It’s kind of a Barry Bonds situation. Someone has to go down, and the man/team on top usually does. The NFL has to set a precedent. Regardless, it has yet to be seen what sanctions will be levied. The Pats screwed up, plain and simple, and whatever they have coming, I hate to admit, they deserve.
The distinction between coaching advantages vs. players actually doing the playing are too overlapping to make any differentiation that would make one side better than or more important, rather, than the other. One could say: “well, the Pats still had to go out there and play, etc.” While the other would say: “well, the Pats had an inherent advantage going into the game because they already knew certain plays or whatever it is that they learned from the videotape.”
Either way, they are both right. What sucks is that an incredibly talented team, coaching staff, and most importantly, the most popular and competitive sport in the U.S. is having to save face by punishing the best team in the past decade – also one of the best ever.