The San Francisco 49ers forfeited their fifth-round pick in next month's NFL draft after commissioner Roger Goodell said they tampered with Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs.
In a statement released by the league Monday, Goodell also said the teams will switch picks in the third round of the April 26-27 draft. Chicago, which had the 12th pick, will get San Francisco's seventh pick and the 49ers will get Chicago's choice.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3310056


This should be a HUGE story. This type of CHEATING will directly lead to more 49er wins and other team’s loses!.. Not like filming, this is DIRECT tampering.

Why is the BS fine so slight?

Where is that a-hole Specter whining about NFL cheating?

Where are the rest if the buttheads that whined about the Patriots SpyGate now? This is DIRECT tampering and they paid a minor fine. What a bunch of CRAP! There ought to be an investigation!!!!!

THIS IS BS!!!!!! The NFL and their stupid rules are not equally enforced! What a bunch of BS this is!

Wow, a switch at 3rd and loss of a fifth rounder. Take that SF!

And they had to go to bed without dinner and their cell phones had the texting feature disabled, too!

I knew this would happen! All those cheater haters are no where to be seen because it is not the Patriots being attacked! Too frigging funny (and hypocritical) folks. You stripes are showing and those stripes show your jealousy!

You folks never let me down!

You're delusional if you think free agent tampering leads to a bigger on-field advantage than taping signals, but then Patriots fans have turned into a jittery, irrational bunch since last September anyway. Tampering has been a huge story all offseason. You been watching or reading any sports media at all? The Patriots could've easily been busted for tampering with the Jets regarding Bill Belicheat. Somehow I think that move had a much bigger impact for NE than what Lance Briggs will bring to San fran.

Hey Dis - Since New England is turning into the Oakland Raiders East, Cedric Wilson is available. See, class teams like Pittsburgh don't keep woman beaters around but he should fit in well with Randy Moss in New England!

Check the roster again! They kept a starter that beat his girl friend and dumped a back up.

quote:

New England is turning into the Oakland Raiders East

- worst comparison ever.



I'll agree with Metallicatz on degrees of tampering, I don't see this as that horrible of a football crime; but then he had to take the little jab at the patriots fans, in typical whiny Pittsburg fashion. <See, I'm guilty too>


Remember: If it's their team it's "cheating"; If it's your team its "tactical espionage."

Oh, I do so love the moonwalking going on. Cheating is frigging cheating! I called it that way when the Patriots got caught and I am calling it that way now. The only ones that refuse to view this as cheating and every bit as bad as what the Patriots did are letting hatred and jealously get in the way of their judgment. And, since they are blinded by jealousy, discussing this with them is fruitless as they can’t see.

Excuses for cheating because it isn’t the Patriots getting caught. Too frigging funny and hypocritical. What a bunch if crap! Tampering with players will lead DIRECTLY to an improvement on the field. Period!

Hypocrites!

Etu - It's PittsburgH, not Pittsburg! We're not from Kansas.

Dis - You're are too funny. Here the Red Sox are 3-1, the Celtics have the best record in the NBA, the Bruins MAY make the playoffs, the NFL draft is right around the corner and you're still spun up about last year. RELAX and enjoy! I'm just poking a bit of fun, that's all.

By the way, did you read about the "push out" rule being changed at the NFL meetings yesterday? I don't know if I'm going to like that or not.

Maz- what did they change on the push out rule?

dis- why would anyone be jealous of the patriots? its been three long years since they last one a super bowl.

J - They changed the rule so the receiver must have both feet in bounce, no exceptions. They say it will make it easier on the officals.

Maz, all throughout this site I point out hypocrisy. And the crap that is going on whining about cheating in the NFL is every bit as bad the Democrats versus Republicans. Some people want different rules based upon teams and that is crap. And they either know it or are blind.

JYager…

Oh please, it's not like the 49ers came and stole Briggs in the dead of night and left the Bears with no recourse. When it's all said and done it still comes down to choice. The bottom line is this: despite the fact that the 49ers were talking to Briggs when they weren't supposed to, it still comes down to whether Briggs wanted to sign with the Bears or with the 49ers. He chose to extend with the Bears despite the inappropriate discussions. Apples and oranges to taping signals for 6 years. Tampering in no way leads to an unfair competitive advantage on the football field because in the end it will always come to a choice being made by the player about which team he wants to play for. And I fail to see how the tampering will lead to more 49er wins considering Briggs re-signed with the Bears. And even if he hadn't, leaving Chicago would've still been his CHOICE.

And like I said, the Patriots were tampering with the Jets when they came away with Belicheat. Where's the outrage on that one? Oh yeah I forgot..........hypocrisy. But yeah, it's all a big conspiracy against the Patriots by the NFL and media despite the fact that the media was nut-licking the Patriots for 20 weeks of the season and the fact that Goodell and Kraft were laughing and hugging like school-girls in Kraft's private box in week 17 when the Patriots completed the undeafeated regular season.

And for the record, i'm not jealous of the Patriots or their fans in any way. I don't envy the Patriots and their fans having to constantly be on the defensive about a legacy that's looking about as legit as the accomplishments of Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens. Not to mention the fact that my team has more hardware, a more recent SB Championship, a well traveled worldwide fanbase, and a history and culture that's 1000x more rich and storied than that of NE.

quote:

Originally posted by Mazski9:
J - They changed the rule so the receiver must have both feet in bounce, no exceptions. They say it will make it easier on the officals.

I read today that from now on it will be a 15 yard penalty on the offense when a running back gives a defender the stiff-arm. Just when I thought the NFL couldn't possibly be any more watered down or pussified. Greats like Walter Payton made their living knocking sh*t out of defenders with the stiff-arm. The NFL might as well become a flag football league at this point.

Metal, I thought that rule was for a stiff arm to the face mask? thats what i read on dallascowboys.com earlier this week. I guess the nfl doesnt like the way marion barber punches people in the head.

Same thing in my book. I could see maybe outlawing grabbing the facemask and holding on, but running backs have been blasting defenders in the facemask for decades and to the best of my knowledge no defender has ever been seriously injured as a result. Marion Barber is a blast from the past and it's a shame his style of play is being penalized while that same style of play helped get guys like Walter Payton into the Hall of Fame. Most running backs don't have the balls to play like Barber in today's NFL. As much as I love Fast Willie, i'd love to have Barber wearing a Steelers uniform.

Metal, if – and you know they were – the 49ers were talking to a player when they were not supposed to, that is called cheating. Don’t turn a blind eye or define cheating like you’re Bill Clinton. They cheated… everyone knows it and no one will do anything about it. And their cheating will lead directly to plays on the field… period.

As for the Patriots and Jets, the Jets taped the games, too. But the Patriots didn’t whine about it but instead just asked them to stop. But that does NOT mean that the Patriots were right in what they did. They were wrong. As were the Jets and the 49ers. All three cheated… only one is held accountable. I find the hypocrisy amazing.

And I am not trying to defend the Patriots. I simply point out hypocrisy when I see it and three teams cheated yet only one got punished… that’s hypocrisy and I’ll point it out every time. There’ll be more… and I can’t wait! At least I am honest. I don’t let two teams cheat and turn a blind eye to it. Cheating is cheating… period!

I wouldn't classify it as "cheating", since I don't feel it affects the play on the field. Like I said, players still make the choice of where they want to play. Yes, I know the 49ers were doing it and I know it's against the rules. They would've been punished more harshly if Briggs had signed with them instead of Chicago. Tampering makes it harder for teams to re-negotiate their potential UFA's. But you're grabbing at straws here and i'm wondering why. This isn't even an issue that the Competition Committee has jurisdiction over. It's a business matter.

The Jets were not taping coaching signals. We've been over this already. If they had been they'd have been penalized. The link you posted on the thread you created a while back even makes this clear.

Are you going to call out the Patriots for tampering too? If they hadn't tampered you wouldn't even have your current head coach. You can't call others hypocrites if you aren't willing to own up to that fact.

Metal, it affects the players on the field therefore it directly effects the play and the plays on the field. And they violated the rule… that is the definition of cheating. Maybe you don’t consider it cheating, but I do. And yes, if the Patriots do it, it is STILL cheating. I do not endorse cheating by anyone, especially ‘my’ team. But I deem those that only enforce the rules against certain teams as hypocrites. No, maybe you don’t fall into that category because you are redefining cheating (it seems to be redefined by which team violated the rules). But to me…

The rule does not say ‘taping signals’ is illegal. It says that taping is illegal. The Jets taped (that’s illegal). The Patriots asked the to stop (like gentlemen). The Jets stopped (as asked). That is all that needed to be done in round two, also. But the Jets simply were not gentlemen. But the Patriots cheated, so shame on them!