Why the insistent distinction of video taping by the league. Some will argue it's bc they would analyze the tape at halftime. Ok, well I just read an article from a few years ago where Shananhan was bragging about having a guy so good on his sideline they'd usually have another teams signals figured out by the half. Why is that not illegal?
I'm assuming you're referring to
this article, and more specifically, this quote:
"Our guy keeps a pair of binoculars on their signal-callers every game," says Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. "With any luck, we have their defensive signals figured out by halftime. Sometimes, by the end of the first quarter."
Did you even bother reading that article? Did you notice the following quote?
After the game, when our correspondent went to the locker room and told Manning the lip-readers had nailed him, Manning took the stringer's cell phone and called me.
"They got me, huh?" he said, dejectedly.
"Nine times," I said.
"Man, I don't like to use that kind of language. I hate for the kids to see that stuff. But you forget the camera is on you, you know? It just pops out. Nine times? My mother is going to call and reprimand me for that."
Do you honestly believe that Rick Reilly sat at home with several lipreaders with a correspondent just waiting in the Colts locker room? Or that Manning bothered to call him on his cell phone after the game? Oh yeah, I'm sure Manning and Reilly are bosom buddies and Manning calls him after every game, right? WRONG- the Manning quote was blatantly fabricated. Several other quotes in the article were likewise BLATANTLY FABRICATED. The article was a satire article, an attempt at humor. But, of course, this article which has already demonstrably fabricated quotes suddenly counts as a credible source. I'm sure that that Mike Shanahan quote was 100% legit, it was just EVERY OTHER QUOTE in the article that was made up, right?Well, here's an excercise for you- that's a pretty shocking quote, there. If Mike Shanahan really said that, I guarantee you at least one other news outlet would have mentioned it once, even if just in passing. I
googled the quote for you- try to find one example of that quote being mentioned that isn't a reference to the bogus Reilly satire piece. You CAN'T, because
THE QUOTE WAS FABRICATED AS A JOKE FOR REILLY'S HUMOROUS ARTICLE.
Nice sleuthing, though. Way to prove that all the other coaches cheat, too. Pretty soon you'll be linking us all to a breaking news story from the Onion that Eric Mangini has been secretly practicing mind control on opposing QBs for years, or some other such nonsense.
I really hate that everyone and their mother has latched on to this Shanahan quote without thinking, raising it as the last defense of Patriot fans ever, when even the most basic common sense would demonstrate that it's a totally bogus quote. It's not just people on message boards (although this quote has been popping up over message boards everywhere). Bill Simmons, a national journalist, is also spreading this nonsense as if it were gospel. I mean, it really is like defending Belichick by quoting a story from The Onion.