In the course of two weeks, New England Patriots' coachBill Belichick has gone from genius to moron.

The embattled coach was fined by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell $500,000 last week after videotape was turned over to the league showing the Patriots committing espionage.

The team was taping the New York Jets coaches signaling plays, a violation of league rules.

While you can monitor what the coaches do, you cannot film the activity. To do so, you can easily match the signals to the play itself. Essentially you know what's coming for the second half.

It's been said this type of cheating has been going on for years, that every team does it, but that's too big a generalization.

It's too easy to say everyone else does it. Other coaches have believed for years Belichick has been doing this, which puts a huge blemish on his success.

Is that deserved? Maybe not. Belichick has shown to be a strong leader with his players. But, it's hard to shake the idea when you're labeled a cheater.

Just ask Major League Baseball players who have been linked to steroids. Hitters like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmiero and Barry Bonds will try in vain to clear their names, but the damage has been done.

If new information surfaces that they were all clean, would people change their perceptions? Probably not.

Belichick had brought a sense of pride and accomplishment back to the Boston area. He won three Super Bowls in a four-year span (2001, 03-04) and has put together a team on the field that competes for the Super Bowl title every season.

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher was similar to Belichick in terms of regular-season success. Cowher averaged 10 wins per season in his 15 years with Pittsburgh. He won eight division titles and guided the team to 10 playoff appearances but had just one Super Bowl title.

The Patriots are among the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year, along with the Colts and San Diego Chargers.

They added wide receivers Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth to give quarterback Tom Brady more firepower. On defense, they threw free agent linebacker Adalius Thomas into the mix and have looked very strong in their two games, especially Sunday night's 38-14 rout over the Chargers.

Assuming Belichick didn't risk more damage by videotaping the San Diego coaches' signals, he's already out half a million. Plus, the team must pay $250,000 and forfeit either a first-round pick (if the Pats make the playoffs this year) or a second-and third-round picks if they don't.

Belichick will have to shake the stigma of being a cheater, even though he shouldn't have to.

Perception is a hard thing to shake. Now, Belichick will be viewed in a different light from here on out. He'll have to prove himself all over again.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.