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The Patriots Tapes Do Give Them an Advantage, and the Numbers Here Prove it!
The NFL confirmed yesterday that the tapes turned over by former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh did indeed have Buffalo Bills footage from the 2001 season. Several other teams were represented, including all AFC east teams. You don’t have to be a hardcore football fan to know that the Pats have dominated the AFC east the past 6-8 years.
I write this article not as a Bills fan, but as a football fan: I don’t want to sound bias (although I know to some, that will seem impossible). How can those tapes not be a giant advantage? I’ve heard people go both ways on this, and it always makes me scratch my head when I hear people say that the tapes would do very little to help you win football games.
How is it not going to have a positive effect on your team if you know what’s about to happen?
Taping teams that are in the same division gives you a HUGE advantage. You see that team twice a year. Even if they change their defensive signals from year to year, you have one game where you always know what’s coming. With that in mind, I did a little research. Since 2002, Buffalo is 1 – 11 against New England. The Bills lone win came on opening day of 2003. In those games, there is a large discrepancy in points when it comes to first vs. second games.
In first games since 2002, The Bills lost by an average of 13.8 points, with one possession finishes (loss by less than 8 points) in 2005, and 2006, and a win in 2003
In second games since 2002, The Bills lost by an average of 26.7 points. On top of that, in those games, Buffalo scored over ten points only once (2002) and was held without a touchdown twice (2006,2004)
It’s not just the Bills either. Since the Steelers tape was recorded, New England has a 5-1 record against Pittsburgh. Browns: 4-0, Chargers: 3-0.
You can’t argue against those numbers. There is obviously an advantage to having those tapes, and the proof is in the numbers. How bout his number:
Before the tapes Bill Belichick’s record as a head coach: 6 – 14
Since the tapes: 99 – 26
Something has to be done if in fact these tapes show that the Patriots were stealing the signals. It’s not just football records we’re talking about. There are hundreds of millions of dollars earned by the Patriots in licensing, merchandise, ticket sales, etc. that was earned on false pretenses. There are players who were knowingly cheating, and gaining notoriety in the process. There are millions of kids that must be explained to: even though New England won three Super Bowls, sent numerous players to the Pro – bowl, and are the face of the success in the NFL, they are wrong, and not something to look up to. 
It ruins the NFL as the league in which anything can happen. It ruins the game for every fan that ever bought tickets to see a game in which the Patriots had that advantage. It tarnishes the Super Bowl, the single greatest sporting event in America. It taints the game that so many players that came before gave their hearts, minds, and body to, in the belief that the better team that day will walk off of the field a winner.
The league must be stern. The offense we’re talking about spans several seasons, and alters the history of the game of football. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but if we can’t even rely on a fair game, the NFL is no more of a sports league than the WWE. Rodger Goodell showed he could be tough on players that embarrassed the league outside of the field of play. Lets see if he can show the same strength going up against men who made millions while fooling us all, and the team that was once the portrait of franchise perfection in football.
- Pat Duffy
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Damn! Not only are you jealous fan of a loser team, you are not very smart. Since the Patriots sideline taping stopped they are 18-1. A better winning percentage than when they were taping from the sidelines. Belichick’s winning percentage went up not when he started taping but when got the greatest qb ever. Belichick was 5-13 with Bledsoe at qb. Where was the video magic then?
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