TMQ expects L’affaire Belicheat to get worse:
Will Belichick even be in coaching by season’s end? When the Vick dogfighting scandal first broke, most football pundits, and most in the Atlanta and league offices, thought there would be few repercussions. Then they thought Vick would have to make some kind of apology. Then they thought he’d need some leave of absence. Then they thought he’d be suspended for a year. Now they wonder whether he’ll ever be allowed to play again. By acting Nixonian, Belichick is accelerating his fall from grace. Today, Belichick and New England are trying to pretend the scandal is over. It would not surprise me in the slightest if, before the season ends, Belichick resigns, or is suspended, or is fired by Kraft, or even is permanently barred from the league. Belichick’s head might be necessary to preserve the integrity of the game.
This seems like a far and overreactive cry, but TMQ has proven savvy on these things before, so I wouldn’t dismiss the possibility out of hand. I’m quite sure that there will be more to come, and it’s clear that Belichick’s initial reaction has been a foolish and short-sighted one.
Now that he’s decided upon a Nixonian “misinterpretation” gambit, he’s rendered himself vulnerable if more explicit violations eventually come to light, which would also make it clear to all and sundry that he’s a liar as well as a cheat. Of course, it’s entirely possible that this is all there is, but Belichick’s attempt to move on past the scandal makes that possibility look unlikely.
I think more will come out, but nothing too terribly awful, and result in the multi-game suspension that Goodell probably should have initially inflicted.