Indianapolis Colts Cheating History

48
IND
TL;DR:

• the COLTS are EXCEPTIONAL NFL cheaters!

• they have a CheatScore of 48?

• they've executed 12 real cheats! ?

• share page: http://YourTeamCheats.com/IND?

 

All Indianapolis Colts Cheats:

SuckForLuckgate (2011) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In 2011, the Colts were accused of intentionally losing games to earn the first pick in the 2012 NFL draft so they could select star Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. Fans of the Colts dubbed it the "Suck for Luck" campaign. Fans of competitive integrity called it blatant and ham-handed cheating.

A vintage Colts "Suck For Luck" T-shirt

The "No They Didn't" side defends against the charge by noting that the NFL has non-guaranteed contracts and players who lose on purpose risk losing millions of dollars off their current and future contracts. Backing this theory up, the Colts head coach in 2011 -- Jim Caldwell -- was fired after the 2-14 "Suck For Luck" season. As well, the Nopers say, when Manning got hurt all the Colts had was backup quarterback Curtis Painter and because Manning hogged all of the practice snaps, Painter had very little experience. Because of this, they were forced to bring in the retired (and mediocre) Kerry Collins because that's all they could get from the free agent pool.

The "Yes They Did" side counters by saying that Colts players could play to their full potential, but if the coaches were calling bad plays, and management was not making the best trades or free agent moves, then the team could still lose without the knowledge or participation from the individual players. The Yessers give as an example that the Colts knew they were screwed after Manning's injury. They could have picked up a much better veteran free agent quarterback to make them competitive. However, Colts owner Jim Irsay knew that -- although they might become competitive -- they would be longshots to make the playoffs. He definitely knew that acquiring a better quarterback than Collins would blow their chances of drafting Luck, so he bit the bullet for one season and quietly allowed Suck For Luck to play out on the field.

Like many controversies, there is little consensus online.

Local Indianapolis sports reporter Gregg Doyel, however, didn't need any "facts" or "proof" before offering his harsh verdict about the Colts' season-long attack on the fundamental integrity of the game. Said Doyel, "the NFL can't remove the Indianapolis Colts from the league. We all know that. The NFL should remove the Colts from the league – I truly believe that – but they won't. They can't. Here's what the NFL can do, and absolutely has to do: remove Colts coach Jim Caldwell and owner Jim Irsay from football, and not next season -- this season. Right now. This was the Indianapolis Colts rigging the entire 2011 season. What punishment, in the scope of sports, would be too severe for such a thing?"

Oops, wait a minute...my bad...Colts reporter fan Doyel was actually sensationalizing about whether the Patriots (or the cold weather or the Colts sideline) slightly underinflated one of the Patriots' game balls. He wanted Patriots head coach Bill Belichick kicked out of football for that, despite not having any evidence to say if it was the Colts, the Patriots or Mother Nature who deflated that ball. He never seemed to care about his own team throwing an entire season to gain an advantage.

In the end, Doyel and his merry band of Colts got their prized draft pick and so far, it has worked out exactly as expected.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: As Colts reporter fan Doyel proclaimed, "perception is reality" and the perception around the league is that "Suck For Luck" was a thing. Without the discovery of a bombshell email from Colts' management or ownership, NFL fans will have to rely upon observed data to judge whether the Colts lost on purpose in order to draft the replacement for their injured and aging quarterback. Oh look, here's some data! Check out the team's season results over the past thirteen years:

Suck For Luck?

One of these things is not like the other. Yes, their starting quarterback was injured in 2011, but the Patriots lost quarterback Tom Brady in the first quarter of the first game of the 2008 season and still went 11-5 with backup Matt Cassel thrown into the driver's seat. Were the Colts that much more reliant on Peyton Manning than the Patriots were on Tom Brady or did the Colts subtly tank the one season in the past 13 where one of the best quarterback of the generation was available?

The commish concludes, that although there is no concrete evidence of this year-long cheat, it is more probable than not that the Colts perpetrated it, with owner Irsay being at least generally aware of the cheating.

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AWARDS EARNED: Serious Infraction!Schoolyard Cheating!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 9.0

PEDSgate (7x since 2012) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) are used by players to illegally improve athletic performance above what legal training and preparation can do.

Players who illegally improve their performance unfairly penalize players who follow the rules. They not only put those players at risk for physical injury, but they also affect their economic livelihood by impacting their perceived value and their ability to secure appropriately-valued playing contracts.

SEVERITY = 0.5 video cameras per punished incident. Includes all documented infractions from 1960 to present with this Wikipedia page as the primary source.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Each players was suspended for four games for violating the league's PEDs policy except Saunders, who was suspended four games for his first violation in 2012 and for 8 games in 2013 for his second violation.

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AWARDS EARNED: Repeat The Cheat!Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 7.0

HearingAidgate (1998) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In an interview, former Indianapolis Colt offensive tackle Tarik Glenn said that Colts' center Howard Mudd and quarterback Peyton Manning used illegal hearing devices to block out crowd noise and amplify Mannings' voice.

Said Glenn:

"We were playing on the road, it might have been Peyton’s rookie year [1998], and it was really loud. Peyton hadn’t mastered the silent count, so [former offensive line coach] Howard Mudd had us wearing these hearing aids that were supposed to muffle the crowd while projecting the quarterback’s voice."

Using a hearing aid or any type of electronic device is prohibited by the NFL. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk muses, "the question remains whether the Colts continued to use it beyond 1998, and if so for how long?"

Added Michael Hurley of CBS Boston:

"This is, of course, a matter of national significance. The integrity of the game was compromised by Manning, the face of the league for more than a decade, the man who dodged a sexual harassment case in Knoxville and got out of an HGH controversy by saying it was sent to his house for his wife’s use might finally be brought down here by this — a most egregious act of cheating.
"Unfortunately for Manning, it didn’t even work! As a rookie, while cheating just to try to survive in the NFL, he still ended up leading the league with 28 interceptions. Talk about a shot to the ego. That type of embarrassment could … lead a man to cheat even harder in order to get a leg up on the competition.
"If the Colts cheated once … it doesn’t take a wild imagination to envision the Colts cheating again. And again. And again. It even makes you wonder how badly he cheats when he’s on the golf course."

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: How long did the Colts use the hearing aids? Where did they get the idea? Who else has used the same or similar methods to deal with crowd noise?

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AWARDS EARNED: Serious Infraction!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 7.0

Noisegate (2007) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: AKA "GoesTo11gate", thanks CBS Minnesota! The Colts were caught on tape piping in artificial crowd noise during the 2007 Colts-Patriots game in an attempt to make it harder for the visiting team to call signals. National TV broadcast even caught a skipping crowd noise on their live broadcast.

Near the end, you notice some repeating reverb coming from the Indianapolis faithful. The background sound then shuts off, and the crowd sounds a whole lot quieter. Miraculously, the noise was particularly amplified when quarterback Tom Brady was trying to call signals.

Patriots president Jonathan Kraft told the NFL about the skipping audio and asked the league to take action. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello responded that he was told (by NFL partner CBS) that the weird noise was tape feedback from the CBS production truck, and the sound was limited to the television broadcast and was not heard inside the stadium.

A Colts security guard, however, blew the whistle on the team, according to WBZ photojournalist Bryan Foley. At least initially, the Colts refused to explicitly deny that they pumped in faked crowd noise to the RCA Dome.

VICTIM: New England Patriots

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: The league investigated the specific "Crowd-Skipping" part of this wider Noisegate cheat and eventually cleared the Colts of responsibility for that particular auditory anomaly. NFL vice president Greg Aiello said, "CBS has informed us that the unusual audio moment heard by fans during the Patriots-Colts game was the result of tape feedback in the CBS production truck and was isolated to the CBS broadcast. It was in no way related to any sound within the stadium and could not be heard in the stadium."

In an apparent move to protect their status with the league, CBS bravely took the fall for the Colts and the NFL with this unverifiable statement about their (apparently shoddy) technical operations. Not to stoke any conspiracy theories, but the NFL has since scrubbed all recordings of the event from the Internet. More significantly, however, the league never addressed the broader charge of whether the Colts cheated by artificially enhancing crowd noise during the game, they just explained-away (with the help of CBS) the specific crowd-skipping mistake the Colts errr, I mean CBS made.

Based upon the overwhelming amount of complaints from rivals and players, the commish concludes that it is more probable than not that the Colts have pumped in artificially crowd noise for years. As well, it has been clearly established by precedence that perception is reality.

The widely held perception of the Colts' opponents and coaches is that the Colts have artificially enhanced their crowd noise for years. The "testimony" of the Colts' security guard only reinforces this perception.

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AWARDS EARNED: Avoid Media Scrutiny!Repeat The Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

Injurygate (2015) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: The NFL is investigating whether the Indianapolis Colts failed to comply with the requirements of the injury reporting rules in connection with quarterback Andrew Luck, who according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports has been playing the 2015 NFL season with multiple rib fractures.

The NFL’s policy regarding injury reporting says: “All players with significant or noteworthy injuries must be listed on the report, even if the player takes all the reps in practice, and even if the team is certain that he will play in the upcoming game. This is especially true of key players and those players whose injuries have been covered extensively by the media. This policy is of paramount importance in maintaining the integrity of the game.”

(Not relevant to this cheat ... but never forget)

The policy stipulates that punishments for this rule breaking can be a mix of team fines, player fines, player suspensions or loss of draft picks. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk -- one of the true champions of NFL truth and integrity -- proclaimed, "the ultimate irony would be a report from ESPN that 11 of 12 ribs were broken."

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? PENDING...

PUNISHMENT: The highly competent and unbiased league office is investigating this Colts cheating. I'm sure they will hand out the right punishment just like they always do.

"Integrity of the game," did you hear that Goodell? Your move big guy.

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AWARDS EARNED: Goalie for the Dart Team!Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

Peytongate (2011) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: On December 26, 2015, the respected international news organization Al Jazeera released a report titled The Dark Side alleging that, among other high-profile pro athletes, Peyton Manning had received shipments of human growth hormone (HGH) in 2011 from an anti-aging clinic in Indiana to assist in his recovery from the neck surgery that kept him out for a year and ultimately ended his Colts career.

Although their named source, pharmacist Charlie Sly, ultimately recanted his contributions to the story, on January 3, 2016 Al Jazeera reasserted the validity of their claims by revealing that they had an "impeccably placed, knowledgeable, and credible" second source corroborating the fact that HGH was shipped to Manning's wife Ashley at their Florida home.

Unlike other recent NFL scandals, news outlets have responded to these charges with a collective yawn, most likely because Peyton Manning has not had the jealousy-inducing, post-season success of quarterbacks like Eli Manning.

In fact, during the CBS Broncos-Chargers broadcast on January 3, announcer Jim Nantz and his broadcast partner Phil Simms didn't bring up the bombshell report once. Some news organization have speculated that this is because Nantz and Manning share the same representation, Sandy Montag. Montag is Nantz's agent and helps Manning with his every-other-commercial off-field endeavors.

♫ ♩ ♫ H-G-H you heal so good... ♫ ♩ ♫

"Al Jazeera Investigates - The Dark Side"

Sly's specific Manning revelations come briefly at 23:06 and in more detail at 40:32.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? PENDING...

PUNISHMENT: Normally PED infractions are penalized at 1.0 cheatpoints each, but since Peyton has not been cooperative in this ongoing investigation (to date he has refused to turn over his cell phone and those of his wife and team medical staff) he has been hit with treble damages. Such a shame to see the 4th or 5th best quarterback of all time be tainted in this way.

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AWARDS EARNED: Avoid Media Scrutiny!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

Gamblegate (1983) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Baltimore Colts quarterback Art Schlichter was suspended for the entire 1983 season for betting on football games in violation of league rules.

According to Scott MacGregor of The Cincinnati Enquirer, "In Baltimore, where Schlichter's bets grew to the tens of thousands, he reportedly made calls to bookies about NFL games from Memorial Stadium's pay phones."

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Schlichter was banned for the entire 1983 season.

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CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

Noisegate (2005) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: From reporter Childs Walker of the Baltimore Sun: "Many at home with cheating. The din produced by Indianapolis Colts fans on Nov. 28 [2005] grew so loud that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger couldn't bark signals to the center crouching just before him."

It was so loud that, according to some commentators, it couldn't have been human. After the Colts won, 26-7, several media figures accused the team of pumping artificial noise into the RCA Dome during Steelers possessions."

"The practice would be against league rules (the Washington Redskins drew a $20,000 fine in 2000 for blasting cheerleader noise), but the Colts denied the charge, and the NFL has declined to investigate."

"Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, however, picked up on the complaints last week, telling his team's Web site, Jaguars.com, 'They've done it for a long time.'"

Before their 2005 game against the Colts, a Steelers official, who asked not to be identified, pointed out many microphones attached atop poles and stationed around the lower perimeter of the stadium. He said he believed they were used to capture the crowd noise and then filter it through the public address system to blast it louder when the Steelers were at the line of scrimmage on offense.

ESPN's Ed Werder went on the Dan Patrick show and said that believed "the Colts were pumping crowd noise through the speakers in the RCA Dome when the Steelers were on offense". The Colts issued a statement denying the charge.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: Over and over and over again the Colts are accused of pumping in or amplifying crowd noise to illegally gain an advantage.

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AWARDS EARNED: Repeat The Cheat!Champs of the Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

Snowgate (2017) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In their December 10, 2017 game against the Buffalo Bills, the Colts sent non-players onto the playing field to clear snow for placekicker Adam Vinatieri, which is a violation of NFL rules.

According to the NFL Game Operations Manual: "Under no circumstances will a Referee permit clearing by the grounds crew, or other team personnel, of a spot for a PAT or field goal attempt. Only players are permitted to clear such spots by hand or foot,”

VICTIM: Buffalo Bills

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: This was cheating and the whistle-blowing Colts shouldn't get a pass. The integrity of the game is at stake.

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AWARDS EARNED: Avoid Media Scrutiny!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

Deflategate (2015) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: After an exhaustive -- but ultimately inconclusive -- 107-day examination of the filthy balls of the Patriots and Colts, "independent" investigator Dr. Ted Wells (note: not a real doctor) determined that the balls of both the Patriots and the Colts were a little too limp and squishy during the first half of the 2015 AFC Championship Game.

Although the Wells investigation was hired by the NFL to dig up dirt implicating the Patriots, it actually unwittingly uncovered the Colts own ball deflation cheating. At halftime AND at the end of the game, four Colts' footballs were tested and in both cases 3 out of the 4 footballs were found to be deflated below the legal 12.5 PSI minimum on at least one official's gauge (p 69 & p 73 of the hugely expensive Wells Report).

Speculates Kerry Byrne (of ColdHardFootballFacts.com) on why the officials only tested four Colts footballs: "Consider this scenario: Imagine if 11 of 12 Colts footballs checked in under 12.5 PSI by at least one official. And, remember, 3 of 4 did. Those results certainly would have taken the wind out of the sails of the SS Witch Hunt. And that must have appeared like a very real probability once officials checked the first four Colts footballs. Seems 'more probable than not' that NFL officials stopped out of convenience rather than a genuine interest in the truth or integrity."

The Wells Report evidence clearly suggests that it was more probable than not that the Colts played the entire AFC Championship Game with illegally deflated footballs. The report doesn't mention if the Colts balls were tested at the same time as the Patriots or after the Patriots were all tested and reinflated with air. It actually matters, because if the Colts balls were in the warm locker room longer than the Patriots balls, they would have had a longer period of time to reverse the effects of the Ideal Gas Law effect, hiding some of their deflation in relation to the colder Patriots balls.

The Colts own deflategate

Oops. NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Roger Goodell would like to have a word with you in his office. This muddies the narrative that the Patriots are the NFL's only serial-cheater. You knew what you were hired to do Teddy Wells. What happened?

UPDATE: On May 14, 2015 council for the New England Patriots issued a comprehensive rebuttal to the Wells Report. One significant point was that the Colts broke a written league rule when they tested the air pressure of the intercepted football during the game. The Wells Report never flagged that as an issue.

VICTIM: New England Patriots (The illegally deflated balls may have unfairly robbed the Pats of a shutout)

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league (side note: how on earth were the Colts able to land him?) There is no way that a professional of his skill and experience would not notice that he was playing with illegally deflated footballs.

Your Team Cheats executive vice president Voy Trincent therefore rules that there is substantial and credible evidence to conclude that Luck was at least generally aware of the actions of the Colts' more probable than not deflation of their AFC Championship footballs. As punishment, all future references to Andrew Luck* on this site must be appended with and asterisk. As well, he will never again receive the benefit of the doubt when involved in future cheats and we will only use unflattering photos of him, where required.

Because of their prior history of significant rule bending (SuckForLuckgate, PEDSgate, Noisegate, etc.) and the fundamental attack on the integrity of the game that this ball deflation infraction represents, and mostly for their very real and very illegal sideline tampering with active game balls, the Colts organization is assessed a modest CheatPoint penalty.

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AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!Goalie for the Dart Team!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 1.0

Noisegate (2014) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: "We'll have to work on the crowd noise," Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said, according to The Baltimore Sun. "We had a loud stadium in Cleveland, and it's only going to be louder in Indianapolis because it's indoors. And rumor has it they pipe crowd noise in there, so we'll see if that's the case or not going back there again."

VICTIM: Baltimore Ravens

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: It's unclear if Harbaugh was referring to old noise-pumping allegations or if he is referencing an ongoing suspicion that the Colts, like the Falcons and other domed teams, pump in artificial crowd noise to disrupt opponents and give their team an unfair, game-long advantage.

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AWARDS EARNED: Repeat The Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

Framegate (2015) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: After intercepting a Tom Brady pass in the 2015 AFC Championship game and taking the ball to their sideline, the Colts allegedly deflated it before submitting it to the league in an attempt to implicate the Patriots in a systematic ball deflation scandal. (see Deflategate)

VICTIM: New England Patriots

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: The league chose not to address this with the 107-day long Wells/NFL investigation. Apparently they ran out of time, just like they did when they only had time to test 4 out of 12 Colts footballs at halftime of the 2015 AFC Championship Game. BTW, 3 out of those 4 balls were found to be deflated to an illegal level on at least one official's gauge, both at halftime and at the end of the game.

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AWARDS EARNED: Cojones Ferreas!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

Spygate (2002-2008) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The Indianapolis Colts

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: On February 8, 2017, Hall of Fame cornerback and NFL Network commentator Deion Sanders said that the Indianapolis Colts stole their competitors defensive signals for years.

Responding to former San Diego Chargers runningback LaDanian Tomlinson's claim that some critics will put an asterisk next to the Patriots' success because of Spygate, Sanders said:

“Those same critics, did they say anything about the wins that the Indianapolis Colts had? You want to talk about that too? Because they were getting everybody’s signals,” Sanders said. “Come on, you don’t walk up to the line and look over here and the man on the sideline giving you the defense that they’ve stolen the plays of. We all knew. L.T. knew. Everybody in the NFL knew. We just didn’t let the fans know. That was real and that was happening in Indy.”

Former Colts head coach Tony Dungy responded to Sander's charge saying:

"I think we have to go back to what is cheating. People accusing us of cheating? I don't think that's the case. Stealing signals? You can go back to the 1800s in baseball, you can go anywhere there were signals done, and people were looking and watching and trying to get signals."

Dungy continued:

"So that is football. And I'm not sure what Deion is referring to, really. ... That's all part of the game, but doing it legally and illegally, that's the difference. I hope Deion is not saying we did something illegally. Of course we got signals when we had an opportunity to do that, and so did Deion."

In response to NFL fans' proclivity to freely lob "spying" accusations at teams, former Colts middle linebacker Gary Brackett noted that the Patriots deserve credit for the success that they have had:

"People want to say the Patriots are so good, but they cheat. No, they're really good. I don't necessarily like them, but I respect the hell out of New England's greatness. We've witnessed greatness. They had the issues before, but you can't deny they've gone out and dominated for well over a decade."

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: Stealing defensive signals is still not against NFL rules and it is a pervasive tactic throughout the NFL. Recording them from the wrong location, however, is prohibited.

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AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

 

Leaguewide Cheats:

Tampergate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Tampering with free agents is rampant, it's laughable and it is against the rules (PDF). It's so bad across every team in the league that the NFL had to create a three-day legal tampering period. However, tampering still regularly occurs long before that annual three-day window opens. On March 9, 2015 the league once again felt compelled to warn all 32 teams about not tampering.

Why is tampering considered a problem? Because tampering with players still under contract makes it difficult for clubs to re-sign their own talent. It also puts those few teams that actually follow NFL guidelines at a distinct disadvantage. In many cases, contract agreements are in place days before any negotiations are allowed to begin.

This isn't fair, it isn't legal, and it is blatant cheating by the teams who engage in the practice.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but...

PUNISHMENT: NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Roger Goodell is doing all he can to curtail and punish the "commonplace" practice, although it admits that there is so much tampering that it is hard to police it all.

The CheatPoints earned for this leaguewide cheat is for all of this team's tampering incidents that have gone undiscovered or unproven. If specific instances are discovered, they are punished on top of this leaguewide penalty.

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AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

Headsetgate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: it's a common complaint around the NFL. In late, close games, the helmet communicators of visiting teams suddenly "malfunction" and stop working. It has been accepted as standard practice in the league. Are you on the road and the game is close? Then you are going to have problems with your headset.

In recent years, the Patriots have accused the Colts of doing it and the Jaguars have made the same charge of the Patriots. The Redskins accused the Buccaneers of disabling their headsets, and Tampa Bay accused Dallas. The Giants openly bragged about doing it way back in 1956. The charges go on and on and on.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

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CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

Spygate (until 2006) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Stealing your opponent's signals has always been common and never been illegal.

Said former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, "We had people that always tried to steal signals. Stealing someone's signals was a part of the game, and everyone attempted to do that." Admitted former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson: "When I came into the NFL, back in 1989, I talked to a Kansas City scout and he said, 'Here's what we do, we videotape the opposing team's signals and then we sync it up with the game film.' So I did it." Bragged, former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan: "Our guy keeps a pair of binoculars on their signal-callers every game, with any luck, we have their defensive signals figured out by halftime. Sometimes, by the end of the first quarter."

NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Rodger Goodell confirmed this himself in 2008, saying that the issue was not stealing signals, that is allowed "and it is done quite widely." The issue is where and how you record them. If you chose to videotape them, then (after 2006) you have to do that from a league approved location. If you hire lip readers, they can do it from your coaches lap, if you want.

After 2006, examples of allowed videotaping locations are: the luxury boxes, media booths and other enclosed spaces. Expressly prohibited locations are the sidelines, the field, locker rooms, the coaches booth or any other place accessible to team coaches and staff. The point of the rule is to not allow the footage to be useful in the current game.

Prior to the September 6, 2006 memo and, 2007 follow up, from NFL head of football operations Ray Anderson, there was no league restriction on filming location, which is the reason the memo was sent.

Many NFL head coaches have downplayed the significance of the practice, saying that attempting to decipher opponent's signals was a long standing practice and entirely common throughout the league.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Rodger Goodell suggested that the responsibility was on teams to conceal their messages, not on the ones trying to steal them. During his news conference before the 2007 Super Bowl he said that any coach who did not expect signals to be stolen was "stupid."

Prior to 2006, every NFL team is assumed to have done it, but none of them broke a rule. You can't punish something that is not prohibited. Filming from the sidelines was not prohibited until 2006 and filming your opponent's signals from approved locations has never been prohibited, even today.

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AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

Scrapsgate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Sign an opponent's recently-cut player to your practice squad to get intel on their plays, signals and tactics. This is not illegal and is a leaguewide practice.

Said one player, who chose to remain anonymous as he was still in the league as of 2015, "If teams have an opening at a certain position, they might not be looking for perhaps the best player to fill it on their practice squad. Instead, they might go for someone who has access to the opposing team’s playbook."

“Let’s say we’re playing the Jaguars in seven days and you want to know more about their playbook. From time to time teams will sign people off of practice squads. You don’t have to put them on active roster so if there’s a need for more depth at linebacker and you’re playing Jacksonville, there would be more of a chance to sign a linebacker off the team you’re about to play’s practice squad and hoping that the person you’re about to sign will divulge information about the playbook.”

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: Not illegal.

SHARE:

AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

awardEARNED: "Avoid Media Scrutiny!"

CRITERIA: Successfully attract less than 5% of the typical Patriots "cheating" scandal coverage!
EARNED FOR:Snowgate (2017)  Peytongate (2011)  Noisegate (2007) 

awardEARNED: "Champs of the Cheat!"

CRITERIA: Show, through consistency or creative flourish, that your team is the best at a particular type of cheat!
EARNED FOR:Noisegate (2005) 

awardEARNED: "Cojones Ferreas!"

CRITERIA: Construct a cheat of the boldest variety, demonstrating your complete disregard for the rules and consequences for smashing them with your beefy man-parts!
EARNED FOR:Framegate (2015) 

awardEARNED: "Everyone Was Doing It!"

CRITERIA: Successfully "cheat" in a way that many other teams have (bonus points for not getting caught)!
EARNED FOR:Tampergate (ongoing)  Spygate (2002-2008)  Scrapsgate (ongoing)  PEDSgate (7x since 2012)  Deflategate (2015)  Spygate (until 2006) 

awardEARNED: "Goalie for the Dart Team!"

CRITERIA: Execute a cheat that requires significant anti-intellect to attempt, let alone thinking you'll get away with it!
EARNED FOR:Injurygate (2015)  Deflategate (2015) 

awardEARNED: "Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!"

CRITERIA: Call out another team for cheating while actively cheating yourself (bonus points for calling out another team's cheating while executing the same cheat yourself)!
EARNED FOR:Deflategate (2015)  Injurygate (2015) 

awardEARNED: "Repeat The Cheat!"

CRITERIA: Successfully repeat the same cheat multiple times!
EARNED FOR:Noisegate (2014)  Noisegate (2005)  Noisegate (2007)  PEDSgate (7x since 2012) 

awardEARNED: "Schoolyard Cheating!"

CRITERIA: Complete a cheat in the NFL that you could just as likely see on a schoolyard playground!
EARNED FOR:SuckForLuckgate (2011) 

awardEARNED: "Serious Infraction!"

CRITERIA: Successfully execute a 4 or 5 severity cheating scandal!
EARNED FOR:SuckForLuckgate (2011)  HearingAidgate (1998) 

Is there an Indianapolis Colts cheating scandal that I'm missing? Do I have a fact wrong? A broken link? Email me with your comment and supporting link and I'll fix or add it.

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