. Mark, you reference Parcells and Madden. To counter, I’ll reference Favre, who said that it is, in fact, an advantage. He also said, though, that you still have to execute (which goes a long way to explaining the Colts game you mentioned). Plus, if it wasn’t an advantage, why would Belichick bother? He doesn’t strike me as the shits-and-giggles type.
Speaking of comedy…guy walks into a library and tells the librarian, loudly, that he’ll have a ham and cheese sandwich. Librarian says “Sir, this is a library.” To which he responds “oh, sorry” his voice whispering now, “I’ll have a ham and cheese sandwich.”
September 14th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
I have yet to hear an explanation as to why Bellichick would use the sideline video, knowing that it was against the rules as described in the recent September memo from Goodell, unless it provided a significant advantage. Why would he risk it? There is no answer to this other than it provided an unfair advantage. This, combined with the astounding number of players and coaches who have actually spoken out about the unfairness of this (come on, how often do you hear players/coaches actually say something about other teams to the media other than the generic ‘they’re a good team, yadda yadda yadda’), and the fact that Goodell himself indicated that it was an attempt to circumvent rules designed to ensure fairness, make it pretty clear that Bellicheck was trying to gain an unfair edge, despite what Madden and Parcells said.
September 15th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Oh oh, looks like Marc forgot to take his anger pills.