Question: Is it against the NFL rules if........

Team personnel watches (not videotapes, but watches with their eyes)  the opposing team giving signals to their players on offense and defense, and memorizes them ?

No....   now try to find someone capable of remembering all of the formations for all plays with down/yardage for each play,  and get back to me!!!!

Who cares what they did/didn't tape.... let's just move on from this garbage!

I don't care what they did or didnt tape, I was simply curious on the interpretation of that rule. 

To your point, try finding someone capable of filming all of that stuff during a game and using that information in the same game! 

Your Browns could make a playoff run this year......Your boy Braylon should most definitely have a big year..   I can't wait to see the Browns and Steelers square off...   Geeze, is it football season yet or WHAT?

That depends?    Does any of the team personnel have an 8x Optical Zoom built into their eyes like a camera does?   Also can that personnel read lips on the fly?  

You need video tape in order to really evaluate it and match up play calls to the plays on the field in order to crack the other teams code quickly.

The Pats are a bunch of cheaters and the NFL is dirty for not letting the public see the tapes.   The Pats won three SB's by 3 points each time...  I think without the cheating the probably would have only got to the SB once and they probably would have lost that game. Maybe if they had dominating wins I would say the tapes didn't affect the SB but they did...

PATS = ***

So what you are saying is.....   that you have nothing to bring to the table in terms of intelligent sports talk?  I was asking for an interpretation of a rule, not your mudslinging that has been played out like presidential election coverage....

Did you actually see those tapes?  If those tapes were used during the same game they were taped in, then I am impressed.  "Crack the other team's code?"  Foolishness. 

Maybe if they had dominating wins I would say the tapes didn't affect the SB but they did...

How do tapes of regular season games and one playoff game affect a game at a later date that happens to be the super bowl which is against a different team than was taped previously??  Those tapes weren't from the super bowl, or against the Rams.  Where is your logic there?  Sounds like you were making a pre-emptive strike in case someone tried to counter your argument with the Jimmy Johnson taping admissions.  Don't worry, I won't go there. 

Unless scouting an opponent is a violation there shouldn't be an issue.  It's actually done all the time.  Scouts or anyone on the staff will detect certain 'tells' that tip a play.

Bigkat, it is cheating.  Forget about the rule for a second--the NFL sent out a specific memo addressing videotaping.  The Patriots continued the practice anyway. 

Also, do a forums search.  On saturday, this other Patriots fan copied-and-pasted the regulation(s) in question.  Roger Goodell ruled, now eons ago, that he BOTH violated the rules (used the tape during games) and the aforementioned memo. 

I am sorry OnlyOneLT, but you did not address the question I posed in the thread. 

"The NFL send out a specific memo addressing videotaping" 

My question was in regards to whether or not it was illegal to observe and memorize signals, not videotape them.  I would love to hear you input on that topic.