Pete Thamel wrote an SI article 9 yrs ago (Sep 29, 2014) titled “Inside Read: High stakes of stealing signals” — Lots of interesting coaching names come up, they all said it’s part of the game, and we get a curious little quote from Gerry DiNardo

Submitted by The Harbaughnger on November 6th, 2023 at 1:49 AM

These article links prevent Thamel & co. from getting clicks:

Re: Gerry DiNardo, his quote was “video tapping signalers is where he drew the line”… Could he have played any part in recording Michigan’s practice when he was in Ann Arbor in 2022 with BTN crew? If the specific practice that was leaked was from the week that he & the BTN were there…then I think that’s one thread that deserves to be pulled on, especially considering the recent rumors about the B1G:

 

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J. Redux

November 6th, 2023 at 2:11 AM ^

1 - I doubt Pete Thamel cares about clicks from a former employer for a decade-old story
2 - Not wanting to give him clicks means ignoring his content, not stealing it.
3 - Why would you extrapolate from a guy saying that he did not approve of videotaping signals that he would risk losing his job and becoming unemployable in the media -- and probably in coaching ranks also -- by videotaping signals?

The media get behind-the-scenes access on the very explicit condition that they do not share anything that the coach doesn't want shared.

Joined: 10/15/2020

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The Harbaughnger

November 6th, 2023 at 2:29 AM ^

1. Did it for those here who care- I don’t care what Thamel cares about

2. Didn’t steal, clear attribution made all over the post and comments

3. Idk, people do stupid shit all the time. Potentially consider becoming a tad more skeptical / cynical about how honorable the media is with their super ironclad promises to coaches…

 

Joined: 08/27/2010

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J. Redux

November 6th, 2023 at 2:17 AM ^

Oh, BTW -- 13 years on the site, and you haven't figured out that it's trivially easy to see if somebody's upvoted their own posts / comments?

Truly an impressive effort all around.

Joined: 10/15/2020

MGoPoints: 21487

TIMMMAAY

November 6th, 2023 at 8:15 AM ^

13 years, and you don't know it's a faux pas to upvote yourself? I don't believe you. Never once, in 15 years have I upvoted my own comment or post. 

Also, in no universe would Dinardo risk his cushy position, and reputation, such as it is, to record Michigan practice while there in his professional capacity. No way, no how. 

Joined: 09/08/2008

MGoPoints: 56287

The Harbaughnger

November 6th, 2023 at 9:39 AM ^

I remember you from forever ago- and if I was you I would think the same thing. I honestly get it, and I don’t expect you or anyone else to believe me. I also don’t expect anyone to care about the following, so skip it if you want, but I’ll offer it in case it’s at all helpful context:

Here’s how I arrived at not knowing this was even a thing here:

  • I was an obsessive on this site until 2020, pre covid
  • Then I lost my job during covid because company I worked for went under in 3 months
  • Took me forever to find a new job, 2.5 years 
  • In the meantime, all due to my own faults, I progressively lost ability to care about virtually any of the things I used to enjoy, very much including Michigan football/basketball/this site (yes, depression and anxiety, and, stupidly, increasing beer/liquor consumption…I fell off the wagon hard)
  • around that same time when I fell off the wagon, was when this site went through a bunch of drupal/web hosting changes, or whatever that was, and I was already very much in the process of checking out on so many things I had cared about for 3+ decades, going all the way back to my childhood
  • Unfortunately I found reddit and that didn’t help because stupid infinite subs for every topic known to humankind until you realize it’s 99% recycled garbage and bots
  • And reddit’s upvote system automatically gives you an upvote from yourself
  • then I found a new job and a dr who said to try to care about what I used to care about even if I didn’t want to…and it started to work
  • then I quit reddit, started to come back here, and yes it definitely helped that harbaugh/M have been owning the B1G around the same time
  • And I just thought that my posts comments were at 0 for who knows what reason, I clicked the upvote, it went to 1, and I didn’t have a reason to think about it past that until now
  • I wasn’t trying to upvote myself- I just thought something was wrong with the site and it had been years since I been back here because of all the stupid shit I caused myself above

Anyway, if it helps, I’ve gone ahead and downvoted myself.

Joined: 08/27/2010

MGoPoints: 7324

The Harbaughnger

November 6th, 2023 at 12:47 PM ^

Idk how lonely one has to be- I didn’t want or intend to inappropriately upvote myself at all, no awareness/realization of the faux pas because of said context [listed here]. The nice thing is, I’m much, much less lonely than I was the last few years. And very glad to be back enough from the edge of the abyss that I can feel some growing connection here, with a bunch of anon M obsessives like I was and hope to still become :)

Joined: 08/27/2010

MGoPoints: 7324

jam706

November 6th, 2023 at 2:33 AM ^

Appreciate you sharing a relevant and somewhat amusing article by Thamel, but your speculation about DiNardo is wild. Nine years ago he said taping signals is not ok, and because he was in A2 for his very public job last year he’s a suspect in the current practice taping rumors? Am I missing something?

Joined: 10/02/2009

MGoPoints: 166

Nervous Bird

November 6th, 2023 at 4:05 AM ^

This is good work finding the Thamel article, Comrade! The Vast Network needs to compile all necessary information that exposes just how overblown Sign-gate has become. Sign stealing is common place, trade craft, among college programs, and the Big Ten and the media are treating Michigan like the progenitors of a technological advancement that forever threatens competitive balance. 

Michigan has been caught breaking a rule that's murkier than swamp water. Let the punishment be commiserate to the perceived crime, if proven, after all thorough investigations are completed. 

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Midukman

November 6th, 2023 at 4:56 AM ^

Thamel is having the best month of his so called journalist life. All I see online is a regurgitation of info that was posted from the beginning. Eleven Michigan haters is where the true entertainment is. I get it we are in their heads but some of the comments over there are about as delusional as you can be. 

Joined: 09/13/2018

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1974

November 6th, 2023 at 6:04 AM ^

It seems that the MGoBlog readership has already already hit the web archive link too many times.

I was able to find the SI version of the article. Would it be OK to drop a few quotes here? I hope so. Comments in brackets.

The Inside Read interviewed a dozen current and former coaches about the prevalence of stealing signals, and a majority consider the espionage a high-stakes game within the game. Most programs have staffers with binoculars in the press box peering at the signals being sent in on the opposing sideline.

Another SEC assistant said the bigger the staff of the school, the more he’s concerned. [Interesting. What Big Ten school does that bring to mind? Hint: It's in an adjacent state and south of Michigan.]

Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman said the Buckeyes don’t have a specific staff member assigned to trying to break the code of the opposition’s signals. [Did he mean to say they had a small army instead? Maybe this is just paranoia on my part, but I think this shows how smart and diabolical Urban Meyer was in that role. He anticipated questions about actions that could possibly be considered unfair and instructed his staff on how to handle them. Why unfair? See my earlier note. It would be easier for richer schools to have large, well-coordinated efforts.]

“I think it happens all the time,” Herman said of opponents stealing signals. “I don’t have a problem with it.” [So, just in case we're discovered, we won't have to backtrack from any morality position. It also makes us look above it all and keeps us in the good graces of other schools. Brilliant.]

There’s an easy way to curtail the culture of signal stealing in college football. McAulay, who has refereed three Super Bowls, is a vocal advocate of sideline-to-helmet wireless communication. [Timeless.]

I've made some edits. Hat tip to joegeo.

Joined: 04/17/2011

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doubleblue2

November 6th, 2023 at 8:41 AM ^

But it’s been shown that 3rd party in person scouting is not illegal. 
 

Moreover, the fact teams are sharing stolen signs proves this. Sharing a stolen sign is the same thing as 3rd party- the sign stealer is the 3rd party and he was definitely in person at the game. 

Joined: 10/25/2023

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Hensons Mobile…

November 6th, 2023 at 7:16 AM ^

As an aside, thought these postgame comments from Walters and Card were interesting:

Purdue altered its signals before the game, and apparently that wasn’t a big deal. “I thought they handled it well,” Walters said. “There wasn’t any issues in terms of communication breakdowns.”

Purdue quarterback Hudson Card echoed his coach and noted it is “pretty common” to change signals regularly. “It happens regardless of the situation,” he said.

So, after complaining about how he was going to have to teach his kids  a new language, he said it was no problem and his QB says we do it all the time?

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