Videogate

UPDATE 2 - Color me wrong. John Clayton (and apparently the rest of the league) thinks the penalty was not severe enough.

UPDATE - The Commish was swift and severe. Although this line makes me wonder who is working the switch at the AP: "If the Patriots lose their first-rounder next season they still will have a first-round pick, obtained from San Francisco in the deal that brought Moss from Oakland." That doesn't even make sense.

"If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying."

I've heard that quote more in the past 48 hours about this whole Pats scandal (if you really want to call it that) than I had in the past several years. LT said it yesterday in a press conference to tweak them ahead of their mammoth showdown in Foxboro this Sunday. But some analysts were throwing up their hands in amazement at the fact that anyone cares. These are the same people that get on their high horses about Barry Bonds using flaxseed oil, Michael Vick being unaware that electricity and bullets can hurt a dog, and PacMan Jones' incredibly bad luck.

Most notably, Sean Salisbury, a middling NFL quarterback who used to announce fights between remote control robots, thinks that this whole issue is no big deal. "Cheating happens. Fine them and move on." Whenever you look less reasonable than Skip Bayless, you know you've taken the wrong side of an argument. And let's not minimize the impact of taping the opposing sideline's signals. Dan Marino and Brett Favre both said it offers the offense a HUGE advantage in calling plays against it. This is like looking at the other person's play selection in Madden - except something real is at stake. Makes Tom Brady look a little more human, doesn't it?

At the root of the story is the Pats and their organizational arrogance. They started out as America's darlings when they decided to forego individual player intros and walk out as a team before Super Bowl XXXVI. Everyone was so sick of the fawning over the heavily-favored Rams that it was refreshing to see a team that truly played like a...well, team. But over the years the same disease that has stricken the Red Sox has taken hold of the Pats: they are no longer underdogs and, in fact, perpetuate the very problem that makes many sane people turn away from sports. They cheat at will (this isn't the first time) and who would have thought the team-first Pats would sign locker room cancer, Randy Moss. These clowns have turned into every juggernaut that think the rules don't apply to him/them: Barry Bonds, Kobe Bryant, the Yankees, and the 90s Cowboys (aka the Forces of Evil).

This all goes back to Coach Hoodie. Phil Taylor has a great piece on this modern-day Machiavelli. To cheat even when you have the most loaded roster in the league smacks of the type of arrogance that says "I'm untouchable. The rules don't apply to me." Sports Guy mentioned Belichick's consigliere, Ernie Adams, in his piece yesterday. There's nothing like having a classmate from Andover spy for you to really endear yourself to the working class fan. Bottom line is the Pats should be punished and hard. If players can feel The Commish's wrath, so should coaches.

Cris Collinsworth said it best last night on Inside the NFL: "You know things are sad when you trust politicians more than you do the NBA or NFL."