If the Pats cheated, what should their punishment be?

Question

Andrew Wiggin- Thats true but in the NFL its illegal unless its done with the naked eye.

Something no one has mentioned is the fact that we dont know how many other times they have done this and not gotten caught.

Answer 1

This is the punishment they should receive.

1) take away all rings (distribute them to the members of the '01 Rams, '03 Panthers and '04 Eagles,)

2) Forfeit entire 2007 Season, all players suspended without pay and restricted from seeking trades. through the '07 trade deadline.

3) Belichick banned from the league indefinitely.

4) Team to be sold on eBay (you know craft was involved, that's when the winning [read: cheating] started after all).

5) All players who were with the team for any 3 of the last 5 years will be ineligible for HOF consideration and have permanent asterisks affixed to all their statistics.

and one more just for fun...

6) Brady gets slapped and sterilized!

Answer 2

The punishment can include up to loss of future draft picks. The punishment also can include fines. Depending on what the league finds, they will probably get both. They would not take the win for 2 reasons.

1. Signal stealing is done in the league all the time. Your not supposed to do it but teams do it, the pats used a camera which is a real no-no. But they are not the only team doing that. All the teams try this stuff. Miami has been known to alter microphones to pick up signals. The Jets brought in Reche Caldwell right after to the Pats cut him, either to get insight into the Signals the pats use or Mangini wanted his recipe for Angel Food Cake. Im gonna guess it was for the Signals.

2. The Jets would not have otherwise won. The guy was caught rather quick and the pats did not have enough time to sit there and analyze all their signals. If you ever look at a sample playbook with the signals that teams used they are extremely complicated. You might get one or two plays from a formation or two that you can determine what the signal means from, nothing huge. Its still cheating, dont get me wrong, but its not that big of an edge in that current game. It could have helped them in future games against the Jets, but since the tape got confiscated that wont be the case.

Im a Pats fan and I agree that the Patriots should be punished, but this really is not that huge of a situation given the fact that there are teams doing all sorts of things to swipe signals, but it really doesn't give you a huge edge. Like I said earlier the signals are not designed to be something you can figure out easily. The same signal in the same formation can mean two different things based on down and distance. The Patriots use a lot of vocal signals, ussually women names that brady screams out to set up blocking assignments. They change based on several variables, so even though teams can hear whats being yelled doesn't teams can analyze what the signals mean at all times.

Answer 3

Signal-stealing would have a big impact on the game - Nimrod... You would be able to decipher signals for the 2nd-half & especially in all rematch games (i.e.: playoffs). If the allegations are true, then - yes, they're low-down dirty cheaters. I for one, (if again the allegations are true) believe if Bonds gets an asterisk without ever actually being caught - the Pats Super Bowl wins should also get an asterisks!!! I don't think they can take away the rings - what's done is done - but definitely asterisks, plus they should lose a bunch of draft picks... How much easier would your play-calling & especially audible calling be if you knew what package the defense is in? I really don't see much of a difference - cheating is cheating & the Pats are too good to lower themselves to that level, but if they did - that's dispicable! SAD 'n' SHADY - SAD 'n' SHADY...

Answer 4

What can the league really do? They are never going to give the win to the Jets. It will be a slap on the wrist, maybe a fine or something.

But the league should tell all the teams that if anyone is ever caught doing this again, they will be ineligible for the post season and will have to forfeit their 1st round draft pick in the next 2 drafts to the victimized team.

That will stop it from happening again.

Answer 5

The Pats have never been punished for cheating in the past, why start now? Seriously though, if they are soooo good, why must they find a way to gain an advantage even if it means cheating. They have a recent history of doing this. They should be more like the Colts and win playing fair.

Answer 6

The rule should be ANYONE who breaks the rule and tries to TAPE signals, we know everyone tries to steal them and I don't see the problem if it is watching and trying to memorize them, then the cheating team should be given a forfeit and the other team wins. I agree with Jason Smith of ESPN All Night that THAT would send a signal and get this to stop. Espically when this is the SECOND TIME this SAME PERSON has been accused, and what idiots wouldn't use someone else when the guy was "caught" once.

Answer 7

give the jets the win, take high draft picks, and suspend the coach for 5 games (not allowed near the field during practices or games) and just add another asteric by this season as well denoting the cheating also in college they would probably make them non eligible for a bowl game so i think they should make the pats uneligible for the post season.....maybe if its strict enough the pats will stop cheating, this isint the first time the pats have been underhanded in the way they do things

Answer 8

In the span of a 40 second time clock, the coaches have to decipher the video of the Jets coaches shot from 60 yards away with no audio, figure it out and relay it to Brady who then has to figure it out and explain it to his teammates, who then have to look at the defense and figure out what brady told them.

right.

Anyone who thinks this had an impact on the game is completely clueless about football in general. If anything, it could only be used after the game to analyze what the jets reactions to certain plays and situations were. This serves no real time benefit whatsoever.

Answer 9

Please... DannyK.... future picks? What do picks have to do with playing the game? You get picks based on your win/loss performance throughout the previous year.

You would sincerely have to do a deep enough investigation to see who was truly connected and involved in the alleged spying, and the appropriate action would be then possible suspension from the leage for any number of games.

You cant take the 'W' away from the players either, they obviously arent the ones watching the video feed while on the field, they are just doing what their coaches are telling them to.

Lets pray that this was just a simple mistake....

Answer 10

I don't think it should matter whether or not other teams did it and didn't get caught.

99.99% of people who speed on the highway don't get caught - you can't use that as a defense if you get a ticket.

I have no idea what the penalty should be. In the case of competitively significant cheating, though, it should probably be lose of a draft pick.