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Did Tom Brady know?

Tom Brady: Tainted legacy?

I have always sung Tom Brady's praises. I have lost a little respect for him this past season when he blatantly worked to break Peyton Manning's single season TD record, and failed (Manning threw 49 in 15 games, Brady threw 50 in 16). Be that as it may, before this whole video taping thing came about, I considered Brady one of the top 5 QBs all time. I've always considered Peyton Manning better because he has done more with less. Brady won Super Bowls when he had a dominant defense and the best kicker in NFL history. Meanwhile, with crappy defenses and Mike Vanderjagt, Peyton was leading his team to playoff wins. But that doesn't demean of belittle Brady.

However, in light of the new information stating Bill Belichick has been taping opponents signals since 2000, it calls into question Tom Brady's accomplishments and his legacy. Brady and Belichick are inseparable, there is no debating that. The two were nothing prior to their union. Belichick was a has been coach who couldn't win in Cleveland, and Brady was sharing snaps with Drew Henson at Michigan. Obviously, if Belichick is gathering information on an opponent's signals, the person who benefits the most from it is Brady.

Senator Arlen Specter, the man investigating Belichick's and Goodell's actions during this scandal, has openly suggested that Brady received information in-game as a result of taping the opponent, and used that information to win football games.

"The Commissioner [Goodell] sought to downplay the issue about the utility, but from information we've received, there was opportunity for the signal to be transmitted to the quarterbacks [Brady] so they could utilize these signals that they taped in violation of NFL rules."
This suggestion coupled with the recent off-the-record revelations provided by former Patriots back-up QB Doug Flutie paints a dark, dangerous portrait of Brady and Belichick's relationship.

Let's be clear about something, many people thought this meeting between Goodell and Specter would lead to nothing. Obviously, they were dead wrong. We know Goodell has been hiding vital information from the fans about Belichick's legacy of cheating. Just because this story is running alongside the Roger Clemens foot-in-mouth story does not mean fans are going to ignore or forget it. If Specter's suggestions become truth, and Flutie's suggestions made reality, then Brady could very well got the route of Pacman Jones and Michael Vick.

Knowingly taking information obtained through illegal means and using it to win football games is not different than injecting steroids into your body to give you a competitive advantage of an opponent. Each offense warrants a suspension. If Brady did this multiple times, he could be looking at a long suspension, and a tainted legacy.