The last time they were accused of cheating, it was for a supposedly small advantage.
The problem is that if you look at their SB wins, some were by mere FGs. So a small advantage makes a big difference then. Without those small advantages would those still be wins? Nobody knows.
Then years go by without a SB win.
Suddenly they are back in the SB again, and suddenly they are found to be cheating again.
The question is whether that is coincidence?
The other question is given the unrelated incidents of cheating, does anyone believe these are the only incidents of cheating they engage in? I think most reasonable people understand that there is a pattern of behavior emerging and it clearly points to a team that bends/breaks rules whenever it feels it will not get caught or whenever it feels that getting caught is still worth the gain.
How many other incidents of cheating did not get uncovered and if so, how many game outcomes were affected this year because of that?
This is the problem. Don Shula pointed it out, and other players/coaches are weighing in here too. We have no idea what they have won, because there are so many things that they likely did not get caught for. So is the legacy actually being great? Or just managing to weasel their way into wins legally and illegally?
Could they even compete on a level field or are they dependent on that chicanery to win consistently? Is that the reason for the 10 year drought?
Nobody knows but it casts a shadow on current and future accomplishments.