Patriots Taping Advantage?

I will start this off by saying that I am a Patriots fan, but will try to be unbiased in selecting poll resposes.  But after reading all these blogs and articles, I am really just curious as to the broad range of feeling by sports fans,  Please vote in the poll below (I will abstain from voting to be independent) :)

Question is - how did Patriots taping of opponents really affect their record?

"Question is - how did Patriots taping of opponents really affect their record?"

Herein lies the problem.  No one knows for sure how much this helped them.  That's why the "jealous haters," as the beer-goggled nepk0414, described 'us,' are justified in assigning tarnish to the Patriots' legacy. 

Serious doubt = tarnish.  It's not that complicated. 

Also, neppie, wasn't the Giants' D-line the ones doing the bludgeoning (of the Patriots offensive line and Brady)?  Say, do you think Belicheck got some good camera angles of that game? 

To me it only really effects the opponents they taped, the problem is, nobody actually knows how many that is. We only know how many they got caught with evidence of. It definitley damages the legacy of a team that has done amazing things in the salary cap era, and thats a shame because I dont think they needed the extra help. You can debate all day long how much help they got from the taping, and the fact is nobody can really say for sure, but I know that if I was lining up and the Pats knew the play I was calling before it was executed I would be upset. In the end the Pats will still be considered a dynasty but I would bet the farm that they wont be put on the same pedestal as the Steelers, Cowboys, Niners etc.. simply because the seeds of doubt have been sown by their coach's lack of ethics, and that is really sucks for football and its fans weather they be Pats fans or like me a Niners fan who appreciated what they had accomplished.

It is ironic that when the Patriots first started winning, almost everybody hailed them as a Classy Organization. Now, you'd have to say that they are the most classless organization in the NFL. Roger Goodell is doing nothing but protecting the NFL's interest by trying to sweep this under the rug. Who knows how the Patriots used the tapes to gain an advantage? Obviously, they knew what plays were coming. I'd say that's pretty huge. The new model for success in the NFL:

1) Win by Cheating with average to above average talent in 2002

2) Make it look like you're a classy organization while not getting caught

3) After you've attained this "superior organization" status, you can attract free agents because they want the chance to win a Super Bowl

4) After you get caught, tell only half -truths about the matter so that the self-protecting commissioner will give you a slap on the wrist and hope the whole matter disappears.

Don't get me wrong, the Patriots are a great team, and Tom Brady will go down as one of the greatest QB's in NFL history. It's just a shame that they chose to knowingly cheat to gain a further competitive advantage. If they had skipped the taping, they still would have had planty of success. I agree though that their accomplishments are now tainted.

Here is the problem for Patriots fans in defending Belicheat.  You have to come to one of two conclusions:

1.