Dave’s Football Blog

It pleases me to no end to see a smug bastard like Bill Belichick get caught violating NFL rules by videotaping his opponents’ defensive signals. The whole thing has brought into question whether Belichick is the coaching genius everyone claims he is, or whether his genius is in using technology to create a wiretapping ring so complex that AT&T wants to hire him as a consultant for this little NSA project of theirs.

The big question now is how the New England Patriots should be penalized, especially since they’re repeat offenders. Over at the Sporting News, Mike DeCourcy looked to Association Football for a potential solution. He thinks the Pats should be “docked points.”

When several top clubs in Italy’s Serie A were charged with arranging to have “favorable” referees assigned to their matches in 2006, they were slapped with points deductions for the 2006-07 season. In soccer, teams receive three points for victories and one for draws. Compiling points is how teams build toward league championships. So Fiorentina, which received a 15-point deduction, had to win five Serie A games last season merely to dig its way out of that hole and reach the point where most league teams opened the year.

The NFL doesn’t use points in its standings. There are so few ties, it really isn’t necessary. But that doesn’t mean the league could not use a similar punishment for the Patriots.

DeCourcy likes this idea better than a straight forfeit, because it punishes clubs without rewarding teams that lost on the field. He also recommends that the Pats be docked three wins from their final tally.

I think I like this idea. If Leeds United can get docked 15 points for financial irregularities, certainly the Pats can get docked a few wins for violating league rules. I hope Roger Goodell considers that a possibility. Maybe the NFL could create a points system in the future for determining standings, just so they can use this type of punishment in the future. It works in most other forms of football. Why not the NFL, too?

Of course, the question then becomes whether the Steelers can be docked points for creating Steely McBeam…

(Spotted on Goal.)