Beantown Sports Guys

Belichick fined $500,000, Pats fined $250,000, Pats to lose 1st rounder or 2nd and 3rd rounders

The ruling from Commissioner Goodell regarding Tapegate has come down: Belichick was fined $500,000, the Patriots organization was fined $250,000, and the Patriots will lose either a 1st round draft pick or their 2nd and 3rd round draft picks in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Shortly after the ruling came down, Belichick issued a statement about the ruling:

Text of the statement from New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick after he was fined $500,000 for stealing an opponent's signals:

I accept full responsibility for the actions that led to tonight's ruling. Once again, I apologize to the Kraft family and every person directly or indirectly associated with the New England Patriots for the embarrassment, distraction and penalty my mistake caused. I also apologize to Patriots fans and would like to thank them for their support during the past few days and throughout my career.

As the commissioner acknowledged, our use of sideline video had no impact on the outcome of last week's game. We have never used sideline video to obtain a competitive advantage while the game was in progress.

Part of my job as head coach is to ensure that our football operations are conducted in compliance of the league rules and all accepted interpretations of them. My interpretation of a rule in the Constitution and Bylaws was incorrect.

With tonight's resolution, I will not be offering any further comments on this matter. We are moving on with our preparations for Sunday's game.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press)

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80251b7e&template=with-video&confirm=true

Goodell's statement regarding Tapegate sheds a little light on why he chose to take such action against Belichick and the Patriots rather than other possibilities people have been suggesting:

“This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field,” Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to the Patriots.

"I specifically considered whether to impose a suspension on Coach Belichick," Goodell also wrote. "I have determined not to do so, largely because I believe that the discipline I am imposing of a maximum fine and forfeiture of a first-round draft choice, or multiple draft choices, is in fact more significant and long-lasting, and therefore more effective, than a suspension."

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2007/09/final_ruling.html

The draft pick thing is semi confusing to me. If they don't make the playoffs, do they take the 2nd round pick and their third round pick as well as the third round pick they acquired from Oakland? The Globes Mike Reiss sheds a little light on it:

The Patriots will lose their 2008 first-round draft choice if they make the playoffs, or their second- and third-round draft choices if they don't make the playoffs.

But as part of trades the Patriots made during the 2007 draft, the team had already acquired some extra draft choices -- the San Francisco 49ers' 2008 first-round draft pick, and the Oakland Raiders' 2008 third-round draft pick.

So as of right now, the Patriots have a total of nine draft picks in 2008 -- two apiece in the first and third rounds, and one each in the second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.

The picks to be surrendered would be the Patriots' own, not the picks they acquired in trades.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2007/09/2008_draft_pick.html

From the sounds of what Reiss is reporting the Pats will lose either one pick (their own first rounder, which should be in the high 20s), or their own 2nd round pick (again, high 20s) and their own 3rd rounder, but not the one they got from Oakland.

John Clayton is saying it's not enough, but I disagree. It doesn't cripple a franchise, it doesn't create a massive competitive unbalance throughout the entire league by bumping every other team up in the draft. It hurts them on multiple fronts: front office, head coach, and in the draft. Clayton is making it sound like the Patriots had a buffer and planned that if they got caught it didn't matter because they were stacking picks. Whether you believe Belichick or not, a misinterpretation of a rule and an decent explanation to the Commissioner is the reason why the ruling is what it is.

One the one hand, I agree that the Patriots perceivably got off a bit easy; but overall, I think the punishment fit the crime. It makes sense and is something as a huge Patriots fan I can support.

Breaking News: Rodney Harrison suspended 4 games for HGH use

A blurb just hit the wire about Rodney Harrison being suspended for using HGH. Here is a quick blurb from ESPN.com:

New England Patriots strong safety Rodney Harrison will be suspended by the NFL for four games, sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen, after admitting to federal investigators and to league officials that he used Human Growth Hormone.

Harrison had a hearing with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday, the sources said, and the Patriots could announce the suspension as early as Saturday, when all teams must reduce their rosters to the regular-season limit of 53 players.

A league spokesman said Friday the NFL will not comment on the Harrison case. Harrison could not be immediately reached for comment. A Patriots source told ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli that the team is aware of the sanction against the 13-year veteran and is "dealing with it." The team source declined to say when the Patriots became aware of Harrison's involvement.

League sources confirmed to ESPN and ESPN.com that at least one NFL assistant coach has also been questioned in recent months by investigators as part of the probe. Sources said that the coach remains a person of interest in the investigation.

The rest of the story is here.

It will be interesting to see if this is coming about from when Rodney was aggressively rehabbing his knee to gain strength back. They haven't referred to when this all went down. At the same time, I find it a little odd that he is being suspended for something that was said, since he was never actually tested for it, and therefore never failed a drug test. I'm not saying it would be right for him to keep playing, I am just wondering if the Players Association will say anything about it.

For the Patriots it isn't as devastating as it would be if it was Richard Seymour or Tedy Bruschi. Brandon Meriweather has looked pretty solid in preseason, as has James Sanders. I think the Patriots are a better team with Harrison roaming the secondary but it isn't as bad as some may think from a personnel standpoint.

Breaking News: Thomas agrees to 6 year deal with Patriots

It is being reported by ESPN that Baltimore Ravens Free Agent Linebacker Adalius Thomas will sign a 6 year deal with the New England Patriots upon passing his physical this weekend.

This would be a huge signing for the Patriots, as they'll finally have a linebacker who is a sack artist as well. With his speed and versatility, it now allows the Patriots to address other needs in the draft, while still snagging a linebacker later in the draft.

The signing of Thomas doesn't change the Patriots needs in the draft as drastically as one might think, as the aging Tedy Bruschi just recently said he would return in 2007, and Mike Vrabel turns 32 this year. The Patriots have solid offensive and defensive lines, both some of the youngest lines in the league. They need a little help at the Running Back position after granting the requested release to Corey Dillon, but it is doubtful they would pick a RB in the first round. Instead, they've brought in Sammy Morris to have a look at him and may address their rushing needs through free agency. They also resigned Fullback Heath Evans, which could also point to them not going after backs in the 1st round.

Although they could improve at Wide Receiver through the draft, unless they got a game breaker like Calvin Johnson, I doubt they would chance a 1st rounder on an unproven Wideout. Too many times young players coming into the league are extremely raw and don't pan out, and 80% of the time, these are Wide Receivers. They did a great job last year snagging Jabar Gaffney after he was cut by the Houston Texans, and they still have Reche Caldwell. NFL-bust Charles Rogers could be intriguing as a free agent, as the Patriots had him in for workouts last year. The injury and slow progress to Chad Jackson almost reinforces the idea that the Patriots may skip on a WR in the first round as well.

It seems more and more likely the Patriots will address some defensive needs in the first round, particularly at Cornerback, Safety, and Linebacker. The Patriots are one of those teams that go for high value and the best player at the position at that point in the draft so it will be interesting to see what players fall in the draft to them.

The Patriots have both the 24th and 28th picks in the 1st round of the NFL Draft, which happens April 29th and 30th. They are the only team to have 2 picks in the 1st round, giving them considerable leverage if they were interested in moving up.

Awesome free, fun product

Steve and I are constantly trying to "propose" trades to each other, in just about any sport, mostly baseball and basketball. ESPN just made it easier, especially since the money needs to matchup in basketball. Below is a cool link where you can have up to a 4 team trade and go from there. Trade for your favorite player that isn't on your favorite team, or just try and see what value you can get from another team. It even has trade exceptions that you might, as a fan, not be aware of. Very cool.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/trademachine

Personally, with this tool available, I can't to see the crazy trades Steve and I will come up with that could actually help the Celtics. If I have any notables I'll post them in here.