This year all helmets with audio devices have a green dot sticker on them. The reason is because several teams were found to have audio equipment in several helmets to receive calls from the sidelines.
Before the season even started, Manning had a one on one interview with espn the mag and listed several coaches who were using cameras to steal signals from the recievers coaches(including belechick). The Patriots caught Mangini and the Jets in foxboro filming last year and took no action. Hairpiece Johnson said he had stolen signals in the past and would continue to do so if he was still coaching and Parcells said he used to do anything to gain an advantage including opening the doors in the meadowlands to create a draft when opposing teams kicked field goals.
This is the most overblown thing ever and the Pats are proving it this year allready. Cheat, Cheat Cheat!!! Just about all coaches look for an "edge"! (EDGE=CHEAT in politically correct terms)

At first I thought it was totally NOT blown out of proportion and that they didn't get punished enough.

However, when this happened I was unaware that it was legal to have lip readers and sign breakers in the NFL. Working the whole games to break signals and everything. Once I found this out I thought it was stupid to bring this up because if you can do it the whole games then people can jsut memorize it after the games. So they watched the tapes later instead of recalling the signals they saw. Stupid now.

the thing is...they are relying on people like me that didn't know that this was not such a giant step over then regulations and call it cheating. Technically it was cheating because it is against the rules but it is nothing more then what is legal in my opinion.

Some video tapes didn't get the Patriots where they are today. I don't think it even accounted for a small percentage of waht they are capapble of.

They didnt cheat that bad and it should be dropped.

Because that is cheating. The Pats are cheaters...... Because the Pats actually bought equipment and used it to cheat.

It would be like looking at a neighbors test for some of the answers comparing to steeling the answer cheat for all the answers, very very unfair that they used cameras.

Some use lip readers ok, but all the coaches know to block their lips with the play book before they say it, so if your that stupid as to not block your lips then you deserve to loose.

I'm no big fan of the patriots, but I see what you mean. When fans find anything controversial, they make a big deal out of it. Even if it is just a single play, that possible changes the outcome of a game, fans that lose are going to blow it up and make it look like they got screwed, and thats just being a sore loser.

lol parcells....he is sooo freaking cool....anytime there is any infrindgement on something so dear to peoples lives such as football will be blown up and work its self into a whirlwind of B.S. yes what they did was wrong, but lets not worry about the politics of the game, can we not just enjoy the game and let the punishment and rule making and officiating fall into the hands of a credible person instead of the bloodthirsty media

Because their haters dude. They just can't accept that the Pats are that good. Like they even needed tape to beat the Jets. Ha. And what about the 4 weeks that followed ? They've been watching us closer than any other team. And we keep wining by double digits. We aren't cheating. We're just better.

There is getting advantages by all the natural means and then there is cheating by using things outside the rules. The Pats did that and frankly they should have been punished a lot more. A draft pick means nothing to them, they sign free agents anyway. $500K to Bellicheck is pocket change. He should have been suspended for at least 4 games. He also has all the information that was gathered on defenses and offenses over the last who knows how many years to go back and review. You can sort of see how Brady went from being an 8th round pick to a star. If you know the defense it's a lot easier to read them.

Your question is a bit convoluted and bloated. I 'think' you are asking why people care about the video taping of plays when the Pats are proving how good they are anyways. Am I right?

Well, it comes down to good ole' fashioned sportsmanship and fair play. I don't think anyone would argue that the Pats are not the best in the league atm. I'm a Michigan fan and love Tom Brady, but I did lose a LOT of respect for what this club has done. I used to not mind that they won, even though I hated them, but not anymore. If you are that good, why even sink to that level for competitive edge? You don't need it and all you have to lose is your credibility.

Some coaches do it, but not all and regardelss, it's not in the spirit of competition. Just because some do, doesn't mean you can. There's something lost on this generation in that they tend to justify many things because others do it and consider it the norm and essential to compete. That's just not the case. People nowadays are less likely to hold themselves to a higher standard and do things according to how they view themselves.

If you ask me, it's a symptom of a society full of sociopaths...completely unnerved by the consequences of society so long as it benefits themselves. Me first=sociopath.

1. It is cheating. They stopped a Jaguars game because Marcus Stroud was taking pictures of his teammates on the bench. They broke the rules. Are Patriots fans REALLY this stupid? BREAKED....RULE.... Also a Cowboys coach got suspended for trying to improve his quality of life with drugs that would have no bearing on his coaching ability, yet Belichick only gets fined.

2. The Patriots have been caught for this before, and every team was warned about it at the beginning of the year.

3. Opening doors and the Colts possibly cranking up the heat in the dome is home field advantage. There's no rule against either.

Why did you bring up the earpieces? That had nothing to do with anything...

The reason why people are talking about it is because everyone is sick of listening to people gag on Tom Brady and Bill Belichick relentlessly. I've seen Brady get sacked and then heard the announcer talking about what he did right when getting sacked. It seems like no matter what he does wrong, he's perfect. It's rediculous. Remember that saying "Defense wins Championships." Well apparently the Pats didn't have a defense, or an O-line, or a kicker, and Brady did it all himself. Running away and crying is CLASSY!

because they got caught. thats why.then the guy filming was dening and scared shi#less when asked to turn over the tape. The others admit to it,but the new england spy-triots caught caught Filming during the game.

Do people even realize what the Patriots got caught doing? They weren't trying to analyze the opponent's signals as that's impossible to do. NFL teams have 3 people calling in plays and only one of them is actually live.

Yes they deserved to be punished for breaking rules but OMG it's not like they were knew someone's defensive calls. They used the tapes to find out which defensive coaches were slow to call in their plays and on that information the Pats would tend to run no huddle offenses against those coaches. Never understood why they couldn't have a coach with a stop watch just keep track of that stuff but oh well.

People love a scandal and when the scandal involves a team that is really hot, all hell breaks loose. Yes, they cheated. Do other teams? Yes, I am sure of it. The thing is, Patriot fans need to take the thrill of victory along with the drag of being on top. Everyone is going to take their shots while they can.

Just watch what people will say about Tony Romo this week in the media.

josh is exactly right