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You're right; it does. That makes losing a first-rounder even less of a suitable punishment. It doesn't make it much better for Belichick, though.
They weren't fined for filming practices, they were fined for filming opposing teams signals while on the sidelines. That does make a difference.
You're right; it does. That makes losing a first-rounder even less of a suitable punishment. It doesn't make it much better for Belichick, though.
So what, in your estimation, should the punishment be for taping defensive signals in one game?
By the way, whatever punishment you have, if it's reasonable and fitting, I would GLADLY take over losing a 1st round pick.
A suspension 1-4 games. It should be like a second PED offense. It doesn't matter if you were to take Adderall for one game only; you'd still get suspended for four if they found it in your system. But I'd also see some reason for leniency for a first-time offense for the signal taping, and I could have been persuaded to go less than four. The only way something like draft picks should come into play is if the team is warned to stop Belichick from doing it subsequently and they don't comply.
I think I speak for most people when I say I'd GLADLY take a 1-4 game Belichick suspension over losing a 1st round pick.
His presence has completely changed the defense. Prior to trading for him, the defense had extremely vanilla play calling with soft zone coverage and 3-4 man rushes every time. They trust him in coverage and
Since the Talib trade and McCourty moving to safety, the big plays they were giving up early in the year stopped happening.
I agree with most of this but Wilfork was even more of a monster in the last AFCCG when it was Ben Grubbs and Birk. Stuffing up the gut runs has been the one thing New England has been consistent at on defense all year, and the Texans had probowlers at LG and C. I don't see a scenario of Rice doing much running up the gut, however I could see plenty of scenarios where Ray Rice converts several key 3rd downs as a backfield receiver who gets matched up against Brandon es.
Baltimore's interior pass rush worries me a lot tbh. Last year was the first time New England got good A-gap blocking because Brian Waters was just as good as anyone in the league last year at RG. I'm still not confident in Connolly and Wendell at RG and C respectively. At least it's no longer Dan Koppen at center given how much he always struggled against Ngata.
In 2007 you could suspend Belichick for the entire season and i would take that over losing a 1st rounder. Art S could have coached that Patriots team to a 13-3 record
There really isn't anything New England has gotten worse at since the Baltimore game. I might sound like a homer for saying that after that game they were 1-2 and looked like total . I think going from a healthy Gronk to a healthy Hernandez is a downgrade since Gronk more versatile and makes the redzone offense lethal. Chandler Jones has also hit a wall and hasn't had a sack since October. Outside of that New England has either stayed the same or improved in all areas. More than anything the play calling on both offense and defense have made strides.
I wouldn't go that far, especially given the relationship Moss and S had in Oakland.
It's certainly possible that Talib has bought into the Belichick and is finally fulfilling his potential. It takes a special cornerback to cover Boldin, though. He's like a runningback who can catch. If Boldin plays like he usually does when matched up against top corners, he'll have to be doubled. Talib did have an interception off Flacco when the Ravens' played the Bucs a few years ago, though, so there is a history of him doing well against Baltimore.
As far as 9-routes go, the Ravens will test the safeties all game. If Rice forces New England to commit eight to the box, it could get ugly.
Grubbs was hurt last season, which totally took away his strength when matched up with good tackles. Even at full strength, he's not as strong as Osemele is. Don't get me wrong, Grubbs is better right now, but I'm hoping between Osemele's strength and Birk's smarts, they can contain Wilfork. If they can get Leach a free run at a linebacker, I think Rice will be all right. He's definitely a threat in the passing game, but I think that that is such an obvious advantage that it will be game-planned for pretty well. Pitta would be a much bigger worry, in my opinion.I agree with most of this but Wilfork was even more of a monster in the last AFCCG when it was Ben Grubbs and Birk. Stuffing up the gut runs has been the one thing New England has been consistent at on defense all year, and the Texans had probowlers at LG and C. I don't see a scenario of Rice doing much running up the gut, however I could see plenty of scenarios where Ray Rice converts several key 3rd downs as a backfield receiver who gets matched up against Brandon es.
If Ngata plays like he's healthy, then it's going to be really hard to stop that line. Doubling him and Suggs leaves McPhee and Kruger one-on-ones, and they're both playing their best ball right now. I am very worried about Lewis in the zone. The Ravens struggled to stop Stokley on some third downs, and it won't get any easier with Welker and Hernandez. Ellerbe did a good job on Gronk last time, but he's going to have a completely different challenge with backs. Moreno scored off him (I believe).Baltimore's interior pass rush worries me a lot tbh. Last year was the first time New England got good A-gap blocking because Brian Waters was just as good as anyone in the league last year at RG. I'm still not confident in Connolly and Wendell at RG and C respectively. At least it's no longer Dan Koppen at center given how much he always struggled against Ngata.
Last edited by Chinook; 01-16-2013 at 05:09 PM.
Go Ravens!
I do think this is the best Pattycake team since their cheating cameras were taken away.
Filming practices (which would imply sneaking/subterfuge) seems much worse than filming signals (which everyone can see).
That's what I'm saying. The former probably would mean it was a teamwide thing, and maybe then losing draft picks are warranted. But this was something that should have just been on the heads of the people who did it. Did Belichick know (admit to knowing) it was against to rules to film signals?
Ah, I misunderstood. I'm not sure if BB ever answered; he probably knew but tried to get away with it. As Mono and DoK said, I would've been much better with a suspension than losing a draft pick.
This is going to be a damn good game. And while I respect Ray Lewis for everything he's done in the NFL, I think his ride ends Sunday. The Ravens D has stepped up when needed in big moments the past couple of weeks, but I think Brady and that offense may just be a little too much for the Ravens. That, and I think the Joe Flacco from the past couple of years who makes mistakes also shows up on Sunday. Pats 35 Ravens 21
Apologized, seemed to own up but then gave some backpedaling blather.
1 Goodell:
"This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest compe ion on the playing field," Goodell said in a letter to the Patriots.
2. Belichick: "for the actions that led to tonight's ruling. Once again, I apologize to the Kraft family and every person directly or indirectly associated with the New England Patriots for the embarrassment, distraction and penalty my mistake caused. I also apologize to Patriots fans and would like to thank them for their support during the past few days and throughout my career,"...
Bravo, right!!??
Hold your Pattycakes.
Belicheat continues:
"As the commissioner acknowledged, our use of sideline video had no impact on the outcome of last week's game. We have never used sideline video to obtain a compe ive advantage while the game was in progress."
Brady hasn't really been good against the Ravens since the Flacco was drafted. Flacco, on the other hand, has had only one bad game against New England, and it was the Ravens' playoff blowout in 2010. I think the pressure is on the Patriots Sunday.
If the Ravens need a comeback, I think Flacco gets it done. If they're leading, it's very possible Joe gives the game away again.
You also said Houston "should be able to" win against New England last week. Your bias is as obvious as .
I should clarify: When I say, "Brady hasn't been good," I mean that he hasn't put up good numbers. That's not a biased claim.
121/195, 1278 Yards, 5 TD, 8 INT
62.1%, 6.6 Y/A, 256 Y/G, 72.6 QB Rating
Those are Brady's stats against the Ravens since Flacco was drafted.
108/167, 1271 Yards, 9 TD, 4 INT
64.7%, 7.6 Y/A, 254 Y/G, 95.7 QB Rating
Those are Flacco's against Brady. His only poor game was in 2010, when he only had a QB rating of 10.0, but the Ravens didn't need him to throw. I'm not saying Brady doesn't make plays to win, because he does. He scored the go-ahead touchdown in the AFCCG last season. But he hasn't blown out the Ravens in a long time (nine years). He may make the difference again on Sunday, but he doesn't have a history of destroying Baltimore.
I believe I actually said Houston should win. My claim was stronger than you suggested. But I also said that would only happen if the Texans' defense played the way they did at the beginning of the year; they did not. I still think they did enough to win, but I had no idea that Schaub had gotten so bad. I owned up to being wrong on that, though. I do think this is a different cir stance, because I don't have to hope/assume the Ravens defense will get out of a funk. They're playing as well as they ever have this season. With the spread and being at home, with the talk of how Brady is the far-superior quarterback, I don't think it's too biased to say they have the pressure. The Ravens are motivated with the Last Ride movement, but they're still the ones playing with house money.
I don't like the Patriots -- I thought I made that clear. They're my second-least-favorite team in the league. I hope they lose most of their games. But I wouldn't pick them to lose to teams that I don't think have legitimate advantages over them in key areas. I underestimated how little focus Houston had (they still don't have the mentality of a contending team), but there's nothing absurd about picking Baltimore, even in a landslide. Statistically speaking, Flacco seems more likely to go off than Brady is.
What leads you to believe Baltimore is really that good right now? They faded badly down the stretch, and their two playoff wins are against a Colts team that statistically rated out as the worst playoff team of all time (Bill Barnwell said statistically the 7-9 Seahawks playoff team was far better than the Colts), and then they had the luxury of going against Playoff Manning (and still needed a miracle to win). An argument could easily be made that the Ravens are a very average team that fluked their way here.
The Pats have a history of losing to "fluky" teams in the recent post-seasons (Giants twice, Jets in 2011, Ravens three years ago), so that factor may actually help the Ravens. The Patriots don't actually do that well when they're that heavily favored.
There's nothing flukey about Flacco beating Denver's defense or the Ravens' defense not allowing long completions in recent games (not counting the Bengals game, but still they didn't give up much). I don't know that the Patriots would have beaten the Broncos last week. I think most people who believe they would look at what happened and say, "If the Ravens beat them, then of course the Patriots will."
Baltimore's pass rush has looked real the last three compe ive games. Suggs played well for the first time this year, and Ngata didn't look as gimpy as he was throughout most of the season. I was really impressed with their defensive adjustments in the second half last week, and I really do think the Lewis pushes the defense to the next level. Ed Reed even played his assignment for once.
On offense, Flacco had two good games in a row, and one was on the road. He's always the X-factor; if he plays like a franchise quarterback, the Ravens are pretty much unstoppable. He also got lucky that some interceptions were missed, but he didn't let bad throws faze him. He also has a history to stepping up under pressure. The offensive line is a lot better than it was in Week 3 as well. It's very possible that Baltimore has success in running between the tackles this time.
In reality, the Ravens are a playoff team. They played poorly for a good stretch at the end, but they've come alive on both sides of the ball. Changing coordinators has helped, I think. Pees isn't as good as Pagano, but he should be able to make a good game plan this week. Caldwell has been a pleasant surprise, too. Having him means that the Ravens are harder to gameplan for.
And even you have to admit that if everyone plays their assignments perfectly, the Ravens win by seven instead of three.
tbh i feel a lot more confident against the ravens than i was against houston, while i noticed before the playoffs that the ravens could make some noise, i think that a D that looks as it has ever been since i can remember and the already illegal offense, is just too much for anyone right now. Not saying we will win or betting anything, just feeling very confident.
I would probably pick the Pats to win this, but the Ravens just seem like a team of destiny or something. Too much weird, fluky stuff is happening for them, and usually when that is happening for a team, they are going to find a way to unexpectedly win it all. See 2001 Pats, 2005 Steelers, 2008 Giants.
Ravens 24
Pats 20
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