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After Months Of Drama, Patriots Accused Of Cheating In 1ST QUARTER Of Opening Game
The New England Patriots once again find themselves under the microscope after the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach insinuated the Pats cheated in their 28-21 season opener win.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said in a press conference after the game that his team’s headsets were malfunctioning for most of the first half, while the Patriots ran up a 14-3 lead.
After the game, Tomlin said, “We were listening to the Patriots’ radio broadcasts for the majority of the first half on our headsets.”
Apparently, it was not the first time such problems had arisen at Gillette Stadium. “That’s always the case,” Tomlin said. He then tersely declined to answer follow-up questions, saying “I said what I said”, the New York Times reported.
The N.F.L. released a statement:
In the first quarter of tonight’s game, the Pittsburgh coaches experienced interference in their headsets caused by a stadium power infrastructure issue, which was exacerbated by the inclement weather. The coaches’ communications equipment, including the headsets, is provided by the N.F.L. for both clubs’ use on game day. Once the power issue was addressed, the equipment functioned properly with no additional issues.
The timing of Pittsburgh’s headsets suddenly working again, and then not (again), raised further suspicions for the Steelers. In the account of the game on their website, the team wrote:
Strangely enough, whenever an N.F.L. representative proceeded to the New England sideline to shut down their headsets, the Steelers’ headsets cleared. Then, as the representative walked away from the New England sideline, the Steelers’ headsets again started to receive the Patriots’ game broadcast.
Mike Tomlin PISSED about Steelers headsets going out. This is good. pic.twitter.com/VgYrJt0pBx
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) September 11, 2015
Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said his team had headset issues, too. “We had a lot of problems,” he said. “We had to switch headphones a couple times. The communications system wasn’t very good. We deal with that it seems like weekly. They told us they were on the verge of shutting it off.”
“We almost had to switch helmets with Brady at the end,” Belichick said of quarterback Tom Brady. “Couldn’t get the plays into him. It was a problem all night.”
Nat Scott, writing ForTheWin, noted that what happened Thursday night may well be as Belichick described, but it almost does not matter in the eyes of many:
Everyone thinks the Patriots cheated. And the Patriots only have themselves to blame.
That’s what you get when, in the words of Charlie Murphy, you’re a habitual line stepper. Was letting a little air out of a football a big deal? I’d argue no. Was filming opposing teams’ signals a big deal, even when those teams are making those signals in front of 80,000 people? Meh. You could make a case, but not really…
But here’s the thing, when all those small to medium things add up, that constant flirting with the line, you get a reputation. Patriots fans can say all they want about jealousy and the other teams just wanting to take down the king, and there probably is a little bit of that. But come on.
The Patriots earned this. They stepped over the line so many times that their credibility is gone…
A federal judge overruled a four game suspension imposed by the N.F.L. against Patriot quarterback Tom Brady last week for his involvement in “Deflategate,” citing legal deficiencies. The N.F.L. has appealed the ruling.
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/after-months-of-drama-patriots-accused-of-cheating-in-1st-quarter-of-opening-game/
