Mad at Pats for Spygate? Let's sue Rams, too

[RamWraith]

By Bernie Miklasz
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Feb. 25 2008

Despite the NFL establishment's attempt to play it down and make it go away,
the New England Patriots' Spygate scandal is still creating buzz.

When the story broke on Super Bowl weekend, alleging that the Patriots had
taped the Rams' final practice before Super Bowl XXXVI, the league began a
whisper campaign in an attempt to discredit former Patriots video assistant
Matt Walsh.

It's been widely speculated that Walsh was responsible for taping the Rams'
walk-through. Walsh has indicated that he'll reveal what he knows as long as he
receives full indemnity from the NFL.

Even if Walsh gets protection and dishes all of the dirt on New England coach
Bill Belichick, I expect that the NFL will try to portray Walsh as a troubled
and untrustworthy individual, seeking revenge to settle an old grudge.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell won't dig too hard. He doesn't want to discover
unpleasant truths about the league's competitive integrity.

Moreover, New England's Robert Kraft is one of the NFL's preferred owners, and
that counts for something in the arena of league politics. Goodell has already
fined the Patriots for their espionage against the NY Jets.

To his horror, Goodell may have to launch a legitimate investigation. He's
being dogged by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania who
won't let up.

And the $100 million lawsuit filed by former Rams player Willie Gary against
Belichick, Kraft and the Patriots may be nothing more than a nuisance, but if
the legal action makes it far enough to force key figures to testify under
oath, we're in for some fun.

Were the Rams cheated out of a victory in Super Bowl XXXVI? Sorry, Rams fans,
but that's a stretch.

If you buy that one, then we should have filed all kinds of lawsuits in the
wake of the Rams' 20-17 loss:

— Let's sue former Rams coach Mike Martz for giving Marshall Faulk only 17
rushing attempts, even though the Patriots used five or more defensive backs
for 54 of the Rams' 69 plays.

"With all those little secondary guys out there, the Rams could have run the
ball, but they didn't," NFL analyst Ron Jaworski said a few days after the
game. "Faulk only ran the ball six times in their first 24 plays. In recent
games, he was getting the ball 46 percent of the time. When the Patriots went
with all those DBs, they should've tried to overpower them."

— Let's sue former Rams right offensive tackle Rod Jones for missing the block
on Mike Vrabel, who rocked Rams QB Kurt Warner on a blitz. The whiff resulted
in a bad throw and a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ty Law for
a 7-0 Patriots lead. Then again, let's sue Martz for starting Jones in place of
Ryan Tucker.

— Let's sue former Rams wideout Ricky Proehl for fumbling with less than two
minutes left in the first half; the costly and overlooked turnover set up New
England's second TD and a 14-3 lead.

— Let's sue former NFL referee Bernie Kukar and his crew for allowing the
Patriots to illegally grab and bang Rams receivers down the field. The Patriots
smartly anticipated that Kukar and the boys would be reluctant to scatter
penalty flags and diminish the entertainment value of Super Sunday. That was
worse than any secret videotaping.

— Let's sue Rams wideout Torry Holt for slipping on a route, leading to an
interception by Otis Smith and a subsequent field goal for a 17-3 New England
advantage.

— Let's sue former Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith for having his
defense sit back and play soft in the final 90 seconds, allowing Patriots QB
Tom Brady to complete five of seven passes to set up the winning field goal.

The Rams outgained the Patriots 427 yards to 267. But they turned the ball over
three times, and the Patriots had no turnovers.

The Rams didn't lose Super Bowl XXXVI because someone shot video of their
walk-through. They lost because they walked through the game with poor strategy
and execution. They repeatedly shot themselves.

[AvengerRam]

The lawsuit is a joke, but I'm tired of hack's like Bernie trying to place the focus on the question of whether the cheating impacted the game or not. That's not the ultimate question. The ultimate question is, did they cheat.

[GreatestShow99]

Flip. Flop.

it's funny, because he was singing a different tune about a couple of weeks ago...

[Rams4Life]

Bernie is a joke. I don't know how this guy keeps his job. What a putz.

[r8rh8rmike]

Were the Rams cheated out of a victory in Super Bowl XXXVI? Sorry, Rams fans, but that's a stretch.

I don't think it's a stretch at all considering the razor slim margin of victory. Regardless, if they did cheat, it needs to be exposed so everyone can make their own judgements irrespective of what the league may or may not do. The Patriots should not be allowed to continue an untarnished legacy if that legacy is indeed dirty.

[RealRam]

Eh, leave it to Bernie...

[Mooselini]

Well even if the Rams had lost because of the turnovers or the missed blocks...they still knew the Ram's plays. Its like handing them the play book. It's not fair at all. If you know what your opponent is doing every possesion...then it's easier to stop them.

It's not just the Rams who are probably upset. Since as mentioned before the Patriots have been cheating since 2000...there are a few other teams upset at this. What if they did the same against Carolina and Philadelphia?

The Patriots are a cheating team. They need to be heavily fined and have their draft picks removed. Every one of them should be revoked from the Patriots. If they only cheated agains the Rams, give them to the Rams. If they cheated against the Panthers and Eagles, they can figure something out.

Not only that, the fans must be PISSED. I certainly wouldn't be proud rooting for a team who cheats. How ignorant.

[laram0]

The Patriots cheated, the Refs were paid off and they still only beat us by a last second FG!!!


:r:l

[MoonJoe]

[QUOTE=AvengerRam;214567] "The ultimate question is, did they cheat."

YES! Overwhelmingly, Wholeheartedly and with extreme prejudiced, THEY CHEATED!!!

Bu that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.


Joe

[RamOfDenmark]

What a nonsensical post from Bernie. Suing people for playing badly is the same as suing people for violating the rules and cheating? Really?

We won't ever know if their (probable) cheating was the small edge that allowed them to win - but given the razor thin margin of their win it's not unreasonable to think so. And regardless of that cheating must not go unpunished.

If the filming "isn't that bad" and "had no impact on the game's outcome" etc. then remove the rule from the books. Just don't selectively enforce it and make excuses like "everyone does it", either it is allowed or it isn't and this videotaping clearly wasn't - it's that simple.

[Keenum]

Yeah we screwed up a lot of stuff in that game,
but we STILL would have WON, I fully believe, if the Pats did not have that advantage.

[bigredman]

The Rams didn't lose Super Bowl XXXVI because someone shot video of their
walk-through. They lost because they walked through the game with poor strategy
and execution. They repeatedly shot themselves.

Oh yeah? Well.....your Ma Ma!

[txramsfan]

Ahhh Bernie bashing. Seems to be an Olympic sport around here. I had one journalism teacher till me once that when people bash journalist it's a sign of a successful writer.

What did Bernie say that was actually so wrong here? The Rams did shoot themselves in the foot. Martz should have used Faulk more. Proehl did fumble. Rod Jones did miss a key block. The Refs did call a bad game. Worst of all, Lovie went prevent.

The suing angle was as everyone knows, tongue in cheek. However, if the Rams played up to their potential in that game, all this is cheating is moot.

[Ramer]

Yes, we did turn the ball over and that did help the patriots, but taping our red zone plays gave them a BIG advantage, and I do believe that is what cost us the game.

[HUbison]

I had one journalism teacher till me once that when people bash journalist it's a sign of a successful writer.

Bernie aside, I'm sure that's exactly what a J-O-U-R-N-A-L-I-S-M teacher would say.