After declaring Belicheck’s taping “disappointing” and “stupid,” Dean Barnett finally gets angry… at New York Jets’ coach Eric Mangini:
“If Belichick has been doing this for several years, Eric Mangini knew about it for several years. Obviously his conscience didn’t overwhelm him while he was collecting Super Bowl rings at Belichick’s side. Nor did his commitment to truth, justice and the American way manifest itself immediately when he donned the cleansing green and white of the New York Jets. Strangely, Mangini only entered high dudgeon mode when the chance to do real damage to the Patriots presented itself after the commissioner had promised strong penalties if teams brought video cameras to the sidelines.”
That “if” in the first sentence assumes facts not in evidence. As it is, we know of two instances where somebody complained about the Patriots’ taping: the Green Bay game last year and the Jets game this year. (And as somebody else noted, if there’s no in-game advantage, why did the Patriots record the Packers, a team they won’t play again for another four years? The only reason you would do that is to use what you learned from recording the signals during that game.) So let’s drop the argument that recording the signals doesn’t have any effect on the game during which it occurs.
As for why Mangini would report Belichick as a rival but not as an employee, I can’t believe Barnett is asking the question. He’d lose his job. And as for why Belichick didn’t complain during last year’s games, well, we don’t know for certain that the Patriots did it in last year’s games, or that the Jets noticed it. Or perhaps the Jets decided it was unwise to complain to the Commish until they had hard evidence, the confiscated videotape.
One last point: Mangini was a defensive coach under Belichick; the Patriots were recording the Jets’ defensive signals, information that would only be of use to the Patriots’ offensive unit. It is not a given that Mangini would know the offensive unit’s secret recording efforts.
By the way, if Brian Billick’s complaint is accurate– that Jets defensive players were barking out signals to simulate snap counts and draw the offense offsides in Sunday’s game in Baltimore – I’m disappointed in my team, and Commissioner Goodell ought to punish the Jets organization however he sees fit. This whole how-can-we-work-around-the-rules mentality grates at fans’ hearts; whatever happened to just going out and beating somebody? What, trick plays aren’t enough anymore?
(My only quibble with Billick’s complaint is wondering how he can be certain that the Jets’s defenders were yelling out signals that deliberately mimicked the Ravens’ offensive signals. Isn’t it possible that the teams just have similar terminology? Does either team have a copyright on yelling out “Red 22″ or whatever?)
I also note the classy way Mangini attempted to deal with the situation:
Billick and Mangini spoke yesterday - Mangini placed the first call - and Billick made it sound like the conversation ended on good terms. He insisted he wasn’t thinking about the Jets-Patriots video scandal when he made his comments on Monday, which sparked a firestorm. “This isn’t New England, Part II,” he said from the Ravens’ offices.
Evidently, Billick’s original remarks struck a nerve with Mangini, who is being painted as the bad guy for reporting Belichick’s blatant disregard for league rules. Mangini phoned Billick to let him know the Jets “weren’t trying to pull anything illegal or duplicitous,” Billick said. “He called to make sure I knew it was nothing by design,” Billick said. “Halfheartedly, I said, ‘You’re better than me.’ I coach it. Frankly, we don’t get away with it that often. That’s gamesmanship.”
UPDATE: In the comments, John wants evidence that taping can be used in a game, citing “intense time constraints.” I’m not so sure the constraints are so overwhelming. Even if, say, three coaches are sending in signals, on the first play, you know those three signs (A, B, or C) are the sign for the defense in the first play. Any time the defense re-uses that play or package, you can eliminate any coach’s signal that contradicted the first sign as a decoy; whichever coach gave the same signal is the real signal. Also, on each subsequent play, any repeated signal by the same coach that precedes a different strategy or arrangement by the defense can also be discarded as a fake. (Keeping all of these signs straight probably requires great concentration and an eye for detail, which is why the taping provides such an advantage.) It’s not like you need an Enigma codebreaker here; it’s simply a matter of observing the signs and the defensive plays and seeing which pairs match up consistently.
By the second or third drive (unless it was a 3-and-out, atypical for the Jets’ defense), you start accumulating enough evidence to see which signals are predictive (i.e., which signal always shows up when there’s a safety blitz on the right side). Even if the analysis took an hour (and I’ll bet someone prepared can do it in less time), footage recorded in the first quarter can easily be ready for usage in the fourth quarter.
As for the argument that Belichick’s recording represented “data collection for its own sake,” it seems like an enormous risk (particularly after the warning from the Green Bay game), for no discernable advantage. If Belichick chose to do something that he knew the League had banned, and warned him about (and ultimately could cost him a $500,000 fine, cost the organization a $250,000 fine, and possibly a first round draft choice), just for the sake of his urge to collect information, he’s beyond obsessed to reckless.
Jim, I’m so sorry that I’ve been away from the blog for a while. But I wanted to publicly congratulate you on your new bundle of joy. You’re a lucky, lucky man.
When I was a little kid, maybe four years old, I crawled up in my mom’s lap one day and asked her: “Will I ever be too old to sit on your lap?”
My mom, of course, answered no. And I believed her. But the truth is, I asked the wrong question.
You’re never too big for your mom or dad’s lap. But there’ll come a day when they’re too small for you. Today was that day.
I spent most of this morning in the office of an oncologist in Houston, Texas. It seems my mother, who survived lung cancer eight years ago, is now suffering from pancreatic cancer. The question now is how far has it progressed, and what (if anything) can be done to stop it. Right now, I have no idea what the answers are. I just want to be there for my mom like she was there for me at all of the crucial moments in my life.
One day, one of my kids may ask me a similar question to the one I posed to my mother 29 years ago. I’ll probably answer them the same way my mom answered me. And I won’t be lying. But now I know they’re just not asking the right question.
I think we all come to this realization sooner or later. I suppose it’s a blessing that I made it to my 33rd year before I truly realized that nothing lasts forever… even the ones you love.
Jim: Cam, as I mentioned earlier, I keep looking for the right words to address this heartbreaking situation, and I just can’t find much beyond, “I’m so, so sorry.”
If Dean Barnett were an Atlanta Falcon fan, we would be hearing about how dogfighting isn’t such a big deal and that rivals were whining because they were jealous of Vick’s success in pitting dogs against each other in deathmatches. And also, probably, how the whole thing was good news for Mitt Romney.
No one has said that the Jets would have won the game if the Patriots had not been videotaping. It’s a straw man that Barnett thrashes with glee. In fact, considering how talent-laden the Patriots are, it’s what makes the videotaping so bizarre — why would a team like the Patriots need to try to steal the Jets’ signals? Between this and the allegations after last year’s Green Bay game, it’s easy to wonder if Belichick’s competitive streak overcomes his good judgment.
Either way, the League has determined videotaping the other team to steal their signals is against the rules. Barnett might be able to dismiss this with a “who cares,” but that’s an easy call for a substitute radio host sitting in the New England area to make; it’s tougher for Commissioner Goodell. After demanding a much higher standard from players in compliance with the rules and good conduct on and off the field, he’s supposed to look the other way when a coach does breaks league rules? If this is such a non-issue, why did Belicheck feel the need to issue an apology to “everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff, and players”? Dean, if even Belichick has dropped the argument that this is no big deal and harmless, then it’s time to stop emulating the Japanese soldiers off on the Pacific Islands fighting long after the Emperor surrendered.
Commissioner Goodell is facing a decision of how you deal with a coach who operates outside the rules. Some have suggested a fine (not a big deal to a wealthy franchise), some have suggested forfeiting draft choices. I think I like the suggestion that Belichick be suspended for one week of practices and a game - later in the season, when the Patriots and Jets play again.
Cam: As a Pats fan, I would have no problem with your suggestion being implemented. I wasn’t keen on the addition of Randy Moss to the team, and this event has me paying far more attention to my mediocre Oklahoma State Cowboys than my excellent New England Patriots.
Marshall: I’m a few days late in weighing in, but as such, I have the benefit of knowing how Goodell did, in fact, act. And also the benefit of knowing that there are new allegations against the Patriots. Specifically, that in addition to their illegal video taping, they may also have been recording audio of the Jets’ quarterback and line calls. If that turns out to be true, I think the Commissioner should take even tougher action against Bellichek and the Pats. Bellichek had already been caught and warned once. He’s serial offender. I think he should be suspended for the remainder of the season and the playoffs. Enough is enough.
Some days, life just can’t get any better.
Cam: Well isn’t that the cutest thing. Remember that moment, Jim. Especially when Connor has taken his diaper off and smeared his own feces all over the walls of his room. 
Seriously, congratulations on becoming a father. Now don’t screw it up!
No offense to college football fans, but football’s main event, the NFL regular season, starts tonight. I think this site had one of the most amusing ways of forecasting the NFL season, comparing each team to a Star Wars character. A couple of my favorite metaphors:
The New England Patriots: Emperor Palpatine. Keeps Darth Vader (below) on a tight leash. Used to be terrifying, but now is just old and wrinkled.
The New York Jets: Darth Maul. The threatening apprentice. Knows what he’s doing, but will still end up sliced in half at the bottom of a reactor shaft.
The Cleveland Browns: Jawas. They are small, brown, and constantly trading for junk.
The New York Giants: Princess Leia. Sibling of the chosen one. (Reference to Eli Manning, as this Colts fan site sees Peyton “I’m In Every Television Commercial on During Football season” Manning as the Chosen One.)
“Tiki said WHAT about me?”
The Detroit Lions: Admiral Ozzel, comparing him to Lions GM Matt Millen: “He is as clumsy as he is stupid.”
The Atlanta Falcons: Han Solo frozen in carbonite. You couldn’t be more screwed.
I feel like I have less of a sense of what’s going to happen this year than most, and the preseason really didn’t help shed much light on the offseason questions, what with most starters playing about four quarters over four games. A couple of random thoughts below the fold…