When I first read the news of Roger Godell's decision on "PatriotGate" just before I hit my pillow last night, I was pretty taken aback. It wasn't just the severity of the punishment -- a combination of $750,000 in fines and lost draft picks -- but also the feeling that just once in my lifetime a sports team that I rooted for -- in this case the New York Jets -- didn't get the short end of the stick when it had been clearly wronged.
No, Godell didn't go all the way and force the Pats to forfeit the game like I suggested he should do earlier in the week, but the penalty was more than severe enough to indicate that he took it seriously, especially in light of the fact that the Patriots had been warned previously to knock it off.
Bravo to Commissioner Godell for taking on the league's most successful franchise in recent memory and forcing them to play by the rules just like everyone else.
Then again, there are others who seem to think the blame for this whole incident lies elsewhere. And of course the man drinking the lion's share of the Kool-Aid today is Bill Simmons:
I did think The Turncoat (aka Eric Mangini) should have been fined for blowing the whistle on Belichick and then inexplicably shaking his hand afterward. Stick to your guns, Mr. Mangineous. If you're going to sell out your old boss during the game, what better way to show your disgust than eschewing the postgame handshake and just walking off the field? What's the point of shaking hands? Hey, great game, congrats on the win. ... By the way, I ratted you out in the first quarter, sorry about that. My dad was more outraged about that two-faced move than anything since the Doc Rivers extension.
Interesting. We know from press reports that the cameraman in question had been busted well before the end of the game, meaning that both Mangini and Bill Belichick knew exactly what the score was as they walked to midfield for the traditional postgame handshake. While I guess Simmons would rather have had the two coaches make a scene on national television -- and what a bonanza for sports blogging that would have been -- I guess the rule of the day was something rather more simple.
Like Michael Corleone once said, "It's not personal Sonny, it's strictly business." And for Simmons and the rest of the deluded yahoos in "Patriot Nation", that makes it all the more painful as Mangini stuck in the proverbial shiv so deep it hit the bone.
Consider for a moment what Mangini's demeanor has been since the story broke earlier this week. Did he at all act like a man who had been done a bad turn? Did he complain, even once?
No, he didn't, because he knew that if he did, it might give the commissioner some wiggle room to give the Pats a less severe punishment. It's looking like the "Mangenious" tag might still apply, but I'm one who thinks we probably ought to consider that in light of running Pete Kendall out of town without a legitimate backup plan.
See you in Foxboro in December. It ought to be an interesting return trip.
The idea that Godell made the most successful franchise in recent memory play by the same rules as everyone else implies that if it were the Arizona Cardinals, it would be ok to give them a slap on the wrist because, well, they suck. So the more successful you are, the harsher the punishment no matter what the crime?
And concerning Mr. Mangini, I wonder why no one has asked him what his dealings with videotaping were when he was on the same sideline as the evil Mr. Belichick.
On WEEI up here in Rhode Island today, one of the hosts was tearing Belichick a new one for not showing more remorse and being more contrite and not being sincerely sorry, etc. This was not Marty McSorely (another sad chapter in Boston history) nor was it Todd Bertuzzi. He did something against the rules, got caught, and he is paying his fine. It doesn’t matter who thinks it’s fair, it is what it is. Does the speeder’s lack of remorse change the fine he has to pay? The width of his remorse is measured in how he drives the next time he is behind the wheel.
Great blog, btw.
Hi Eric -
Simmons is just unbelievable. It’s because of him I canceled my ESPN subscription.
There is a colleague at work that dismissed the cheating aspects of Belichik and just said, “Well, they are still the best team in football with multiple Superbowl wins.”
Simmons is that kid in the schoolyard that if you get into an argument with him, always has that annoying, “Yeah, but…”
He lives in his own delusional world.
Martyrdom among New England sports fans?
I’m shocked.
I wish all the witch hunting, pitch-fork brandishing, torch bearing howling mob members, would give it a rest. The whole thing is pretty simple. There was an NFL rule against videotaping from the sidelines. The Patriots violated said rule. They paid the price, as defined by the NFL Commissioner. End of story.
If a cornerback grabs a receiver in mid-air and keeps him from a sure touchdown, he’s in violation of an NFL rule, correct? What happens? He gets whistled for pass interference, his team loses field position and the opponent gets fresh downs and everyone moves on. CameraGate is no different. They got caught breaking a RULE of their sport, not a LAW. All of the ensuing hyperbole and hysteria and handwringing is just annoying. Many knowledgable people, including Jimmy Johnson and Bill Cowher have weighed in on this and pretty much admitted that they did the same thing. Why do you think coaches cover their mouths with playsheets? What is the big deal about ’stealing’ signs, anyway? If you are dumb enough to show your intent and not change it week to week, you deserve to get beat. If you and I were playing poker and I noticed that you pick your nose when you are bluffing, is it wrong of me to notice and use that information to beat you? Why do baseball managers look like they are on fire and trying to put themselves out when they send in plays? Why does a quarterback say, “blue 24, Blue 96, Omaha, Beer Fart, Steak, Cheese, 47, skidoo, Eskimo 68, Hut, hut, Hut”, instead of ‘ run it up the gut on 2′? Because it’s PART OF THE GAME!
Get over it and move on ladies. There’s nothing more to see here.