NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell screwed the pooch with his slap-on-the-wrist penalty levied against the New England Patriots in the Bill Belichick video-taping-defensive-play-calls cheating scandal.
The final verdict: Belichick fined $500,000. The Patriots fined an addition $250,000 and the loss of draft pick(s) - a 1st round pick if the Pats make the playoffs. 2nd and 3rd round if they don't.
Wow, what a whopper. Fining and organization worth over a BILLION dollar a total of $750K. Whew, dunno if they'll be able to recover the cost. Where will they ever recoup that kind of money?
Putting the loss of a draft pick - which does hurt, by the way - into better perspective: The Patriots have 2 first round picks next April (they traded with the 49ers), so will lose their own, but keep the undoubtedly higher pick. Consider this, the Pats drafted what 7, 8 players this past April - they kept TWO on their opening day roster. Oh, gee, though, will that hefty penalty the league office laid on them, wow, they might have to hit free agency again....what a joke. Losing one pick, even a high one, will NOT discourage teams from doing this sort of thing. It will just make them more careful.
But you know what, its not the actually penalty that I think is wrong. The Commissioner issued on the stiffest penalties he could have according the By-laws of the league with the sorts of tools he decided to use (the max. fines were levied).
My issue with Goodell is the incredible stupid risk he's taking by NOT holding Belichick to the same standard to which he has held numerous other NFL employees. NFL Players are subject to 4 game suspensions (that's the loss of nearly 25% of the pay - because most of the their money is doled in weekly game checks) if they violate various rules - most commonly violating the league substance abuse policy.
But throughout this off-season, Roger Goodell has lowered the boom players (and other coaches) who's actions has tarnished the image of the league (mostly for criminal law violations):
- Pacman Jones - who is but all accounts immature and deserving of a suspension - gets a year suspension for a litany of run-ins with the law.
- Tank Johnson - 8 games for weapons charges
- Chris Henry - 8 game for violating probation (idiot)
- Vick - indefinite following his plea
- Rodney Harrison - 4 games for violating SAP
- Wade Wilson (coach) - 5 games for violating SAP (personal use of HGH).
What I would argue is this: with the exception of Harrison, none of the those suspended players did anything intended to directly affect the outcome of the game on the field. Even in Rodney's case - it was probably more like he wanted his body to be able to recover faster, heck he's what 37? Yet BOOM. Heavy penalties were levied.
And now we have Belichick, Head Coach of the one of the highest profile teams in the league, organizing a high-tech effort to cheat and deliberately derive an unfair competitive advantage ON THE FIELD. The penalty? It'll cost you some dough. That's the message. Hey if cheating will help you win a Super Bowl, but you might have to cough up a cool quarter mill.....if you get caught....and trust me, it was the Patriots arrogance that got them caught....shit, why not?
Garry Cobb said it best (excuse the grammar): This is more behavior of the good old boy club. Most of the guys on the microphone who are connected to the league will be easy on the cheating coach, but they wanted to throw the book at any players who violated league rules. One thing character exemplifies is adherence to principles and consistency. I see double standards. (end quote).
That last line is the true danger folks. The perception of Goodell just being another one of the boys. Willing to swiftly lay down the hammer of judgment on uppity youngsters at the first hint of thug-life, while playing patty-cakes with offenders who happen to be part of the club.
Belichick is a head coach, with incredible responsibility for running what has long-been considered one of the, if not THE, top organization in the NFL. He should have been held to the highest standard. Instead he got a chuckle and a "now be a good boy" pat on the butt.
Showing posts with label New England Patriots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New England Patriots. Show all posts
Friday, September 14, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
My Take on "PatriotGate"
As a fan of a team that ran into a Patriot-juggernaut in Feb, the allegations/evidence that Bill Belichick cheats to gain an unfair competitive advantage is perturbing.
Let me make this clear: I do not think there will ever be any conclusive evidence that they did in the Super Bowl(s) {I just don't see anyone 'fessing up} and as for the Eagles-Patriots game in Jacksonville. That game, to me, hinged on the Eagles mistakes early with prevented them from scoring critical points. If the Birds had put the 14 points early when they had a chance. That furious fall-just-short late rally would not have been necessary. And those plays happened early.
That said, my respect for the Patriots coaching staff has plummeted. I'd always had that mystic view - Belichick is an awesome game-day coach - the Patriots make the best second-half adjustments of any team in the NFL. This video-taping incident indelibly taints that view.
So what should happen?
Well for one the view held by some on ESPN, notably Sean "the idiot" Salisbury, that this can be addressed with a $50,000 fine and then forgotten about is preposterous. That's like fining you and me $50. The man's a millionaire, the organization is worth over BILLION dollars, but 50 grand, whoa, that'll learn 'em. Asshole.
Mark Schlereth offered a very stiff penalty on NFL Live last night: Forfeiture of the Jets game, loss of draft pick, suspension of head coach. I think forfeiting the game is a bit much, though I have to admit, such a penalty would almost guarantee such an incident would no occur again in Goodell's era.
I think there needs to be a combination of punishment, both personal and organizational. Belichick runs the show, there is no way the taping was done with him unaware. And if Goodell is going to levy harsh punishment on players for their personal conduct detrimental to the image of the game, then he need to lower the boom on the REST of the NFL employees who do the same. I mean the Cowboys coach was suspended for 5 games for personal use of HGH. I think giving Belichick a month off to stew is appropriate. My punishment: 4-game suspension.
Organizationally, I wouldn't be as harsh. I don't necessarily think the players are as complicit and as Brett Favre put it: is it an advantage? Yes. But the players still have to go out there and block, run, catch, hit and tackle. I think losing a draft pick (not a 1, but not a 6 or 7 either) is appropriate. Losing a 2 or a 3 would really sting come next April.
Overall, Howard Bryant of ESPN is right: If Goodell does not act decisively, he will only confirm a basic truth about the commissioner-player relationship in all professional sports -- that he works for management. Of course, it has always been this way, the fiction is that the commissioner is anything but the collective employee of 32 owners. If he lets Belichick off easily, Goodell will be less Law and Order Commissioner and more Company Man."
Let me make this clear: I do not think there will ever be any conclusive evidence that they did in the Super Bowl(s) {I just don't see anyone 'fessing up} and as for the Eagles-Patriots game in Jacksonville. That game, to me, hinged on the Eagles mistakes early with prevented them from scoring critical points. If the Birds had put the 14 points early when they had a chance. That furious fall-just-short late rally would not have been necessary. And those plays happened early.
That said, my respect for the Patriots coaching staff has plummeted. I'd always had that mystic view - Belichick is an awesome game-day coach - the Patriots make the best second-half adjustments of any team in the NFL. This video-taping incident indelibly taints that view.
So what should happen?
Well for one the view held by some on ESPN, notably Sean "the idiot" Salisbury, that this can be addressed with a $50,000 fine and then forgotten about is preposterous. That's like fining you and me $50. The man's a millionaire, the organization is worth over BILLION dollars, but 50 grand, whoa, that'll learn 'em. Asshole.
Mark Schlereth offered a very stiff penalty on NFL Live last night: Forfeiture of the Jets game, loss of draft pick, suspension of head coach. I think forfeiting the game is a bit much, though I have to admit, such a penalty would almost guarantee such an incident would no occur again in Goodell's era.
I think there needs to be a combination of punishment, both personal and organizational. Belichick runs the show, there is no way the taping was done with him unaware. And if Goodell is going to levy harsh punishment on players for their personal conduct detrimental to the image of the game, then he need to lower the boom on the REST of the NFL employees who do the same. I mean the Cowboys coach was suspended for 5 games for personal use of HGH. I think giving Belichick a month off to stew is appropriate. My punishment: 4-game suspension.
Organizationally, I wouldn't be as harsh. I don't necessarily think the players are as complicit and as Brett Favre put it: is it an advantage? Yes. But the players still have to go out there and block, run, catch, hit and tackle. I think losing a draft pick (not a 1, but not a 6 or 7 either) is appropriate. Losing a 2 or a 3 would really sting come next April.
Overall, Howard Bryant of ESPN is right: If Goodell does not act decisively, he will only confirm a basic truth about the commissioner-player relationship in all professional sports -- that he works for management. Of course, it has always been this way, the fiction is that the commissioner is anything but the collective employee of 32 owners. If he lets Belichick off easily, Goodell will be less Law and Order Commissioner and more Company Man."
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Spiderman Swings into Japan
Well folks, I guess the international release of Spiderman 3 is taking place a few days before its released in the states. Its a holiday week here in the Land of the Rising Sun (that probably has something to do with pushing ahead its release date here). So the wife and I are going to see if we can brave the Japanese theater and go see the first big movie of the summer at Shimoda Mall.
In other football-related news. I guess it really IS good to be Rich Eisen. I wonder how you explain that to the wifey?
Next, more stuff from FanNation's Truth and Rumors page.
The Boston Globe is ooo'ing and aah'ing about what a great guy Tom Brady is. "Tom Brady has yet to publicly comment on the Patriots' acquisition of receiver Randy Moss, (hmm, yet in Philadelphia, a QB's lack of comment means McNabb is pouting - odd). but his actions speak volumes. Brady agreed to restructure his present contract that runs through 2010 to create salary cap space." Wow, Brady agreed to restructure....what a team guy. Um fellas, excuse me if I'm ready to beatify Brady for this one. Why? The Globe quotes Brady's agent as saying "Tom does what he can in order to win", making it seem like Brady offered up some sort of personal sacrifice to ensure the Randy Moss trade went through, but restructuring a contract DOES NOT mean Tom agreed to take a pay cut to bring Moss on board. It means he agreed to let the Pats convert some of his 2007 base-salary (non-guaranteed) into a signing bonus (guaranteed money, btw), that way the Pats can use an accounting shuffle and pro-rate the amount restructured into the future. So Tomboy gets a nice check from Mr. Kraft and the Pats get the cap space for Moss this year and create an even bigger Brady cap-number down-the-line. Hoo-boy...We should all be so lucky to have our employers ask to cut a nice fat check.
Its only been a day and already the St. Petersburg Times is wondering about a holdout by Bucs #1 pick Gaines Adams??? Wow, and we thought honeymoon's were short in Philly....
In other football-related news. I guess it really IS good to be Rich Eisen. I wonder how you explain that to the wifey?
Next, more stuff from FanNation's Truth and Rumors page.
The Boston Globe is ooo'ing and aah'ing about what a great guy Tom Brady is. "Tom Brady has yet to publicly comment on the Patriots' acquisition of receiver Randy Moss, (hmm, yet in Philadelphia, a QB's lack of comment means McNabb is pouting - odd). but his actions speak volumes. Brady agreed to restructure his present contract that runs through 2010 to create salary cap space." Wow, Brady agreed to restructure....what a team guy. Um fellas, excuse me if I'm ready to beatify Brady for this one. Why? The Globe quotes Brady's agent as saying "Tom does what he can in order to win", making it seem like Brady offered up some sort of personal sacrifice to ensure the Randy Moss trade went through, but restructuring a contract DOES NOT mean Tom agreed to take a pay cut to bring Moss on board. It means he agreed to let the Pats convert some of his 2007 base-salary (non-guaranteed) into a signing bonus (guaranteed money, btw), that way the Pats can use an accounting shuffle and pro-rate the amount restructured into the future. So Tomboy gets a nice check from Mr. Kraft and the Pats get the cap space for Moss this year and create an even bigger Brady cap-number down-the-line. Hoo-boy...We should all be so lucky to have our employers ask to cut a nice fat check.
Its only been a day and already the St. Petersburg Times is wondering about a holdout by Bucs #1 pick Gaines Adams??? Wow, and we thought honeymoon's were short in Philly....
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