...that the matter was being reviewed by an independent party. I feel the League went pretty easy on the Pats, but that is a reasonably debatable point either way. However, I thought that the decision by the league to destroy the tapes was a poor decision. At the very least, the team offended by the taping (in this case the Jets) should have been able to see how damaging the taping was so they could address the matter to the NFL as to what an appropriate sanction would be against the Pats.

In fairness though, the NFL “is” the authority who should reveiw the matter, whether I think their ruling was self serving or not. And I certainly think congress should have ZERO role in the matter. (An independent blue ribbon commission appointed by some of the owners might be a good compromise).

I think Guru and I disagree on how serious the matter was (with me taking the view that it was more serious). Based on the fact that this incident wasn’t the first time NE was caught videotaping (I believe they were using Walsh when GB caught them several years ago), and also the fact that NE may have taped some opposition practices as well as games (Rams pre-Superbowl) makes me more concerned. I can’t buy that the team didn’t understand the rule (especially having been caught before), and that “explanation” just seems like avoidance of responsibility.

Back when I liked NE my favorite characterization of the Pats (and Belicheck in particular) was the incredible (amazing) ability of the team to adapt to opponents. When “cheat gate” broke out it struck me as to why this probably was New England’s best trait. I think I felt betrayed that my foremost recognition of the team could be explained away with something less than great coaching and more in line with a lack of integrity.

bring back all the angles and arguments that went along with spygate. I can’t wait until this issue is finally cleared up. I also want to say…Belicheck is STILL a great coach and the Patriots are STILL a great team (you still have to go out there and execute).

Let’s just forget for a moment that the patriots taped opposing teams’ defensive signals. The newest news is that Goodell is ready to put the smack down on the PATs if they also taped opposing teams’ practices (a new allegation). Goodell himself says that this goes beyond the incidents that NE was accused of (and punished for) in the past. Read this for more on Goodell’s current position.

"Taping a walkthrough is much different from what I punished them for," the NFL commissioner said Thursday at a meeting of a group representing the Associated Press Sports Editors.