and it is always something new..... radio headsets going out etc etc etc
That's not new. This is a very old allegation. In fact Mangina included radio tampering in his original "Spygate" complaint but that part of the issue was swept so far under the rug so fast most of the public never even heard about it. Because THAT would have ripped the lid right off the whole thing as that was the very heart of what the P*ts do.
They not only read lips. They steal radio signals real time, Ernie Adams interprets them, and having a photographic memory tells Tom Brady as well as the defensive captain what they mean so they can adjust accordingly on the field. THAT is the true heart of Spygate.
They GET the signals as they're called in, Ernie hears them, interprets them (he has a photographic memory and knows EVERY ******* signal from EVERY ******* team in the league) The coaches have game film from every team in the league and have broken down what the teams are doing and compared them to the signal calls. Then they fed that info to Ernie who digested it and can relay that to Tom and Defensive Captain of the week in real time. THAT's ******* Spygate.
THAT's what Roger didn't want anybody to know. That Defensive Captain get's a whisper in his ear that the Bills are running Fly 7 Trips Danger which means in "Bills-ese" that the offense is going to line up in what looks like a semi-conservative running formation on 2nd and 6 with two receivers and a tight end bunched in tight, but actually all receiving options are running deep routes and the running back is shooting through the middle of the line hoping to find a seam where a run blitz exposes an opportunity. Defensive Captain accordingly sets a defense that lines up to cover the receivers and leave a linebacker dead in the center of the field to spy the running back as he comes out. Do the Bills still have a "chance" to make a play? sure, is that chance significantly reduced? You bet your ***.
Furthermore, Tom gets a whisper that Lawrence Timmons, who appears to be backing off into zone coverage is actually disguising a blitz and that he's coming on the inside and that the Steelers will counter the gap in the middle by shifting Harrison from the outside backer spot to the zone vacated by Timmons, admittedly leaving a weak spot on the edge. That leaves Tom with two options, call an audible to throw a flat screen to the spot soon to be vacated by Harrison or run an power sweep to the same spot. (Knowing Brady, of course they'll wait until the outside backer actually vacates and then throw the screen, but you get the idea.)
THIS is spygate.
Can the other team overcome the advantage the Cheaters get knowing what the opposing offense and defenses are doing? Sure. I mean Tom still has to throw the balls, the receivers still have to catch em etc. The P*ts defense still has to execute the plays, but KNOWING what the other guys are doing is a HUGE advantage. It would, for example, allow you to plug in journeymen players in to nearly every position and still maintain an extremely high level of competitive or even dominant play for years and years. Despite the fact that you don't have many "Pro Bowl" level players at all levels. You just have a team full of "team players" that seem to always be in the right place at the right time.
What a bunch of ***-hats. This has been around for over 10 years. It isn't new at all.
