throwdown on belicheat

Gregg Easterbrook, whose ESPN.com columns are always exhaustive but very informative and well-written, has done it again. His latest column is a tour de force on why Coach Belicheat of the Patriots needs to be slammed with a harsh penalty for his blatant ongoing violation of league rules for 8+ years. The money and draft-pick penalties levied thus far against the Pats are a joke on several fronts. The fines are pocket change at that level, the lost draft pick misdirects consequences at fans and players who didn't have control over the cheating, and neither penalty is all that significant to the unethical franchise anyway. As Easterbrook and Matt Walsh have both alluded to, exchanging some meager penalties for eight years of unrivaled success is a great deal for any NFL franchise.

Particularly noteworthy, I think, is the claim by a former Pats QB that "the sign-stealing operation allowed Patriots coaches to know an opponent's defense 75 percent of the time." WHAT!?!? Who thinks that's not significant to the outcome of a game!? Yeah, knowing exactly what defense your opponent is in most of the time your offense is on the field is gonna help. A lot. Also, Easterbrook points out that all four Pats Stupid Bowls this decade were decided by three points and that such a small spread can easily hinge on the outcome of a few plays here and there. Knowing the opponent's defense could clearly help enough on a handful of snaps to tilt such a close game to one's favor.

Obviously I think Easterbrook is on to something. Don't go after the fans for something they had no control over, don't go after the players for simply playing their hardest and executing their coaches' play calls, but definitely go after Belicheat for his cheating and also his poor handling of the whole situation. He's the main reason this whole Spygate thing got started, his denials and secrecy are the reason it blew up, and his continued refusal to take responsibility for his own inept behavior is the reason it still has legs and refuses to fade into the rear view. He has had plenty of chances to show some maturity and accept his due by resigning or voluntarily stepping aside for some length of time but has squandered them all thus far, so now is Goodell's time to step in and resolve a situation that has shown no progress in resolving itself.

As I see it, Belicheat is basically the NFL's version of Barry Bonds at this point: having been caught cheating and with mounds of evidence against him, instead of owning up to his actions he comically continues to act like a six-year-old and blame everyone else for misinterpreting what he did or not believing his every word as if he were a saint. Forgetting for the moment whether or not either is guilty of cheating, they have both answered charges and handled their respective situations so poorly that one can only conclude they are plenty egotistical and cold-hearted enough to have willingly committed the crimes in the first place. Belicheat has already become a permanent scar on the face of sportsmanship, and this circus will only continue until some real punishment is meted out.

Having said that, I can't imagine rooting for the Pats while the cheater stalks back and forth on the sidelines. I know the fans are innocent in this one, so it's hard to blame Pats fans for continuing to support their team despite its coaches' scandalous behavior. But I equivocate rooting for a Belicheat-coached team with rooting for the Giants during Barry's tenure. Sure, the whole team isn't at fault, but seriously, how can one continue to derive joy from seeing a team with such a scoundrel at the helm win? Is this a measure of ambivalence toward moral bankruptcy in the league? I'm inclined to think it is. The line must be drawn somewhere, and in this case it ought to be drawn far behind Belicheat.