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Ten games into the season, one can only wonder if Bill Belichick didn't plan the whole videotaping fiasco to play out this way. Conspiracy theorists beware, it all seems too convenient. Right after receiving a clear memo from the league office regarding the prohibition against such tactics, Belichick goes ahead with the taping, against a team coached by his former defensive coordinator and protege (Eric Mangini). Now Belichik had to know that Mangini would catch on to what the Patriots were doing in week one. After all, Mangini was with the Patriots while they were taping other teams for years. The league did come down hard on the Patriots, particularly after the lame excuse that Belichick offered. A $500,000 fine to the coach (which he must pay out of his own pocket), a $250,000 fine to the team and the loss of their top pick. A stiff penalty, maybe but maybe not. Couldn't you just see Belichick do a camcorder ad in the offseason. I'm sure he'd get the half million back pretty quickly. As for the team fine, that is chump change to Kraft family. Which brings us to the draft pick. The Patriots were to have two first round picks, their own and that of San Francisco. Because of the salary cap, they would have moved one of those picks anyway. The commissioner took away their pick, which worst case will be 29th. As for the Niners' pick, that might well turn out to be as high as number 2. That's right the only undefeated team is looking at picking no worse than 5. So the penalty was manageable, but why still would they do it? In a word, motivation. They won their first Super Bowl is a big underdog, and won two more as favorites. How can you motivate such a team, unless you create an us against the world mentality. Its the old "no respect" approach, its they don't respect us because they think we cheated. Just member that the video guy got grabbed six minutes into game one of the season. What information he gathered in that short period was useless. So the Patriots can now use the incident to rally the troops and set out to lay waste to the league. How many teams can be accused of running up the score in the second quarter. Because when it comes to quarter, they are giving none to the opposition. How many times have they gone for it (successfully) on fourth and one? How many teams will clinch their division in November? The negative reaction they are generating throughout the league just further motivates them. Don Shula shoots his mouth off and another blowout happens. And yes, the winless Dolphins still have to come to Foxboro. Care to guess the spread on that one. But the hottest ticket in New England will be when the Jets come to town in December. If there truly was a merciful God, then Mangini would either be fired before then, or come up with some convenient family emergency necessitating his presence at some location far from Gillette Stadium. Otherwise, we might see a scene reminiscent of the worst of British soccer. The fact that everyone, aside from certain gamblers, are rooting against the Patriots, is what Belichick has counted on since day one. An undefeated season, ending in Super Bowl triumph, with scoring records left in tatters. Definitely something to shoot for. And if they can do by giving the football establishment the proverbial finger, so much the better.

Learn more about this author, Robert Mccauley.
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