Question of Logic

by manchesterheights on May 8, 2008 5:42 PM EDT

I was just watching ESPN newscasts on the release of the Matt Walsh Spygate tapes to the NFL commissioner. One of these tapes involved a Steelers / Patriots AFC championship game. ESPN believed that from the info released, no further action by the commissioner was warranted. They also implied that these tapes (of both offensive and defensive signals) were for future use. In my opinion this is contrary to all logic. Why take tapes of the signals unless they could be of immediate use, especially an AFC championship game. It seems that they had to have some sort of method to review the tapes at another location and then forward their results.

I'm no conspiracy theorist but if you could review and interpret the tapes from the first half and give the opponents signals to your coaching staff, for example at half time, they would be game changing. Perhaps this could also account for the Pat's vaunted ability to comeback in the second half.

Is this scenario far fetched, or should it be dismissed.

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Or Maybe

if Krissy Brown can hit a field goal or Josh Miller (or who ever was punting that day) booms one or the punt return team tackles Troy Brown the Steelers win.

I hate the Pats* Manchester and especially that they cheat but I can’t cry over spilled milk like a SeaHag fan.

When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen

by 5020 on May 8, 2008 6:45 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

They Stink

Good point 5020 – That game still pisses me off – but what can you do???? If we didn’t shit all over ourselves on special teams we could have won the game. I really think we were the better team.. oh well.. If we would have made a few more plays here and there the 90’s and early 00’s could have had another ring or two..

by smashmouthsteel on May 8, 2008 7:24 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Rooney didn't seem bothered

I dunno if anyone else remembers, but when this Matt Walsh stuff was first coming out, the PPG had a quote from Rooney saying that basically he thought bygones should be bygones. That says to me one of two things (or maybe both).

1) He was being totally pragmatic, and realizing that nothing will go back in the past and move an L to the W column, and the only thing that wins games in the future is good execution, or

2) everyone does it, and it just happened to be the Pats* that got caught at it.

Maybe there’s another way to read it…

by acrollet on May 9, 2008 12:04 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Could be he wanted to show leadership in the organization by putting the team past that issue and remaining focused on winning now.

by BallsofSteel on May 9, 2008 2:08 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

My thoughts on Rooney's reaction

I said this before, but it fits into this conversation. I think that Rooney took that stance because he sees this as a possible long term danger to the health of the NFL. Rooney is an NFL leader, and he’s basically been a part of the league forever. I think he just wants it to go away so it doesn’t turn into anything like MLB’s Steroid scandal, which has been dragged out for years.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on May 9, 2008 11:38 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Agreed

Dan Rooney very much takes pride in the NFL, and is also one of the strongest backers of the commish. That’s not to say he doesn’t have the Steelers interest in mind, but his past actions show that the league itself, and defending the league is very important. This is a guy who saw his team and his coach dragged through the mud by al davis and the raiders years ago during the Chuck Noll lawsuit.

I dislike the Pats, their fanbase and especially the coach. I have no doubt they cheated, and would not be surprised if they still are or will cheat in some capacity. I dislike the righteous attitude and seeming defiance that they are being persecuted for cheating.
But the Steelers lost that game, even though the tapes almost definitely were for immediate use. The best reparations now would be to run over the pats in the regular season.

by vherub on May 9, 2008 12:12 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Here's another alternative

It’s bad for business. If people think there is cheating going on the entire league, including the Steelers suffer. That’s more important than being gypped out of a couple of games.

by RickVa on May 10, 2008 1:47 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

immediate use

I do believe they were used for immediate use. You made a good point about the tapes not being worth much since it was a AFC Champ game, if they were for future use. I heard a theory a while back on this that the Pats would have had enough time to analyze the tapes if they taped the first quarter, then analyzed them in the second quarter and adjusted at halftime. Obviously that was just a theory but if someone was constantly reviewing the tapes after each quarter or so, I could see how it might help.

I’ll add just for the record that I think nearly every team does/did this in some form or another, just not as blatantly.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on May 9, 2008 8:07 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Immediate Use

Based on all of the evidence that I’ve seen, I am convinced that the Pats* could have used this info within minutes, not just in the next quarter. Here are the reasons that I believe that:

1. The Pats* have an assistant, Ernie Adams, on their staff that apparently has no known tasks. He’s reported to be a genius with a photographic memory.
2. There have been multiple reports of unaccounted for radio signals at Pats* games, including the Jets game last year for which they were initially punished. That aspect has not been discussed by the league or anyone else since the initial scandal.

You put these two things together, and it’s not a great leap to imagine that Pats* had a system where they were videotaping signals and sending that video wirelessly to Ernie Adams in the booth. If Adams is the genius that he’s reported to be, he could have video of the plays and the signals at the same time. Then, the next time that signal was called, he just had to tell Belicheat what was coming up. It sounds like some kind of conspiracy theory, but from what I see, the evidence is there to support this theory.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on May 9, 2008 11:54 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Ernie Adams

When Belichick was with Cleveland, so too, of course, was Ernie Adams. Art Modell had no idea who he was or why he was paying him. At one point Modell said, ” I am paying this guy alot of money and I have no idea what he does. I will give a $10,000 bonus to anyone in the organization who can explain to me What Ernie Adams does.”

by maryrose on May 9, 2008 1:39 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

It is what it is and what’s done is done. Tomlin’s Steelers need to find a way to beat these Patriots next season and post-season. The Steelers are 1-5 against Belichick’s Pats and I don’t want to hear about another perfect season. Before spygate (2000) Belichick couldn’t beat the Steelers and after it, he could. ‘Spygate’ has already had an effect on the game resulting in defenses now having a player with a radio headset. So let’s move on, and next season I want the Steelers to go into Foxboro and beat the Pats senseless. Period. Anthony Smith better bring his guarantees and game face this time!

by TomlinEra on May 9, 2008 1:00 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs