1. If you hadn’t heard, the New York Giants are under investigation for violating the integrity of the game by using illegal technology to broadcast information from the sideline to their quarterback.
Of course I’m talking about the horribly named “WalkieTalkieGate”. The Giants used a walkie talkie to communicate to Eli Manning after their headsets went down. Instead of reporting the problem to the league and forcing their opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, to stop using the headsets, the Giants bypassed the league and just started using the walkie talkies.
The Giants had an unfair advantage because teams are not allowed to communicate electronically to the field with less than 15 seconds on the play clock. What if the sideline was relaying information about the Cowboys’ defensive alignments to Manning up until the snap?
There probably won’t be a legitimate investigation. ProFootballTalk reports that the league is only planning on fining the Giants. This is all dumb. So, so, very dumb.
2. The Giants were also involved in reporting the Pittsburgh Steelers for using underinflated footballs. The league has decided to end any discussion about the Steelers violating rules before it could begin. It’s funny how the league was able to clear the “misinformation” around the Steelers footballs in two seconds, but they were unwilling to fix the false information about the Patriots that the league perpetuated.
The Giants and the Steelers are two of the oldest franchises in the league and are clearly the favorites of the NFL headquarters. It’s just interesting how the league is handling clear violations of integrity, and the same problem of Ideal Gas Law, in a much different fashion than how they handled the Patriots.
3. The Patriots claimed WR Michael Floyd off waivers and it’s clear that the team wants the inside lane of signing Floyd to a one-year prove it deal in 2017. Floyd has a lot of talent in a 6’3, 220 pound frame, with a sub-4.5 second 40 yard dash, but he’s had a history of alcohol problems, including a prior DUI and an alcohol-influenced fight. The Patriots need to make sure they’re taking care of Floyd as a person, first, before checking him out as a player.
Floyd is one year younger than Chris Hogan and would probably be a top five wide receiver in 2017 free agency, behind Alshon Jeffery and Terrelle Pryor, and alongside Kenny Britt, Robert Woods, and Terrance Williams.
4. Former Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe owns the Doubleback winery, while former Dolphins QB Dan Marino and former Patriots and Dolphins QB Damon Huard are co-owners of the Passing Time winery. Both have graciously agreed to host a blind taste-test competition with their 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Has anyone had either wine before? I’m pretty excited to try them out since both are very well received. We’re going to have more information about this in coming weeks, with the results of the test to come out during Patriots-Dolphins week.