Anyway you shake it, losing a 1st round pick is a big deal.

I really think that this whole situation is being blown way out of proportions. Did they cheat? Absolutely. Is it wrong? Absolutely. Should they be punished? Absolutely.

But the way people talk about this, you'd think that the Pats were paying off the refs or something. How much of an advantage did they get from doing that? A very slight one if anything. And I'm sure plenty of other teams do it as well. This probably would have been met with a punishment of a 3rd rounder had the media not made this a much bigger deal that it actually is. They're clumping this in with the Donaghy scandal and Watergate. I'm sure that this put pressure on the commish to deal out a bigger punishment than necessary.

And for all those whiners, especially the Philadelphia Eagles...

You can start to complain about the videotaping when 60% of your team isn't on HGH and other performance-enhancing drugs. I'd bet the house that over half of NFL players are doing some kind of chemical enhancing. That's just as much cheating as what the Pats did. So until everyone is as squeaky clean as you expected New England to be, you can keep your mouths shut.

DeROK wrote:
LOL............. I am thinking that your are more adamant about the Patriots than your are about the Wolves.

Bottom line, they cheated and they got caught. Deal with the consequences. Sucks that the Wolves were punished as bad as they were with the Joe Smith thing too. Other teams were probably doing the same thing but the Wolves got caught. They are just trying to make an example so that teams don't feel like they can get by with it. If they get caught, they will pay.

BTW, calm down DeROK, they are just athletes answering questions.

With the way everyone was talking, it sounds like the punishment could've been much worse. People were throwing out suspensions for Billy B, labeling the 1st game as a forfeit, taking away MULTIPLE picks. I think the Patriots got off easy!

The owner was fined $250,000. Big deal. He's worth $1.1 BILLION. That's roughly 2/10 of 1% of his net worth.

Billy B got a heavier fine, thats for sure. But in the end, the commish only took away PAST earnings. He did not affect BB's chances at earning his bonuses linked to performance (such as playoff, conference championship and Super Bowl appearances) by counting the as a loss.

In my opinion, the one first round pick is heaviest sanction. But the Patriots are so good at roster management, scouting, etc I doubt this will affect the longevity of the franchise the way Joe Smith affected the Wolves.

In the end, it's a few day bump in the road for a team most likely on their way to the Super Bowl.

mwithers wrote:
Yeah, but they're complete idiots. When you have no-name punt receivers mouthing off and saying that he should be allowed to trade in his NFC Championship ring for a Super Bowl ring, that's just stupid. First, there's no proof. Second, it was two years ago, get over it.

I can't stand how the media has to make a big deal out of nothing by shoving microphones into these moron's faces so they can bias everyone.

whiskeydizzy wrote:
The people who suggested those things have no idea what they're talking about. Terrell Davis suggesting that the Pats be banned from the playoffs for two seasons had to be the dumbest punishment suggested. And why should the Patriots forfeit the game? The tape was confiscated in the 1st quarter and was not seen by anyone other than the camera man. It had zero affect on the outcome of the Jets game. And I would gladly take a Belichick suspension over losing a 1st rounder. I'd rather lose multiple late picks over a 1st rounder. That definitely hurts.

Like you said, a small bump in the road. If anything, this has managed to take a team that was feeling pretty good about themselves Sunday night and put a gigantic chip on their shoulders. San Diego should be very worried right now.

DeROK is right...who doesn't cheat.

I cheat on my taxes, tests and girlfriends. I look up cheat codes for video games. I was in a car wreck once and cheated death. My favorite animal is the cheetah. I enjoy the acting of Don Cheadle.

I also take Steroids and tape the hand signals of the base coaches in my softball league.

Quit being hypocrital haters.

Ryan wrote:
I honestly try no to cheat at anything and I don't think I ever have.

I'm not saying cheating is right and like mwithers I try not to cheat as well. The Patriots were absolutely 100% wrong and deserve to be punished.

What bothers me is how everyone is jumping down their throat and trying to \"strip them of their Super Bowls\", etc. All the people who are bashing the Pats should take a step back and look at their own teams before they talk. Because I guarantee if they do, they'll realize they've also got a roster full of cheaters.

Should the NFL try to clean things up and keep things as fair as possible? Absolutely. But when people bad-mouth the Patriots all week and will sit in front of the TV tomorrow and cheer on their HGH enhanced players, it's hypocritical.

DeROK wrote:
Either way, you can't strip them of anything that you can't prove they don't deserve. Can anyone prove that they don't deserve the superbowl rings? If they can prove it, maybe they should. But, if they can't, I agree with DeROK. they need to be quiet and just ensure that it doesn't happen in the future. Whatever can be proven should be punishable otherwise leave it alone.

BTW, that isn't really hypocritical, DeROK, because if HGH is common, Patriots players are using them too. If every team has players using them and the NFL can't figure out a way to detect or stop the usage, it's not really cheating. Cheating is defined as doing something to give yourself an edge to win. If every team has players that are using it, it isn't giving anyone an edge to win.

It is hypocritical because HGH is a prohibited substance in the NFL. I'm sure that plenty of Patriots (Rodney Harrison was actually caught) as well as most of the NFL players are on them. Regardless of whether or not everyone is doing it, it is still cheating. It's against the rules established by the NFL, just like videotaping the defensive coordinator. I see no difference between any of that. They are all a violiation of the rules which people knowingly break to gain an advantage. Whether 1 person or every person is breaking the rule, they're all equally as wrong and they're all still cheating.

Also the argument that since most players are using HGH it creates a level playing field and nobody is cheating, is wrong. Maybe if every single player in the NFL was using HGH, you could make that point. But when you have guys busting their butt to remain competitive naturally and others are injecting themselves with chemicals, it's not a level playing field. If it wasn't giving them an advantage, then they wouldn't be doing it.

So calling the Patriots cheaters, is correct. But so is calling the Eagles, the Jets, the Cardinals, whoever cheaters is correct to. They're all a bunch of cheaters and the NFL should do whatever it can to clean up the situation. I just think it's hypocritical for people to crucify the Patriots and then turn a blind eye to their own team.

Man I can't even make jokes on this board anymore.

Ryan wrote:
I thought your post was funny! Especially your fav animal and actor!

whiskeydizzy wrote:
+1 Howl for you sir

DeROK wrote:
I agree 100% with that statement. This team has a new focus and EVERYONE left on their schedule should be scared, especially if the media keeps talking about this incident (which they will because their idiots).

My vote for dumbest radio announcer is Colin Cowherd. I listen to him every morning on the way to work and cringe at his remarks. He's on at 9am central if anyone cares to tune into ESPN radio...another alternative could be injecting lead paint into your bloodstream.

whiskeydizzy wrote:
Haha! You get a howl for that one!