Such a measly fine.  MsClaren in Formula 1 were hit with a 100 Million dollar fine in their spying case.  Oh, and the team (but not the drivers) lost their championship points this year and maybe next.  Now that’s a FINE.

RSB

If I were a Philly Eagles fan, this would be driving me crazy.

I think the NFL needs to do a full investigation and, if the evidence shows the Pats did this at the Super Bowl, Belichick should be suspended at least 5 years, if not for life.

Isn’t it interesting that there can be strong discipline in an organization like the NFL, but not in the Church….

I suspect that signal stealing in the NFL is like zone defense in the NBA; everybody tries to do it without getting caught.  Coach George Allen used to hire lip readers and guys with parabolic mikes to steal the signals of other teams - now, it’s just more high-tech.  The NFL could make most of that go away overnight by allowing a defensive player to have a radio headset just like the quarterback does on offense.

First round draft pick ... good;
Maximum fine ... good;
No suspension ... terrible.

sheesh, all they had to do was set up their dv-r and tape the game off the tv, then zoom in.

It could have been worse.  These Patriots could have been caught spying on terrorists.  Then they would be in really big trouble.

I think it’s obvious that it’s the video taping and analysis of the signals that make this immoral and damaging to the game… It seems to me that if a player or coach can figure out how to read the opponents signals in real-time during the game it’s just good ball—we tried (and did it on occasion) when I played—and of course one always risked getting burned by thinking you had it figured out, and then missing a detail… But that sort of strategy is what makes the game fun.  It’s not that much different than learning an offensive line’s tendencies to put more weight on the balls of their feet on a run play, or sit back a little bit on a pass play—it’s all analysis in real-time.  The video taping of it takes the immediacy and fairness out of it, and means that someones relying on better technology rather than better decision making.

Do you know how the ‘huddle’ started?

A football game was arranged between a college team and the Florida School for the deaf and blind.  Well, what do you know? the deaf team simply read the lips of the QB for the opposing team and figured out their plays!  Quickly, the QB came up with a new plan—The Huddle! and it immediately caught on and became the standard for all teams from then on.