Patriots Allegedly Used Brandon LaFell As Decoy, Plus 5 Other 'Cheating' Scandals From Week 7
By Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff)
This article is a fictional account of how the league would handle the Patriots if they listened to salty fans. But you can take it seriously if you like. I won't tell you what to do.
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots have long been notorious around the NFL for bastardizing the integrity of the game with rampant rule violations, deceitful interpretations of the rulebook, and unfair on-field tactics that make the rest of the league look bad.
Sunday's 30-23 win over the Jets brought just the latest scandal to rock the once-proud franchise: according to multiple sources within the league, the NFL is investigating the Patriots for activating wide receiver Brandon LaFell for the game. LaFell looked rusty, dropping 6 passes from Tom Brady and essentially acting as a decoy in the offense, which opened up the field for Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, and Danny Amendola.
After fans flooded the NFL with complaints about the Patriots' blatant decoy scheme with LaFell, who Brady sold as a legitimate option with 8 targets and even completing two passes. LaFell's lack of playing time entering the game left the Jets with no game film to study and little material to help them prepare for him on defense.
Several fans took to Twitter to expose the damning evidence that New England was once again making a mockery of the NFL rulebook.
Others pointed to Bill Belichick saying before the game that he hoped LaFell would get "a few snaps" and the receiver grading himself an "F" after the game as clear deception, attempts to downplay what many are saying was "overt disrespect of the rules" in putting LaFell on the field Sunday.
With LaFell often drawing coverage from Darrelle Revis or Antonio Cromartie, the field opened up opportunities for the Patriots' other receivers - particularly Danny Amendola, who finished with 8 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. After strong backlash from frustrated fans outside of New England, the league may be forced to investigate whether this gave the Patriots an unfair advantage.
Fans around the league are also calling for a league investigation into the fairness of the Patriots having Rob Gronkowski, who overcame tight defensive coverage by the Jets with 11 catches, a career-high for a single game, 108 yards and a back-breaking touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
How else did the Patriots "cheat" on Sunday? Here's how the haters might react to these things...
The Patriots may have jammed the Jets' headsets, forcing them into the "Leave Gronk wide open" defense.
Gronkowski either didn't get the memo about the new rule that he needs to go down as soon as someone grabs him, or showed a blatant disregard for the rulebook on this play.
The league may investigate Danny Amendola's cleats for evidence of springs or any other jump-enhancing supplements. Referees checked Amendola's gloves for stickum during the game and cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Brady reportedly refused to run the ball with anyone other than himself, insisting on throwing the ball at least 50 times and leaving the Jets with little chance of slowing the Patriots offense down. The league is investigating whether Brady's leaping touchdown violated any obscure rules.
The league may investigate the Patriots having Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower on the field at the same time, which may be a violation of NFL rules regarding use of players drafted in 2012.
BONUS: As Michael Hurley noted in his Patriots Leftover Thoughts, there were a suspicious amount of boom mikes hanging over Todd Bowles' head on the sideline...
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
