Report: tapes reveal Pats stole offensive signals
editor1 |May 08,2008
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BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) -- It has been long assumed the
New England Patriots' "Spygate" scandal only involved the
videotaping of opposing team's defensive signals.
However, according to a report by ESPN on Thursday, the tapes
that former Patriots employee Matt Walsh turned over to the NFL
reveal New England also stole offensive signals.
According to the report, there is a tape labeled "OFF signals"
from the Patriots' game against the Miami Dolphins on October 7,
2001.
ESPN noted that it is the only tape labeled that way on the list
it obtained from Walsh's attorney, Michael Levy. Levy
confirmed it was the lone footage in Walsh's possession of
offensive coaches' signaling from the sidelines.
The finding is a bit strange, considering the NFL has allowed
coach-to-quarterback communication via radio headsets since
1994.
The tapes, which are a violation of league rules, have come to
light two weeks after Walsh reached an agreement with NFL
commissioner Roger Goodell to turn over any materials in his
possession.
The league has not yet reviewed the tape in question.
"We don't know (about attempts to steal offensive signals) yet
because we haven't looked at the tapes," NFL spokesman Greg
Aiello told ESPN. "All we have is the list supplied last night
(by Walsh's attorney). One of them is labeled 'OFF signals.'
None of others are listed that way. Let us look at the tapes
and we'll have more to say about that."
Levy gave ESPN the details of the tape.
"(It) contains shots of Miami's offensive coaches signaling
Miami's offensive players, followed by a shot from the end zone
camera of Miami's offensive play, followed by a shot of Miami's
offensive coaches signaling Miami's offensive players for the
next play, then edited to be followed by a shot of the
subsequent Miami offensive play," Levy told ESPN. "And that
pattern repeats throughout the entire tape, with occasional cuts
to the scoreboard."
The list of tapes does not include the most-publicized video to
which Walsh reportedly has access - the walkthrough of the St.
Louis Rams the day before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002.
Now an assistant golf pro in Hawaii, Walsh worked for the
Patriots from 1996 through the 2002 Super Bowl. In January, he
suggested that he had potentially damaging information about the
team's videotaping practices.
The Patriots last month denied they ever taped the Rams'
walkthrough, and Levy confirmed that to the New York Times -
refuting a report by the Boston Herald in February that his
client had such a tape.
"Mr. Walsh has never claimed to have a tape of the walkthrough,"
Levy told the Times in a phone interview. "Mr. Walsh has never
been the source of any of the media speculation about such a
tape. Mr. Walsh was not the source for the February 2 Boston
Herald article."
Walsh's tapes show the Patriots recording coaches' signals in
four regular-season games, as well as the 2002 AFC Championship
game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
According to reports, the tape of the Steelers' game has been
edited to show Pittsburgh's coaches signaling plays, followed by
two different camera angles of the actual plays that were
called.
The first tape is dated September 25, 2000; the last is from
September 29, 2002.
The NFL fined Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the New
England organization $250,000 for the illegal taping of the New
York Jets in the 2007 season opener.
The Patriots also lost a first-round pick as a result of the
"Spygate" incident.
In February, Goodell said six tapes handed over by the Patriots
- which subsequently were destroyed by the league shortly
thereafter - were from the 2006 season and 2007 preseason.
The Patriots released a statement last month saying they
welcomed the agreement by Walsh and the league.
"The New England Patriots are pleased to learn that Matt Walsh
is finally willing to come forward to meet with the NFL," the
statement read.
"We are eagerly anticipating his honest disclosures to
commissioner Goodell next month and the return of all the
materials he took during his time of employment. We fully
expect this meeting to conclude the league's investigation into
a damaging and false allegation that was originally levied
against the team on the day before this year's Super Bowl."
Per the original agreement, Walsh is scheduled to meet with
Goodell and Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania in separate
meetings in New York on Tuesday.
Two days before this past season's Super Bowl, Specter - the
Republican leader of the Judiciary Committee - kept alive the
"Spygate" incident by criticizing the league's investigation,
particularly for destroying original tapes.
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