Patriots accused of taping Rams before the 2002 Super Bowl

[Rajmahal33]

I don't think its relevant what they actually videotaped, or how they used it. It's a matter of breaking a rule...one that isn't nitpicky or subjective. It's pretty freaking blatant and well-defined. Don't use any form of unsanctioned surveillance against your opponent to gain intelligence about the team's strategies or discussions. I dont think if it could be proven that the patriots did film the rams walk-through, that they could justify it as an accident or claim that it was harmless.

Therefore, it shouldn't be up for debate if what they did was actually that bad, but rather the debate should be how to substantiate the claim and if it is in fact true, what should the repercussions be. I think its pretty clear that the pats organization (with Belichick at the helm) may have been doing this quite often and they just happened to get caught earlier this year against the jets. Merryl Hodge suggested that they should be stripped of that first superbowl crown in this case and I tend to agree with this. (Mainly b/c i think they would have had an unjust competitive advantage. They were 14 point underdogs and the game was decided by a last minute FG that was allowed to happen by stopping the most potent offense in NFL history at the time).