Shula suggests asterisk if Patriots go undefeated

[BRM]

Per ESPN

Shula: Spygate would diminish a perfect Pats season

Don Shula likes the Patriots' chances of going undefeated, but the Bill Belichick-inspired spying scandal has clouded Shula's thinking when comparing New England with his unbeaten 1972 Dolphins team.

"The Spygate thing has diminished what they've accomplished," Shula said in an interview with the New York Daily News. "You would hate to have that attached to your accomplishments. They've got it."

Belichick was fined $500,000 and the Patriots were fined $250,000 and lost a first-round draft pick for videotaping the Jets' opposing sideline during the teams' season-opening game.

"That tells you the seriousness or significance of what they found," Shula said, according to the Daily News. "I guess you got the same thing as putting an asterisk by Barry Bonds' home run record.

"I guess it will be noted that the Patriots were fined and a No. 1 draft choice was taken away during that year of accomplishment. The sad thing is Tom Brady looks so good, it doesn't look like he needs any help."

The way the Patriots have been playing, Shula and the '72 Dolphins might find themselves answering more questions than in past years about whether their record will stand. New England improved to 9-0 on Sunday by beating the previously unbeaten Colts (7-1) in Indianapolis.

There have been serious runs made at the Dolphins' record before. The 1985 Bears started 12-0, then lost on a Monday night to a Dolphins team coached by Shula. The 1991 Redskins started 11-0 and the 1998 Broncos and 2005 Colts opened 13-0 before losing. Although members of the '72 Dolphins have become known for sipping champagne after the last unbeaten team falls by the wayside each season, Shula says stories of that annual celebration "have been blown out of proportion."

"You guys put forth the myth that we are pathetic losers down here clicking champagne glasses and clinging desperately to a record set 35 years ago," former Dolphins tight end Jim Mandich told the Daily News. "Somehow we've been portrayed as being evil. We don't ever blow our own horn. It's a great record, but the record doesn't get beaten.

"The Patriots have assembled a powerhouse of a team. They are a classy bunch of guys and play ball the right way. If they want to join the unbeaten club, come on aboard."

[BuckeyeRed27]

Great idea. Let's put an asterisk next to everything. Clearly they are beating teams by 24 points a game because they might have gained some advantage tapping first half plays against a team the Bengals beat.

[MaineRed]

Belichick was fined $500,000 and the Patriots were fined $250,000 and lost a first-round draft pick for videotaping the Jets' opposing sideline during the teams' season-opening game.

"That tells you the seriousness or significance of what they found," Shula said, according to the Daily News.

I have to admit to being quite curious what folks here think of the above comment from Shula. When the incident happened a good number of people here called the penalty a slap on the wrist.

Shula clearly implies that the penalty was quite harsh. Guess he must actually be a Patriots fan. Afterall only a New England fan would consider it a severe punishment.

[MWM]

Sour grapes from the coach of the team that is at risk of no longer being the only undefeated team in history. The sad thing is, outside of Miami, few people over considered that the best team.

[Chip R]

I think Shula is full of it here. And I'm speaking as a Dolphins fan who is a great admirer of his. I'd rather not see any team go undefeated but if it happens, it happens.

I do think he has a point when he says it is going to be diminished in some people's minds because of the cheating but people are going to feel like that no matter what.

[GoReds33]

I am more intrested in the comments made by somebody on NFL Live on ESPN today. I don't know the guys name, but he suggested that they have heard some strange stuff on their headphones during the games. He suggested that cheating may be more widespread.

[paintmered]

Sounds like he is more interested in keeping his place in history as the last coach to go undefeated than seeking justice.

[KronoRed]

Hmm, gotta love that bitterness.

[Blimpie]

Just two things:

1) Barry Bonds has already mandated that there should be no asterisks in sports, so it should be a non-story

2) I despise all people who simply put the word "-gate" on the end of a word to convey something that is clearly not that important in the day to day operations of the world.

[Blimpie]

Hmm, gotta love that bitterness.

I'll never forget when I was living in Florida during the 1985 Chicago Bears run at perfection.

In the days leading up to (still undefeated) Chicago's trip in to the Orange Bowl (on MNF if I am not mistaken), all of the old, decrepit, 1972 Dolphins were EVERYWHERE on television that week.

It was almost like a pep rally to see if they could inspire the 1985 Dolphin fans to overcome the Bears juggernaut--just so that they could continue this sad trip down amnesia lane.

I will never forget those dudes all popping champagne corks on the sidelines as though they had suited up for a quarter or two. Complete tools, the whole lot of them.

[GAC]

Sour grapes from the coach of the team that is at risk of no longer being the only undefeated team in history. The sad thing is, outside of Miami, few people over considered that the best team.

I agree.

Maybe he's concerned because his current alma mater could go winless.

[RedFanAlways1966]

"The Spygate thing has diminished what they've accomplished," Shula said in an interview with the New York Daily News. "You would hate to have that attached to your accomplishments. They've got it."

I am not a Dolphins fan or a member of the Don Shula fan club. But what he says is true. The Pats, after being warned about it prior to the big bust, got punished for filming the other teams signals. Some will dismiss it as no big deal and others will bring it up when discussing this great team. BUT, as Shula says... it is there.

I do not think Shula is dissing them. He is pointing out a fact. Fans talk about it (the spying thing) and the media talks about it (the spying thing). If it was today's Miami Dolphins or the St. Louis Rams, then no one would talk much about it. But when it is a great team with a legit shot at an undefeated record, then it gets talked about. Shula evens says that it does not seem that they need any help. But unfortunately someone in the organization decided to ignore the warning and now "it" will be mentioned by some when discussing perhaps one of the NFL's best teams in the history of the league.

Right or wrong for it being brought up when this great team is mentioned? It happened and they were wrong for doing it. Did it win games? Probably not. But they (not the talented players) did it and unfortunately have it attached to their great team by many.

[RedsBaron]

Sour grapes from the coach of the team that is at risk of no longer being the only undefeated team in history. The sad thing is, outside of Miami, few people over considered that the best team.

I don't regard Miami's undefeated 1972 team as even being the greatest NFL team on the 1970s, let alone the greatest team ever. If it was possible to match up the 1972 Dolphins against the 1975 or 1978 Steelers, I would bet on Pittsburgh, and I hated those Steelers teams.

[sonny]

I would put an asterik next to Shula's 35 pounds lost on the Nutrasystem, since it wasn't earned with excersise.

[blumj]

I am not a Dolphins fan or a member of the Don Shula fan club. But what he says is true. The Pats, after being warned about it prior to the big bust, got punished for filming the other teams signals. Some will dismiss it as no big deal and others will bring it up when discussing this great team. BUT, as Shula says... it is there.

I do not think Shula is dissing them. He is pointing out a fact. Fans talk about it (the spying thing) and the media talks about it (the spying thing). If it was today's Miami Dolphins or the St. Louis Rams, then no one would talk much about it. But when it is a great team with a legit shot at an undefeated record, then it gets talked about. Shula evens says that it does not seem that they need any help. But unfortunately someone in the organization decided to ignore the warning and now "it" will be mentioned by some when discussing perhaps one of the NFL's best teams in the history of the league.

Right or wrong for it being brought up when this great team is mentioned? It happened and they were wrong for doing it. Did it win games? Probably not. But they (not the talented players) did it and unfortunately have it attached to their great team by many.

I'm not saying it shouldn't be brought up, but it's difficult to see the logic of putting an asterisk on their accomplishments that occurred AFTER they got caught, unless you make the assumption that they're still getting away with doing it after being caught and punished for it and presumably being more heavily scrutinized than they had been before and likely more closely watched than anyone else. Because they got caught in the first quarter of the first game of the season in question and never even had possession of the videotape they got caught filming. It makes more sense to question the Pats accomplishments from before they got caught. You can easily make the leap that they'd been filming other teams' defensive signals for years, it's difficult to imagine that they've continued doing it since that Jets game.