Frankly, I’m becoming bored with Spygate and all the allegations against the Patriots. NFL teams look for an advantage, the Patriots simply went over the line and got caught. They have been penalized, the NFL can’t come up with any more wrongdoing against them, let it be over.

But the latest allegation that the Patriots used players on injured reserve during practice — a clear violation of NFL rules — needs to be investigated. Injury rules are in place for a reason, as evidenced by players with a hangnail making the injury report every week — to prevent chicanery as teams prepare for each other. If a team uses an experienced player in practice that is supposed to be sitting out the season (essentially, a pro redshirt), it gains an advantage over a team forced to use a reserve or practice-squad player in that role.

We’ll see what emerges from this, but hopefully it’s the end of the current obsession with cheating. It’s not good for the game, and it’s not good when bloggers resort to using the word “chicanery.”