A Comment on Pats Head Coach Bill Write-a-Check

Bill Belichek did NOT get what he deserved and I'm completely ashamed of the NFL for not putting their foot down on this issue. A little background on the situation......Bill Belichek, the New England Patriots Head Coach had a camera of an assistant of his be confiscated during the Jets game on September 9th. Officials believe the Patriots employee was using the camera to steal signals from the Jets sideline, a complaint that has been made about the Patriots team before. Well, it was found that Belichek not only knew, but orchestrated a taping of the signals, a violation of NFL policy, and was slapped with a $500,000 fine, the maximum for a coach, the Pats were slapped with a $250,000 fine, and if the team makes the playoffs, they lose a 2nd and third round pick and if they don't make the playoffs they lose their two first round picks.

This entire fiasco is a joke, but what's bothering me is those that are apologizing for what he did. In professional football it's difficult enough to try and gain an edge on the other team. They have a lot of good players. Your team has a lot of good players. Revenue sharing allows you to keep good players on bad teams like Matt Leinart, Vince Young, or Brett Favre so the ability to one-up a team is almost impossible. Unless of course you're a cheater like Bill Belichek. Here is why I hate what's gone on:

1. Fining rich people money is playing into their game
Bill Belichek is the orchestrator of three Super Bowl championships since the 2000 season which is virtually unheard of in today's salary cap market and this allowed him to not just become rich, but SUPER rich coaching football. $500,000 is going to make this all go away now. Let's say he gets fired from the Pats tomorrow. He picks up an assistant job with another team. He picks up a head coaching job in college. He goes into TV. He goes into radio. Frankly, he'll go into a job that will earn him $500,000 in a remarkably short amount of time in the worst case scenario. For what he did, that's bunk. Head coaches are supposed to have a higher moral character than everyone else on the team. They're a leader of men. They need to be charismatic, compelling, convincing, tough, supportive, and most importantly, HONEST. This act, recording signals of other teams to give them an unfair edge, calls into question all of the other qualities he has too.

2. What about the draft pick?
Although this is a less intended effect it will still change the life of an NFL hopeful. With the Patriots losing a draft pick that means only 31 teams instead of 32 are picking, leaving an odd man out. For a player coming out of college being a first rounder and a second rounder makes significant differences in playing time, money, and respect in the locker room. For the rest of that player's career he'll be known as the 2nd round pick from State University. The NFL didn't punish the Pats with this, they punised the player with this.

3. "Hey, everybody's doing it."
The weakest excuse for when you get caught. This excuse doesn't work with people doing 80 MPH in a school zone does it? Then why should it work for the Pats? Besides, there's not even a shred of proof that any other team was doing this dispicable act. It reminds me of a child that is trying to claim that "Johnny had his hand in the cookie jar too." Did the teacher see Johnny? NO. Did the teacher see you? YES. Clam it up and take your punishment.

4. "It's to gain a competitive edge."
There is a very fine line between cheating and gaining a competitive edge. If Bill Bellichek or one of his staff members HAPPENED to figure out a snap count, defensive signal, or offensive trick play through watching, learning, and adjusting then we could give the "master of half time adjustments" his fair shake. When you're RECORDING something like THAT, you lose any integrity that may have been involved in gaining an edge. There's a reason the NFL says that it is against the rules. It's the equivalent of going into their playbook, ripping out a couple of pages, photocopying them, studying them, then using them to your advantage. The NFL and all of the coaches understood the rule and why it's in place and unlike the Suns/Spurs dibacle where Amare and Boris Diaw jumped off the court in a moment of human reaction this was a coldly calculated plan by the HEAD COACH after the rule was put in place. It was a boneheaded move and he thought he would be able to get away from it. This team can kiss its credibility with the fans comopletey good bye. They may have some good will left with the press, but hey, the power of the internet is in OUR hands, not theirs.

Let me just say on a personal note I've lost respect for the Patriots organization. They have shown a lack of class that only Barry Bonds has been able to duplicate. Did I mention Bill Bellichek was Nick Saban's best friend? Birds of a feather are snake-like together....