Shady Patriots are shady

[pixy0stix]

www.9news.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2015/09/11/new-england-headsets-pittsburgh-steelers-bill-belichick-mike-tomlin/72049514/

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Don’t blame the New England Patriots for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ headset issues during Thursday night’s opener, the NFL says.

League spokesman Michael Signora said in a statement after the game it was a “stadium power infrastructure issue, which was exacerbated by the inclement weather” that caused the interference that left Steelers coach Mike Tomlin seething after the Patriots’ 28-21 win.

“The coaches’ communications equipment, including the headsets, is provided by the NFL for both clubs use on game day,” Signora’s statement said. “Once the power issue was addressed, the equipment functioned properly with no additional issues.”

Heavy rain hit the area early Thursday afternoon and continued until a short time before kickoff, then picked up again during the game. The Steelers began having trouble with their headsets in the first quarter.

“We were listening to the Patriots radio broadcast for the majority of the first half, on our headsets,” an animated Tomlin told reporters after the game.

Tomlin said it’s “always the case” here at Gillette Stadium, though he stopped short of suggesting the Patriots had anything to do with it. He added it only impacted coach-to-coach communication.

Steelers players largely downplayed the issue. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said a couple plays didn’t come into his helmet, “but that happens.” Linebacker Lawrence Timmons said any issues on defense were a product of noise in the stadium and the fact it was the first game.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said his sideline also had communication issues throughout the game and the issue comes up “it seems like weekly.” He said the league was on the verge of shutting off the headsets used by coaches, but then got things fixed.

Asked if he got an explanation, Belichick said, “We never get that answer. They just try to fix it, and they tell you it’s up or down or whatever. I don’t know. That’s not really a very strong area for me, is technology.”

The problems even extended to quarterback Tom Brady’s helmet, which had to be switched out near the end of the game because coaches couldn’t relay plays, Belichick said.

Patriots radio analyst Scott Zolak said his cellphone blew up with text messages once NBC reported the problem.

“It’s a shame,” Zolak said. “To think of what we can do in this world with technology, and we can’t even get the wireless right? But I was completely complimentary of the Steelers and Big Ben.”

[pixy0stix]

More - kdvr.com/2015/09/11/more-patriots-controversy-as-radio-network-drowns-out-steelers-coaches/

[IIOY]

Sept 11, 2015 11:10:23 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

More - kdvr.com/2015/09/11/more-patriots-controversy-as-radio-network-drowns-out-steelers-coaches/

"Strangely enough, whenever an NFL representative proceeded to the New England sideline to shut down their headsets, the Steelers’ headsets cleared. Then as the representative walked away from the New England sideline, the Steelers’ headsets again started to receive the Patriots game broadcast."

[iammalcolmx]

Sept 11, 2015 11:16:48 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:10:23 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

More - kdvr.com/2015/09/11/more-patriots-controversy-as-radio-network-drowns-out-steelers-coaches/

"Strangely enough, whenever an NFL representative proceeded to the New England sideline to shut down their headsets, the Steelers’ headsets cleared. Then as the representative walked away from the New England sideline, the Steelers’ headsets again started to receive the Patriots game broadcast."

Sweet lord in heaven.

[Deleted]

Sept 11, 2015 11:16:48 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:10:23 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

More - kdvr.com/2015/09/11/more-patriots-controversy-as-radio-network-drowns-out-steelers-coaches/

"Strangely enough, whenever an NFL representative proceeded to the New England sideline to shut down their headsets, the Steelers’ headsets cleared. Then as the representative walked away from the New England sideline, the Steelers’ headsets again started to receive the Patriots game broadcast."

[laurenpetro]

this is my shocked face.

[LoveTrains]

[iammalcolmx]

Sept 11, 2015 11:35:43 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

What are people hating? The cheating?

[eclaires]

Allegedly this happens frequently in a lot of the stadiums, but apparently it's the most common/worst at Foxborough.

I guess they aren't confident they can win if it's a fair fight.

I LOVE Gronk anyway, though. The rest of them can continue to be shady and taint their legacy.

[josieposy]

Sept 11, 2015 11:16:48 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:10:23 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

More - kdvr.com/2015/09/11/more-patriots-controversy-as-radio-network-drowns-out-steelers-coaches/

"Strangely enough, whenever an NFL representative proceeded to the New England sideline to shut down their headsets, the Steelers’ headsets cleared. Then as the representative walked away from the New England sideline, the Steelers’ headsets again started to receive the Patriots game broadcast."

*snort* What an amazing coincidence.

[Deleted]

FTFY

[WOT?*]

There's a history here. The Patriots are shady as all get-out and have been for years.

espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/13533995/split-nfl-new-england-patriots-apart

(this is an ESPN article from three days ago...before Thursday's game.)

[sangria]

Sept 11, 2015 11:16:48 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:10:23 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

More - kdvr.com/2015/09/11/more-patriots-controversy-as-radio-network-drowns-out-steelers-coaches/

"Strangely enough, whenever an NFL representative proceeded to the New England sideline to shut down their headsets, the Steelers’ headsets cleared. Then as the representative walked away from the New England sideline, the Steelers’ headsets again started to receive the Patriots game broadcast."

Ok- but if this was truly the case then why didn't the NFL rep just remove both sets of headsets because it was suspicious? That's on the NFL, no the Pats. 

I feel like at this point, if a mouse farts in the wind and the opposing team QB smells it and gets distracted there is going to be an uproar over the Pats and their gassy mice causing game interference. 

Brady and the Pats are awesome so everyone is looking for things to accuse them of. Nobody cares about shady shit the Browns or the Texans are doing. 

I am fully prepared to be flamed back to the stone age now. 

[eclaires]

Eh, read the ESPN article. It's pretty clear that there's an element of Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell and NFL shadiness behind the scenes.

I think a lot of the teams do stupid shit like this, and I think the Pats could win without it - they are good enough. But for whatever reason, they keep doing it, even when the spotlight is on them, which is kind of hilarious and bizarre.

[wawa]

Sept 11, 2015 11:47:12 GMT -5 sangria said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:16:48 GMT -5 IIOY said:

"Strangely enough, whenever an NFL representative proceeded to the New England sideline to shut down their headsets, the Steelers’ headsets cleared. Then as the representative walked away from the New England sideline, the Steelers’ headsets again started to receive the Patriots game broadcast."

Ok- but if this was truly the case then why didn't the NFL rep just remove both sets of headsets because it was suspicious? That's on the NFL, no the Pats. 

I feel like at this point, if a mouse farts in the wind and the opposing team QB smells it and gets distracted there is going to be an uproar over the Pats and their gassy mice causing game interference. 

Brady and the Pats are awesome so everyone is looking for things to accuse them of. Nobody cares about shady shit the Browns or the Texans are doing. 

I am fully prepared to be flamed back to the stone age now. 

I'm prepared to care about the Browns or texans. Tell me more. I don't pay attention in the off season so I have no idea what you're referring to.

[sangria]

www.boston.com/sports/articles/2007/11/06/more_static_in_air/?page=full

www.bucsnation.com/2012/10/1/3437246/bucs-cheat-redskins-how-headset-cheating-is-hurting-the-nfl

sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=sando_mike&id=3035449

wawa

[pixy0stix]

Sept 11, 2015 11:51:16 GMT -5 sangria said:

www.boston.com/sports/articles/2007/11/06/more_static_in_air/?page=full

www.bucsnation.com/2012/10/1/3437246/bucs-cheat-redskins-how-headset-cheating-is-hurting-the-nfl

sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=sando_mike&id=3035449

wawa

This is all just muddying the waters. We're talking about the Patriots and how they're cheaters. This whining of "everyone else is doing it" doesn't make what the Patriots are doing right.

[pixy0stix]

Sept 11, 2015 11:49:51 GMT -5 eclaires said:

I think a lot of the teams do stupid shit like this, and I think the Pats could win without it - they are good enough. But for whatever reason, they keep doing it, even when the spotlight is on them, which is kind of hilarious and bizarre.

Exactly. On their VERY FIRST GAME they're acting shady. Why not start it halfway through the season? 

[sangria]

Sept 11, 2015 11:54:33 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:51:16 GMT -5 sangria said:

www.boston.com/sports/articles/2007/11/06/more_static_in_air/?page=full

www.bucsnation.com/2012/10/1/3437246/bucs-cheat-redskins-how-headset-cheating-is-hurting-the-nfl

sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=sando_mike&id=3035449

wawa

This is all just muddying the waters. We're talking about the Patriots and how they're cheaters. This whining of "everyone else is doing it" doesn't make what the Patriots are doing right.

How is it muddying the waters if it's a widespread practice among probably every team in the NFL? I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying that people are putting this on the Patriots like it's some novel cheat they are executing when history seems to show it's a rather common practice that apparently the NFL doesn't seem to do much about. 

espn.go.com/blog/playbook/tech/post/_/id/2573/robert-griffin-iii-helmet

[sangria]

Sept 11, 2015 11:54:33 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:51:16 GMT -5 sangria said:

www.boston.com/sports/articles/2007/11/06/more_static_in_air/?page=full

www.bucsnation.com/2012/10/1/3437246/bucs-cheat-redskins-how-headset-cheating-is-hurting-the-nfl

sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=sando_mike&id=3035449

wawa

This is all just muddying the waters. We're talking about the Patriots and how they're cheaters. This whining of "everyone else is doing it" doesn't make what the Patriots are doing right.

Let's go ahead and assume the Patriots are cheaters. (I'm not saying they are or aren't but for the sake of argument)

So is every other team in the league in one way or another- the Patriots are under fire because they are awesome and they win a shitton of games. Now that certainly doesn't make cheating right but let's spread our hatred around equally at the point. Nobody cares when a team with a 5-10 record does shady shit, right?

[pixy0stix]

Sept 11, 2015 11:56:58 GMT -5 sangria said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:54:33 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

This is all just muddying the waters. We're talking about the Patriots and how they're cheaters. This whining of "everyone else is doing it" doesn't make what the Patriots are doing right.

How is it muddying the waters if it's a widespread practice among probably every team in the NFL? I'm saying it's right, I'm saying that people are putting this on the Patriots like it's some novel cheat they are executing when history seems to show it's a rather common practice that apparently the NFL doesn't seem to do much about. 

espn.go.com/blog/playbook/tech/post/_/id/2573/robert-griffin-iii-helmet

Again, whining about people picking on the Patriots and deflection.

At least when the Raiders were dirty, they owned up to their dirtiness. Not bawled about how unfair it all was when the scrutiny got turned up.

[wawa]

Sept 11, 2015 12:00:26 GMT -5 sangria said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:54:33 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

This is all just muddying the waters. We're talking about the Patriots and how they're cheaters. This whining of "everyone else is doing it" doesn't make what the Patriots are doing right.

Let's go ahead and assume the Patriots are cheaters. (I'm not saying they are or aren't but for the sake of argument)

So is every other team in the league in one way or another- the Patriots are under fire because they are awesome and they win a shitton of games. Now that certainly doesn't make cheating right but let's spread our hatred around equally at the point. Nobody cares when a team with a 5-10 record does shady shit, right?

Well I mean cheat all you want I guess if you're just as bad at the cheating as you are at football? Cheating only to lose anyway just doesn't seem as urgent an issue as cheating and winning.

[josieposy]

What a crazy league. I'm still annoyed about the Super Bowl demands crap and our stadium hasn't even opened yet (it looks like Noah's Ark, TBH).

Joke's on the NFL. Have fun hanging out here in February, assholes.

[pixy0stix]

Sept 11, 2015 12:00:26 GMT -5 sangria said:

Sept 11, 2015 11:54:33 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

This is all just muddying the waters. We're talking about the Patriots and how they're cheaters. This whining of "everyone else is doing it" doesn't make what the Patriots are doing right.

Let's go ahead and assume the Patriots are cheaters. (I'm not saying they are or aren't but for the sake of argument)

So is every other team in the league in one way or another- the Patriots are under fire because they are awesome and they win a shitton of games. Now that certainly doesn't make cheating right but let's spread our hatred around equally at the point. Nobody cares when a team with a 5-10 record does shady shit, right?

They're under fire because they flat out, unapologetically cheat and there's no way to curb them. And they don't even need to cheat anyway! It's pathological at this point.

[litebright]

I dunno, I think the systems that they use would make it pretty hard to jam them for one side but not for the other, at least on purpose. If sometimes they get airline pilots' conversations or the press' wireless microphones inside the stadium disrupting this stuff, you're not exactly talking about a robust system. And if you're targeting a specific frequency for jamming, generally it just doesn't work -- you can't just pop the Patriots broadcast in for funsies.

operations.nfl.com/the-game/gameday-behind-the-scenes/nfl-gameday-frequency-coordinators/

Figuring out what's causing the problem in a wireless system, especially in a stadium with tens of thousands of people, during the course of a single football game would be a hellish game of finding a needle in a haystack. Shit goes wacky all the time and the source can be miles away and/or moving.

[pixy0stix]

ALSO, are you really trying to tell me we shouldn't be talking about cheating because everyone does it? I think once the league really starts cracking down on one team it'll help the whole sport. Just because it's YOUR team doesn't make it unfair.

[gpw]

Sept 11, 2015 11:35:43 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

[sangria]

Sept 11, 2015 12:05:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

ALSO, are you really trying to tell me we shouldn't be talking about cheating because everyone does it? I think once the league really starts cracking down on one team it'll help the whole sport. Just because it's YOUR team doesn't make it unfair.

Uh no. I am not saying don't talk about cheating. How about direct the heat toward the NFL itself though for not taking action toward all the cheats they know about? Take the damn headsets away from everyone for the last quarter of the game if the score is within ten points of each other. Hell, take the headsets away all together. Let teams warm up with whatever ball they want and then have the Refs bring out the game balls 3 minutes before kickoff. There are tons of ways to address these problems without everyone going all pitchforks on the Patriots. 

[pixy0stix]

Sept 11, 2015 12:12:35 GMT -5 sangria said:

Sept 11, 2015 12:05:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

ALSO, are you really trying to tell me we shouldn't be talking about cheating because everyone does it? I think once the league really starts cracking down on one team it'll help the whole sport. Just because it's YOUR team doesn't make it unfair.

Uh no. I am not saying don't talk about cheating. How about direct the heat toward the NFL itself though for not taking action toward all the cheats they know about? Take the damn headsets away from everyone for the last quarter of the game if the score is within ten points of each other. Hell, take the headsets away all together. Let teams warm up with whatever ball they want and then have the Refs bring out the game balls 3 minutes before kickoff. There are tons of ways to address these problems without everyone going all pitchforks on the Patriots. 

So don't punish the cheaters, punish the ones that should be controlling the cheaters. Yup, sound strategy there.

[sangria]

Sept 11, 2015 12:15:47 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Sept 11, 2015 12:12:35 GMT -5 sangria said:

Uh no. I am not saying don't talk about cheating. How about direct the heat toward the NFL itself though for not taking action toward all the cheats they know about? Take the damn headsets away from everyone for the last quarter of the game if the score is within ten points of each other. Hell, take the headsets away all together. Let teams warm up with whatever ball they want and then have the Refs bring out the game balls 3 minutes before kickoff. There are tons of ways to address these problems without everyone going all pitchforks on the Patriots. 

So don't punish the cheaters, punish the ones that should be controlling the cheaters. Yup, sound strategy there.

What? The NFL makes and enforces the rules- how is the NFL as an organization punished by changing rules to make cheating harder? That's not a punishment, they lose nothing from making those adjustments.