PatsBlog: A Patriots Blog

Well, Goodell has made his decision about the Patriots.  This is the punishment:

Team Fined $250,000

Belichick Fined $500,000

1st Round Pick (if they make playoffs)

2nd and 3rd Round Pick (if they don’t make playoffs)

That essentially means we lost a first round pick.  The penalty is too excessive, and not aimed at the right purpose.  Taking away the pick hurts the team, and everyone in management.  A suspension of Belichick would teach him the right lesson, and hurt the team for the four games he is suspended.

In my opinion, Goodell is a terrible commisioner.  He is mad with power, and is trying to reform the league with an aggressiveness that isn’t working.  What’s going to happen, is that these excessive punishments are going to create resentment for Goodell across the league.  He will go from a commisioner with respect, to a commisioner without.

Hopefully, the Patriots can appeal this punishment.  Because, under no circumstances, is punishing the team a first round pick going to help the league.

You see, I had a pretty harsh view on Belichick, that was until I saw some of the recent comments on my blog.  There was a commenter on my last post that believed that the three Superbowls should be removed from the Patriots.  Who thinks that is rediculous? 

What people aren’t understanding, is that the cheating itself didn’t make much of a difference, if any.  There is a 40 second playclock.  That means, you would have to film the signals (10 seconds), send them to the Patriots sidelines (10 seconds), interperet them (25 seconds), send them to the offense (10 seconds), have Brady interperet them……….  It’s just not possible.  The only thing they could do is possibly cheat at halftime.

The other thing that people don’t understand is that the Patriots were trying to steal DEFENSIVE SIGNALS.  People keep saying that it affected the WHOLE game, saying the defense sucks, etc.  I get frusterated when people make statements, not knowing the entire situation.

HOWEVER, IN NO WAY AM I SUPPORTING THE CHEATING, IT WAS TERRIBLE.  Terrible, that is, for Bill Belichick.  It shows he doesn’t have any integrity, because even if he just attempted to steal, it was the intentions that matter.  I just don’t think the team should be getting punished as much, I think it should be a direct punishment to Belichick.