FALCON POINTS
Sports - and life - are full of cheaters. It's time we accepted that
Jul 9, 2020, 8:22 am
FALCON POINTS
You might have heard a phrase growing up: Cheaters never win.
That was hammered to us as children. Cheating is bad. But as you get older, you come to a more cynical understanding: Cheaters win. A lot.
The latest Patriots punishment went largely unnoticed because of the signing of Cam Newton. The most successful franchise in recent American sports history has a long track record of breaking rules and getting punished.
There will likely be tons of cheating talk as baseball restarts because the social media warriors did not get the satisfaction of the Astros heads on a platter and will not let go anytime soon. And that's OK. They cheated. They got caught. They got off light.
But that is the history of sports.
Baseball's greatest era was fueled by performance enhancing drugs. Football teams have long tried to get as much information on opponents as possible. Basketball players flop to try and get fouls called.
And yes, sign stealing is as old as baseball itself.
How many times have you played golf with someone who moved a ball? Shaved a stroke? How many times have you been pencil-whipped in a scramble?
The truth is cheating happens. Sometimes it is lauded as just being more clever than everyone else. Remember when the Astros figured out a pitcher tipping his pitches in the playoffs? That was smart. But using technology to steal signs? EVIL!
That's not to excuse any of this behavior. But players are always looking for an edge. It has been something we have admired in sports for decades. Roger Clemens was lauded for his off the charts workouts. Then when it is suspected steroids were involved, well, he is evil and a cheater. Forget the fact that there was no real proof, or that many supplements were legal at the time. Mark McGwire used Andro when it was legal. It was later banned. Creatine. HGH. And there are new supplements out there that aren't illegal yet. So how do we judge these people?
The best players are more driven than everyone else. The best coaches are smarter. That means looking for every edge and sometimes crossing the line.
So what is the answer? Is Bill Belichick the greatest coach ever or the biggest cheater? Why can't the answer be both?
Truth is, this is how sports works. A "friend" of mine found this out at the age of 8.
He was playing pee wee football with a chance to win a state title. The other team had a terrific running back. His coaches told his team before the game exactly where and when the running back would get the ball, so they would be prepared. It worked perfectly, and he won a state title. Come to find out later one of the coaches had watched every practice that week from a nearby building using binoculars. Getting an edge? Or cheating? It's hard to know where the line is.
And that's why we collectively yawned when the Patriots got caught again. They just keep pushing the boundaries. But that is what the best do - look for every edge.
We celebrate greatness, then look for ways to tear it down. "Integrity of the game" is one of the most overused phrases in sports. Most games have little integrity.
The biggest debates and outcries have come over silly things like trash cans and deflated balls. Did they change the outcome of the game? Because that is the real question in any scandal. As sports betting becomes more mainstream, expect these issues to come up over and over again.
It's nothing new. George Brett's pine tar. Marty McSorley's hockey stick. Mike Scott's scuffed balls. Billy Hatcher's corked bat. Ben Johnson's steroids.
Horse racing has doping scandals almost daily. We all shrug. Fixed fights? That's the game.
The point is there is gamesmanship and there is gaming the system. And then there is outright cheating. And maybe the lines have simply become too blurred. Maybe the best in their sports find ways to get across that line without getting caught, and that brings everything into question. Is Belichick really smarter than everyone else? Is Brent Strom some sick genius who helps pitchers be their best or is there something else at play?
There's another phrase that seems to fit the sports world of today. "If you ain't cheating' you ain't tryin."
That's always been the case. Have you never played tennis with someone who calls all your close shots out? Have you not joked about Joe's "foot wedge" in golf? Ancient Astronaut theorists suggest that Babe Ruth's beer was spiked with a magic potion.
It's always been there. Now with social media we get to endlessly debate it. We build up accomplishments only so we can tear that person down. What we should never forget, however, is that cheaters do win. It's hard to be the best without gaining an edge.
That does not excuse cheating. But let's stop pretending it doesn't go on every day in every sport in some way. And it won't be going away anytime soon, because "winners never quit."
C.J. Stroud threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns, capped by a 1-yard pass to Dare Ogunbowale with 18 seconds left, to give the Houston Texans a 24-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Houston forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with less than three minutes to go.
Stroud then led a nine-play, 69-yard drive to give the Texans (3-1) their first points of the second half and survive a scare by the winless Jaguars (0-4).
The Texans bounced back from a 34-7 rout at Minnesota to get the victory despite fumbling a punt return early and committing 12 penalties to give them 35 combined in their past three games.
Nico Collins helped Houston to the win with 12 receptions for 151 yards and a TD for his third 100-yard game this season.
Trevor Lawrence threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns as his streak of consecutive starts without a win stretched to nine games.
The Jaguars fell to 0-4 for the first time since opening the 2021 season with five straight losses.
After getting blown out by the Bills on Monday, they had plenty of chances in this one. They led through much of the second half after a touchdown reception by Christian Kirk with about six minutes left in the third.
They had a chance to pad the lead after that when a 58-yard run by Tank Bigsby got them to the Houston 4. Two runs by Bigsby moved them to the 2 before an incomplete pass by Lawrence.
Jacksonville went for it, but Lawrence was stopped for no gain on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Ogunbowale grabbed a short pass and evaded three defenders for a 31-yard gain on third-and-18 on Houston’s next drive.
But the Texans couldn’t do anything after that. They had a run for no gain, a holding penalty on left tackle Laremy Tunsil and an incomplete pass before Stroud was sacked to force a punt.
Derek Stingley knocked down Lawrence’s pass to force a punt with about six minutes left.
The Texans couldn’t get anything going on their next drive that ended with a holding penalty on Tunsil followed by two incomplete passes.
Kirk put the Jaguars up 20-17 with an 8-yard TD grab with about six minutes left in the third quarter. Brian Thomas powered that drive with a 32-yard reception and a 13-yard run.
The Texans forced a punt on Jacksonville’s opening drive, but Steven Sims fumbled it, and it was recovered by Daniel Thomas at the 2. Lawrence connected with Brian Thomas Jr. on the next play to give the Jaguars an early lead.
Houston tied it when Stefon Diggs scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 6-yard run with about 7½ minutes left in the opening quarter.
The Jaguars were up 10-7 after a field goal before a 3-yard touchdown reception by Collins put Houston on top 14-10.
Jacksonville added a 52-yard field goal with about four minutes left in the second quarter to cut the lead to 14-13.
The Texans led 17-13 at halftime after a 30-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn with 3 seconds left in the second quarter.
Be sure to watch the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap reacts live to the win!
Jaguars: DE Josh Hines-Allen left the game in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion.
Texans: RBs Joe Mixon (ankle) and Dameon Pierce (hamstring) sat out with injuries. … Tank Dell missed the game with hand and rib injuries.
Jaguars: Host the Colts next Sunday.
Texans: Host the Bills next Sunday.