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New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft and coach Bill Belichick addressed their fellow owners and coaches today at the league meetings in Florida in an effort to clear the air on Spygate.
Multiple published reports say that Kraft told the group he regretted the way the incident reflected badly on the league, and that Belichick reiterated his longstanding claim that he didn’t realize taping opponents’ signals was against the rules.
Per Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports, Colts coach Tony Dungy spoke privately with Kraft afterward. Asked what was said, Dungy answered, “I prefer to leave that in the room. But I will say it felt very, very sincere.”
In a sign that the rest of the league may be ready to move on, the Boston Herald reports that Kraft and Belichick received a standing ovation after they spoke.
April 1st, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Belicheck is a krafty cheater indeed I think hes been hired for cheetos commercials. They probably received a standing ovation of middle fingers.
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April 1st, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Yeah - the rest of the team owners applauded because they know that Kraft, Belichick and the entire Patriots organization “took one” for the good of the league. Instead of “singing” about the breadth and depth of “cheating” in the NFL Belichick, Kraft et al kept their collective mouth shut.
Too bad you can’t say the same thing about other coaches who righteoulsy postured while hiring an assistant coach who most recognize as an “expert” in illegal taping (*cough Dungy*)
Any righteous coach, player or fan of other teams who is aghast at “cheating” has had their head in the sand for the last 50 years - and thanks to Belichick’s code of silence even in the face of those who besmirch his reputation, the profitable buisiness of the NFL can continue (well, assuming there’s not a lockout over the next CBA)
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April 1st, 2008 at 6:43 pm
And…like a category 5 hurricane that just missed hitting the mainland…Spygate will now churn out to sea and dissipate…as well it should!
Time to move on.
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April 1st, 2008 at 6:47 pm
the rest of the league might have also just been happy Kraft and Belicheck finally shut up too…
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April 1st, 2008 at 7:21 pm
As much as I loathe the Pats, not digging further into this thing is the best thing thats happened to the NFL since the merger…
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April 1st, 2008 at 7:26 pm
JoeSixPack - well said…
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April 1st, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Adam Schefter said on NFL Network that there was “some” applause (NOT a standing ovation), and that it was mostly for Kraft after he spoke.
Sounds like the Boston Herald was more than embellishing.
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April 1st, 2008 at 7:34 pm
JoeSixPack said:
“Too bad you can’t say the same thing about other coaches who righteoulsy postured while hiring an assistant coach who most recognize as an “expert” in illegal taping (*cough Dungy*)”
I assume you’re talking about Howard Mudd? The offensive line coach that is known is the business as one of the best in stealing signals.
You do realize that stealing signals does not equal ‘videotaping signals’. It can be done via other methods beside illegal video taping.
So while you’re on that high horse of yours up there, you might just want to see if you can get a clue.
Thanks.
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April 1st, 2008 at 7:43 pm
walsh needs to talk before i forget about it. why should we forget about it now? because they didnt win the superbowl? if they go deep into the playoff next year without walsh talking its just going to come up again, and will continue to year afte year until he talks.
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April 1st, 2008 at 7:43 pm
JoeSixPAck said:
“Too bad you can’t say the same thing about other coaches who righteoulsy postured while hiring an assistant coach who most recognize as an “expert” in illegal taping (*cough Dungy*)”
I assume you’re talking about Howard Mudd, the offensive line coach that has been regarded as one of the best in the league at stealing signals.
While you’re on that high horse of yours up there you might want to *cough* get a clue and realize that you can steal signals via other means than illegally videotaping them.
Have a nice day.
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April 1st, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Every team cheats in some manner, it’s just that only Belichick is arrogant enough to do it so blatantly that he got caught.
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April 1st, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Belicheck apologized!
No way!
Oh wait…….APRIL FOOLS!
Almost had me Belicheck
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April 1st, 2008 at 9:00 pm
“yahmpy, a Cheerleader, says:
April 1st, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Adam Schefter said on NFL Network that there was “some” applause (NOT a standing ovation), and that it was mostly for Kraft after he spoke.
Sounds like the Boston Herald was more than embellishing.”
That’s what I heard Schefter saying as well.
So, I’m not buying “standing ovation for Kraft & Belicheck” unless reported by some other source than the Boston Herald.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:50 pm
My bad - Tony Dungy just hired the best signal stealer in the NFL for his coaching staff who steals them the way God meant signals to be stolen in football.
The good news is it doesn’t seem like people here even blinked when I mentioned the countless instances and decades of other teams cheating - as well as the fact that the NFL’s punishment of the Patriots is a bit of a dog and pony show to give the impression that they are “ensuring the integirty of the game.”
I’m glad we’re past the point where fans delude themselves that there are many (or even any) organizations able to cast the first stone on that one. Of course if Don Shula can assert the Patriots should have an asterisk while overlooking the fact that if not for tampering, he’d probably never had been the Coach of the Fins (with the organization fined a First round draft pick… so you KNOW its a serious violation) then anything is possible.
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April 2nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Goodell is a clown for creating a circus around this. He should have dealt with the situation within the first 24 hrs and this would never have blown up the way that it had. By delaying his decision a week he invited all the mediots to create and fabricate their own stories over the course of a week. Spygate II was nothing more than Specter trying to force his hand on the Comcast vs NFL issue and he went as far as paying for Walsh’s attorney fees to do so. What a puppet league this has turned into. You don’t know who’s pulling the strings anymore.
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