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A BLOG

Don't Make This Headset Thing into Another "Gate"

9/9/2015

1 Comment

 
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Spygate, Deflategate, now HeadsetGate?

There was actual football on Thursday night as the Patriots had the opening game of the 2015 season to celebrate their Super Bowl 49 win with a symphony, T-Pain and Robert Kraft walking out with the Lombardi trophy while "All I Do is Win" was performed live.

The Patriots beat the Steelers 28-21 after a four touchdown performance by Tom Brady, the man centered around a controversy involving under-inflated balls, who had his four-game suspension wiped out by a federal judge because the National Football League mishandled their "independent" investigation.

So you have the pomp and circumstance, the national anthem and finally! Kickoff. Time to put all controversy aside, right?

Well, that was until the first quarter when it was reported that the Steelers coaches were receiving the Patriots radio broadcast in their ear.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said there have been headset issues in the past when his team plays in Foxboro.

Uh, oh! Do we have another case of cheating by New England?!

No. This isn't stealing signs or letting air out of footballs to get a competitive edge. It's an odd coincidence that just happened to occur at Gillette Stadium, home to the team that many are convinced have cheated their way to four Super Bowl titles in the last 13 years.

Tomlin was clearly irritated during his postgame Thursday night. First, his team lost, and second, he's listening to Bob Socci and homer color commentator Scott Zolak in his ear during the first half while trying to talk to his coordinators and other coaches upstairs. Tomlin is the more vocal version of Belichick. Bill will disregard your question with a scowl and mumble, but Tomlin will be short and direct with you.

The NFL said that the malfunction was due to the heavy rain, and the league does control communication on the sidelines. It's an embarrassing moment for them, but some will try to come up with a theory that the Patriots have a man on the staff they call "The Transmitter" who tampered with the Steelers signal to gain a competitive edge.

If you think that, I hope you're wearing your tin foil hat.

Even Bill Belichick said the Patriots experienced some issues. He wasn't specific on what he was receiving in his ear, but don't think for a second he was receiving Keith Butler calling out defensive plays. The way Brady and Gronkowski abused the Steelers secondary, it wasn't necessary. Also, the Patriots head coach said they've had issues before. 

But please, for the love of God, do not turn this into another "Gate" situation.

I am "gated" out, and a lot of people who follow the NFL are, too.

Roger Goodell, who was probably in a secret, underground bunker watching the game Thursday night, moaned when he heard Al Michaels say that the Steelers were getting the Patriots radio team in their ear.

But, with the NFL news cycle operation on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year format, it will have a clever nickname and hashtag on Twitter, and with the Patriots' reputation, people will look far too deep into this headset thing.


Side note:
Former Patriots tight end, current convicted killer and bad prison inmate Aaron Hernandez was brought up by Chris Collinsworth during the NBC broadcast Thursday night. It was like the joke a comedian makes during a roast that makes the audience groin and go "oh". Too soon? Yes. It will always be "too soon" for Hernandez.

1 Comment
A.Joe
9/11/2015 06:29:57 pm

I think there are two separate issues here, Gallagher.

First is another instance or coincidence or untimely mishap of another "Patriots Misstep". Does the NFL provide the equipment? Yes. Did the NFL claim responsibility? Yes. Do the Patriots have access to and/or are they capable of jamming a transmission? Yes. Does it seem fishy that each time the transmission was jammed, the Pats switched to a no-huddle offense and then the transmission was mysteriously fixed once the officials came to take away the Pats headsets for fair play? Yes. Could it all be an unfortunate coincidence? Yes... but....

Anyone who has kids, works with kids, or remembers childhood vividly can recall that one kid who is always around trouble, but nobody sees them committing a crime. "Is it a coincidence that the whole class is angry at you and they are all making up the same story that you apparently had nothing to do with?"... well... funny coincidence.

The second issue is that the media, and the fans also, are straight up tired about talking about the Patriots outside of football. Its a tiring conversation, especially now that football has actually started. We love football. We want to talk about football. We're tired of talking about this.

Instead of being tired and frustrated of talking about the Pat's scandals, We should instead be frustrated by the fact that the Pat's have so many scandals and that it's turning the NFL into a joke.

Be angry at the Pats for always being in the wrong place at the wrong time (or outright cheating). Be angry at Goodell for not being able to keep his house in order. Be angry the courts who seemed to nullify any CBA's. Be angry that all of these circumstances together make for another tiring conversation. But don't dismiss something simply because it is easier or less nauseating than dealing with another Pats issue.

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  • Home
  • About Sean
  • My Work
    • Radio Demo Reel
    • TV Demo Reel
  • SEAN GALLAGHER HAS THOUGHTS
  • More
    • WSYC Sports (Sportscasting)
    • Newspaper Writing
    • Up All Night With WSYC