dragondawg
09-15-2007, 04:30 AM
I wonder what that shanahan has got up his sleeve
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f65/dragondawg/20070914__FBNp1.jpg
Patriots' blatant spying deplorable
By Mike Klis
Denver Post Staff Writer
Not even the most subversive NFL spy can crack the secret strategies of Mike Shanahan.
Media members locked out of Broncos' daily practices at Dove Valley suspected as much. Now there is proof.
Since Bill Belichick named Tom Brady his quarterback in 2001, the New England Patriots are 1-5 against Shanahan's Broncos.
"You are a troublemaker," Shanahan said.
The Broncos aside, the Patriots were the team of the 21st century, winning three Super Bowls. Now, Belichick's illegal spy tactics have not only tainted his legacy — no way he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer now — he slung his championship teams through the same dirty caper.
"It is embarrassing, just the fact there's speculation about cheating," said Broncos tight end Daniel Graham, who won three Super Bowl rings with Belichick's Patriots. "It's embarrassing, but I'm not really sure if that was a big factor in the wins."
If even one of Belichick's best former players isn't sure how far he went to win, the coach has serious problems.
What is clear is the Patriots were unable to decipher the Broncos' defensive signals as Brady approached third-and-goal at the 5 during their 2005 AFC playoff game. The Patriots ran a pick play — still another Belichick shenanigan — when Broncos' defensive backs Champ Bailey and Darrent Williams pulled the old basketball switch maneuver.
"They missed that one," Bailey said.
Bailey let his guy go, and picked up Williams' man, Patriots receiver Troy Brown.
In part because the Broncos guard their coaches who relay in the defensive signals, Brady was not expecting the cornerback switch, nor the blindside safety blitz by Nick Ferguson. Bailey snagged the pass intended for Brown and ran it from New England's end zone to within 1 yard of the Broncos' end zone.
Bailey's play, developed from the honest qualities of football instincts and superior athleticism, turned out to be a 14-point swing and the Broncos won 27-13.
Wonder if Belichick still has the tape of that interception somewhere in his vault?
Of course, smug accusations coming from Denver would be countered in New England by claims of hypocrisy. Belichick and the Patriots were fined $750,000 and most likely a first-round draft pick for illegally filming New York Jets' defensive coaches last week.
A few years ago, the Broncos were fined $968,000 and were stripped of a third-round draft pick for allegedly circumventing the salary cap during their sensational 46-10 run from 1996-98 that included two Super Bowl champions.
Shanahan and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen wouldn't comment, but given the harsh penalty their organization received for an accounting error, there's reason to wonder whether commissioner Roger Goodell delivered the appropriate punishment on the Patriots.
Forfeiting a first-round pick might have made a bigger impact if New England didn't already have San Francisco's first-round pick.
"So does it really hurt them if they already have another one?" Graham asked.
Belichick's crime offended an entire football landscape while the Broncos' white-collar sin was largely viewed as no big whip by everyone except Raiders owner Al Davis.
How to explain this reactionary gap between deplorable and pardonable? Maybe it's because Belichick blatantly violated a rule easy for everyone to understand while a math genius from MIT would struggle to grasp the NFL's sophisticated salary-cap procedures, especially during its early stages of the mid-1990s.
Besides, the Broncos have since replaced their creative accountant. What can Belichick do but look in the mirror?
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f65/dragondawg/20070914__FBNp1.jpg
Patriots' blatant spying deplorable
By Mike Klis
Denver Post Staff Writer
Not even the most subversive NFL spy can crack the secret strategies of Mike Shanahan.
Media members locked out of Broncos' daily practices at Dove Valley suspected as much. Now there is proof.
Since Bill Belichick named Tom Brady his quarterback in 2001, the New England Patriots are 1-5 against Shanahan's Broncos.
"You are a troublemaker," Shanahan said.
The Broncos aside, the Patriots were the team of the 21st century, winning three Super Bowls. Now, Belichick's illegal spy tactics have not only tainted his legacy — no way he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer now — he slung his championship teams through the same dirty caper.
"It is embarrassing, just the fact there's speculation about cheating," said Broncos tight end Daniel Graham, who won three Super Bowl rings with Belichick's Patriots. "It's embarrassing, but I'm not really sure if that was a big factor in the wins."
If even one of Belichick's best former players isn't sure how far he went to win, the coach has serious problems.
What is clear is the Patriots were unable to decipher the Broncos' defensive signals as Brady approached third-and-goal at the 5 during their 2005 AFC playoff game. The Patriots ran a pick play — still another Belichick shenanigan — when Broncos' defensive backs Champ Bailey and Darrent Williams pulled the old basketball switch maneuver.
"They missed that one," Bailey said.
Bailey let his guy go, and picked up Williams' man, Patriots receiver Troy Brown.
In part because the Broncos guard their coaches who relay in the defensive signals, Brady was not expecting the cornerback switch, nor the blindside safety blitz by Nick Ferguson. Bailey snagged the pass intended for Brown and ran it from New England's end zone to within 1 yard of the Broncos' end zone.
Bailey's play, developed from the honest qualities of football instincts and superior athleticism, turned out to be a 14-point swing and the Broncos won 27-13.
Wonder if Belichick still has the tape of that interception somewhere in his vault?
Of course, smug accusations coming from Denver would be countered in New England by claims of hypocrisy. Belichick and the Patriots were fined $750,000 and most likely a first-round draft pick for illegally filming New York Jets' defensive coaches last week.
A few years ago, the Broncos were fined $968,000 and were stripped of a third-round draft pick for allegedly circumventing the salary cap during their sensational 46-10 run from 1996-98 that included two Super Bowl champions.
Shanahan and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen wouldn't comment, but given the harsh penalty their organization received for an accounting error, there's reason to wonder whether commissioner Roger Goodell delivered the appropriate punishment on the Patriots.
Forfeiting a first-round pick might have made a bigger impact if New England didn't already have San Francisco's first-round pick.
"So does it really hurt them if they already have another one?" Graham asked.
Belichick's crime offended an entire football landscape while the Broncos' white-collar sin was largely viewed as no big whip by everyone except Raiders owner Al Davis.
How to explain this reactionary gap between deplorable and pardonable? Maybe it's because Belichick blatantly violated a rule easy for everyone to understand while a math genius from MIT would struggle to grasp the NFL's sophisticated salary-cap procedures, especially during its early stages of the mid-1990s.
Besides, the Broncos have since replaced their creative accountant. What can Belichick do but look in the mirror?