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| Yes, without a doubt. It was a factor in them becoming a dynasty. | | 5 | |
No, they would have risen to the top, + won the games without these practices. | | 0 | |
Not enough info yet to decide whether it was or not. | | 0 | |
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Last Login: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 4:24 PM
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| Watching the Goodell conference right now. I figured I would throw this up here.
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Last Login: Monday, May 26, 2008 11:04 AM
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| I voted for the blank space, because I think there's enough evidence right now to conclude that (1) there's no telling how much the taping factored into their success, and (2) it's going to be a significant part of all future talk about this chapter in the Patriots' history.
1. Goodell was right when he said that defensive coordinators are prepared for this sort of thing. They can be just as paranoid as anyone about having their signals stolen. It's practically impossible to sort out how much the Patriots really benefited from seeing these signals. How many times did they catch the right signal and recall it in the right instance? How do you even go about finding that out? They had one of the better seasons in this era of their franchise after the NFL was "onto" them, and their teams during the Super Bowl years were pretty darn good, too. I think they'll get the benefit of the doubt from most reasonable observers.
2. At the same time, no objective-minded documentary will fail to make significant mention of this scandal, especially considering the precedent-setting punishment they received. It's going to stick with them, if not as a franchise--I somehow doubt that post-Belichick Patriots teams will be branded cheaters off the bat--then at least as a dynasty.
Me, personally? I think it characterizes them in a shades-of-gray way. They go all-out in every aspect of the game.
Welcome to Duval. Prepare to be hit. |
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