Where there is smoke, there’s fire and the credibility and sportsmanship of the Patriots and their coach is worth nothing. Their loss in the Super Bowl and their failed attempt at perfection is punishment for hubris. I believe that their dynasty is predicated on cheating and they got what they deserved on Sunday. They tape practices to get an advantage by knowing what play the defense runs. It was true at the beginning of this season and it may very well be true since their first Super Bowl win over the Rams six years ago. When the playing field was equal and when Brady and Belichick couldn’t rely on their cheating ways, we saw how good they really were. I give all the credit to the Giant’s defense for showing that when the competition is fair, they were the better team. The Rams organization, the players, and the whole league has been damaged by a dishonest and proud organization and coach. I hope this begins a whole new curse on the Patriots and they never win again. I think they are the worst defense to ever be part of an 18 win season, and as we saw last night and will continue to see, when the offense can’t rely on tapes and knowledge of defensive plays, they too are far less than perfect.

Bernie:

Thanks for telling it “like it is”. Your comments about Super Bowl 32 in Sunday’s Post-Dispatch and today’s observations about Belichick’s behavior are right on the mark and very much appreciated. Yes, the Pats and Tom Brady are both outstanding; however, as someone once said: “On any given Sunday…..”. Thankfully, Belichick, the “over the top” New England fans and the arrogant idiots in Boston who planned the victory parade have received their “just” due this past Sunday. Thanks for all you do to keep us informed. Now, if you could only help MLB and its do-nothing commissioner drop the hammer on steriods and HGH, sports and its influence on our youth, would be much improved.

Thanks for a great write Bernie. You said it pretty good.
I read somewhere today that Belichick is a bad winner and
a poor loser, or something like that.
He lacks class and integrity in many ways.
He and his team may claim to be a dynasty, but look at how many
people hate them. It’s a shame and disgrace for the game.

Great job Bernie. That’s telling it like it is. Football will only be better when Belichick leaves the game.

How despised must the Patriots be that the entire country (minus Boston) is thrilled to see a New York team win a national title? I think it says a lot about how sick and tired people are of Boston teams, especially the Patriots.

The Boston newspapers are silent on Spygate today, by the way. It is pretty prominent on the NY Post. ESPN has it tucked away.

I feel if anything, a lot of people are savoring the Patriots loss because of their view on the whole Spygate issue. If anything, I think Saturday’s news is more worrisome than what was being told earlier in the season. But that doesn’t mean that you can start discounting Belichick as a cheater or that Patriots fan can’t feel the same because they cheated.

First of all, they didn’t cheat in Super Bowl 2001. There are rumors, but everyone says it is false, and there is no evidence to prove otherwise. It would be the equivalent of me telling your wife that you cheated on her, and then parading it as fact because I decided to say it is truth. It can’t be truth unless there is evidence, and a rumor isn’t justified as evidence.

2nd, Belichick may have been hands-deep in spygate, but all teams try to steal signs in the NFL. Parcells has talked about it, Gibbs has mentioned it. People try to steal signs all the time, and there were reports of multiple teams using cameras ( not just the Pats) to steal signs, which is one reason why the rule came into effect (circa 2005, which is very recent, and actually would consider Patriots Superbowls legitimate since the rule came into affect after their last SB win).

3rd: Belichick is a sore loser. People don’t like them. But they are still a dynasty. Tony G sasy look at how many people hate them. Dynasties are never loved. Knicks fans didn’t appreciate Jordan beating them year after year. A lot of old NFC teams in the 90’s hated the Cowboys and their superstar swagger. The Yankees? Ha, no one liked the Yankees continuously winning.
The Patriots are in the same boat. They are a dynasty because they have dominated and have 3 rings in 8 years, have been to four superbowls, have been in the playoffs all but one year, and still have a dominant team for next year.

My only question is how deep the videotaping goes. If it resolves that Belichick was caught then as the biggest Pats fan you will ever see I will personally set that those trophies were tainted. But I also contend that post spygate the Patriots are 18-1. They have no superbowls to show for it, but even now, the Patriots can probably do the same exact thing next year and show that they don’t need to cheat to win.

The superbowl loss was bad, and yes it is great to harp on the Patriots now. But remember that pretty much as long as Belichick, Pioli, and Brady are around, they are going to win. If anything, to have a guarantee of success just because of a coach and system, in itself is amazing. Giants win, and spoil the fun for goliath. But they will most likely win a superbowl in the next 2-3 years, and all of this nonsense about cheating will blow away as people find out that this system is great, and will produce great teams beyond the spygate era. Saying Bilichick is a cheater and doesn’t respect the game undermines the fact that he is an amazing coach and last time I checked, helped win the superbowl for the Giants in 1990, which might I add, the defense used in the game was placed in the Hall of Fame. He is an ass, but he is an amazing coach, and will probably show it by having another similar season next year.

Hopefully, a superbowl win would put these asinine articles to rest.

Good column, Bernie. This actually worked out perfect, since the 18-0 run made the Patriots look unstoppable and all the fans were as overconfident as is humanly possible. Add in the last minute comeback, and a better script really couldn’t have been written.

I will agree that Belichick is one heck of a coach, and yes they have a good organization to keep that team as such a high level over the past 8 years. However, they won’t win in the next three years for the same reason the Giants won’t: Their defense is old. Both teams have alot of veterans that can’t keep up the consistent great play that they have given over the years. The Pats are good at replacing talent, but they are heading for a rebuild on defense, and everyone knows defense wins championships. The following season record of teams that lost the Super Bowl the previous year doesn’t bode well either.

I also agree that a lot of teams have cheated in the past. But just like all the people that may have bet on baseball, Pete Rose got caught. And Belichick is that same obnoxius, high-profile kind of guy as Rose. In fact the similarities between the two are rather interesting.

At the end of the day Redsoxmaniac I will gladly say that this year’s Pats are one of the greatest teams in history, better than the 72 Dolphins and close if not even to the 84 Bears. I will also wait to see what else comes out of Spygate, because I think we have just ticlked the surface of this story.

Bernie, that was a great read for me. Anytime I can read something and feel myself get pumped up I know it was written well. Kudos.

Bern, nail on the head in your final paragraph. They’ll NEVER know.

My biggest question now is this: Now what? If there is a shred of evidence or the unnamed source is willing to testify, the Rams should absolutely pursue legal action against the Patriots.

They just can’t stay mum on this subject. It’s just too important to let slide.

Mr. Belichick proved yet again what he is. Despite his won-loss record with the Patriots, Bill Belichick is a classless loser.