What about Bob? Glauber's NFL Blog

Now Berger and Best are hotshot columnists who get quoted in the New York Times.

Berger is Newsday's NBA columnist, and Best is Newsday's media columnist - when he's not posting pics of beautiful ladies on his blog.

Back in the pre-blog era, Berger 'n Best covered the Jets and Giants, respectively. Now, we're in the era of Rock 'n Boland.

Well done, B 'n B. I'm proud of you.

I say yes. So does Anthony Rieber.

Jim Baumbach says no.

Read all about it and weigh in on "The Final Score" blog.

Or weigh in here.

Or both.

Thanks for reading Newsday's blogs.

In fact, the Pennsylvania Senator wants to see an independent investigation into the Spygate issue like the George Mitchell report on steroids use in baseball.

Great.

Let's waste taxpayers' money finding out that Bill Belichick illegally taped opposing teams' signals! Bring it on. Find Ken Starr!

Let's get to the bottom of this once and for all!

Ok, a lot more to get to from that Tom Brady interview on WEEI yesterday, because he said a ton ... and not just about Spygate.

Brady was asked about the Super Bowl, and in the process of commending the Giants' effort, he also took a major swipe at your Jets.

“It was really a great game,” Brady said of New England’s 17-14 loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. “I wish we would’ve played better at certain times, but [the Giants] made the plays and they deserved it.

“And I have a lot of respect for that team because they work hard, and they have a lot of great leaders on that team. It’s kind of a blue-collar team. When you do lose a game, you at least want to lose to guys you respect. And I certainly respect those guys. I don’t respect everybody, but I do respect the Giants.”

When asked who he didn’t respect, Brady said simply, “There’s four letters in their name.” When host Glenn Ordway asked, “Those green guys?” Brady laughed and responded, “Yeah, exactly.”

Just in case Eric Mangini is interested, here's a link to the audio.

Memo to Boland: Please remember to make this another bullet point in your advance on Jets-Patriots.

Yes, there will be some residual issues related to the issue. And yes, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will doubtless create some noise when he gets on his soap box later today in Washington, D.C.

But I believe the most distasteful chapter we've seen in the NFL in many, many years is largely over.
Matt Walsh didn't have the smoking gun of a Rams' walkthrough tape the day before the 2002 Super Bowl. And while there is a lingering issue of what he was asked or not asked by former Pats assistant coach Brian Daboll, now the Jets' quarterbacks coach.

But I think it's time to move on.

Pats quarterback Tom Brady spoke to WEEI in Boston and had this to say about yesterday's proceedings:

"I think the stuff before the Super Bowl, that was unfortunate that it had to come up before the biggest game of the year, but we dealt with it all season. We put it behind us when we went out and played San Diego the week after the Jets game. I think it was just an incident that we accepted, and we paid the price for, and a very heavy price at that, and we’ve moved forward. I really hope everybody else does, too, because it takes away from what everyone is trying to accomplish."

Time to move on, TB?

“I wish people would try to study a game and focus their energy on trying to analyze the games better, rather than stuff that’s not important, like this whole camera stuff. I think it’s a way to sell newspapers and all those ESPN stations, they’ve got to fill the airwaves, too. Hopefully, we can move past it.”

The Boston Herald, which ran a story Feb. 2 that indicated the Patriots made a tape of the Rams' walkthrough practice the day before the 2002 Super Bowl, has issued a correction and an apology for the story.

Too little, too late?

There's still a chance the Patriots will go after the Herald in a lawsuit, although the team has not indicated what it might do at this point.

Jets quarterbacks coach Brian Daboll's name came up a few minutes ago, just after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that he did not receive any information in his conversation this morning that would lead to further punishment of the Patriots over the Spygate saga.

After the presser, the NFL attorney Gregg Levy, who was in on the Goodell-Walsh meeting, told reporters that Walsh said he had been approached by Daboll, who was a Patriots' assistant at the time, shortly after a Rams’ walkthrough practice the day before they played the Patriots in the Super Bowl following the 2001 season.

Walsh, who was at the walkthrough to set up video equipment for the game (the Rams were aware of his presence), said Daboll asked if there was anything Walsh could relate about the walkthrough. Walsh said he noticed that running back Marshall Faulk was running back kickoffs. Daboll then asked if there was anything Walsh could divulge about how the Rams deployed their tight ends in practice. Walsh could not offer anything specific, according to Levy. Daboll then drew a play and asked which direction the tight ends went in.

Goodell apparently will not further sanction the Patriots as a result of Daboll’s conversation. The league plans to approach Dabol about the matter.

Interesting now that a coach on the Jets - the team that got the whole Spygate thing started when they caught Matt Estrella taping the Jets' defensive signals in Week 1 - are now in the middle of things yet again.

UPDATE: According to a league spokesman, Daboll met with NFL investigators as part of the Spygate situation, and the information given by Walsh was not corroborated by Daboll. The NFL will go back to Daboll to discuss Walsh's latest allegations.

Ok, now, this is getting bizarre.

We're sitting here watching tapes of a Chargers-Patriots from Sept. 29, 2002, and all of a sudden, we're getting shots of Chargers' cheerleaders.

Really.

For a good 30 seconds or so, the tapes show Chargers cheerleaders doing their routine for the crowd. At one point, the camera zooms in on one cheerleader's derriere.

Hmmm.

UPDATE: We have just been told by a spokeswoman from Walsh's attorney that Walsh himself did not tape the cheerleaders during the Chargers game.

It's still weird.

Best should be here. I think his head would have exploded contemplating all the blog possibilities.

That's what Colts owner James Irsay says, and he hopes it's true.

Harrison has not been charged in connection with a recent shooting outside a bar he owns in Philadelphia. And at this point, no charges appear imminent.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Ok, so now we're looking at tapes of the Dolphins' offense from a game in an Oct. 7, 2001 game.

On one signal, the Miami offensive assistant is on the sidelines with his hands out, as if he's an umpire making the "safe" sign. That's it.

On another, he pumps his right fist three times and then touches his shoulder. He repeast the motion.

On another, he waves his hand over his head three or four times and then waved his hand in front of his face. He repeated it.

Matt Walsh, the former Patriots' video employee now at the center of the Spygate controversy, met for more than three hours with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell this morning at the league's Manhattan headquarters.

We camped out on the front steps of the offices at 280 Park Ave., and Walsh emerged shortly before 11 a.m. with his attorney, Michael Levy.

"Mr. Walsh is please to have been able to assist the National Football League in its investigation of the New England Patriots' videotaping practices," Levy said. "Sen. Arlen Specter has waited quite a while to meet with Mr. Walsh, and we are heading immediately to Washington, D.C. for an appointment this afternoon with Sen. Specter. Out of respect for Sen. Specter, neither Mr. Walsh nor I will speak with the media prior to meeting with the Senator."

Right now, we're in a room at the Intercontinental Hotel watching the tapes that Walsh surrendered.

On the one we're watching now, from a game against the Dolphins in 2000, the tape shows a Dolphins' assistant flashing signs from the sidelines.

The thing that strikes me most about the signals: They're extremely simple. On one, the Dolphins' assistant moves his right arm by his side three times. On another, he gives a thumbs up with both hands, followed by his right arm in front of his face as if he's hammering an imaginary nail.

... no new bombshell evidence is dropped in Roger Goodell's lap tomorrow when he meets with former Patriots video employee Matt Walsh.

Even with all the questions that Goodell will surely have for Walsh, the bottom line here is this: Regardless of the inner workings of how the Patriots went about taping teams' defensive and/or offensive signals and the chain of command of the program, I doubt that Goodell will be in position to slap further sanctions on Belichick.

Nor should he.

Unless Walsh has some evidence that we don't know about (and remember, there is NO tape of the Rams' walkthrough the day before the Patriots' first Super Bowl win after the 2001 season), then Goodell's punishment meted out last September will stand. And Belichick will not be punished further, even if the public relations fallout from the league showing actual films of the taped signals at a press conference will surely prompt some to call for further action.

If there had been a tape of the walkthough, then we're talking a wide investigation. You tape another team's practice, then that's grounds for further discipline, including a suspension and perhaps even expulsion from the league. But there is no tape, so it's a moot point.

In the meantime, Goodell's punishment issued last September covered the taping of signals, and it addressed the fact that Belichick had been taping the signals since he joined the Patriots in 2000. If Goodell was at fault for anything, it was for not making it clear earlier that the punishment was for past taping activities.

And Goodell should have made a stronger effort to contact Walsh much earlier than now, since this whole episode could have been over and done with months ago.

Be that as it may, only the disclosure of some new information from Walsh will be grounds to begin another investigation into any wrongdoing we don't know about.

If there are no new bombshells, then this should be it.

The only thing left will be the predictable whining from Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, who will surely find something to bellyache about and threaten the NFL's antitrust exemption. After that, it ,looks like it's over.

The media will gather at the Intercontinental Hotel in Manhattan tomorrow morning to hear NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and, presumably, former Patriots video employee Matt Walsh, discuss their meeting about the now infamous Spygate affair.

Hopefully, we will get some answers to questions that have hovered over the situation since Bill Belichick and his staff were caught illegally videotaping the Jets' defensive signals from the sidelines in a Week 1 game last season.

Perhaps we will even get some closure.

Given the strange set of events, nothing will surprise us tomorrow.

We will get you a report as soon as we're able, so check back early and often.

In the meantime, we have some questions for Mr. Walsh, who may or may not stick around to answer them. He may or may not be there with Goodell at the news conference, because Sen. Arlen Specter wants to chat with Walsh tomorrow, too. So Walsh might duck out of New York early and meet with the Senator and speak afterwards. Who knows? He might not speak at all.

In the meantime, there are so many questions, all of which were asked by ESPN's Sal Paolantonio in an interesting piece. All of which we agreed need to be asked by Goodell himself:

* When Walsh was taping the opponents' sidelines, how much was he told to conceal his activities?

* What measures were taken to conceal his taping?

* How concerned were his superiors that what Walsh was doing would be uncovered by a member of the opposing team?

* Was Walsh worried about getting caught? Why?

* What kind of instruction did Walsh get in how to tape the opposition's sideline?

* Who gave Walsh those instructions?

* Whom did he report to?

* What happened to the tapes?

* Where did they go?

* Who analyzed the tapes of the defensive signals?

* Were there written reports based on the tapes? Who wrote those reports? And, more important, who saw the reports or was told what was in them? Did Tom Brady? Or Charlie Weis, when he was offensive coordinator during the Patriots' run of Super Bowl titles?

* What was Walsh told about why this widespread practice of taping the opponents' defensive signals was vital to how the Patriots prepared for an opponent?

Interesting and important questions, one and all. Hopefully Walsh will provide some answers.

Maybe then we can get on with our lives.

The folks at Dolphins blog "Phinsider" came up with this one, which was seen and forwarded by loyal look-a-like man jeffp as well as TRock.

Thanks to both.

It's Miami's rookie quarterback out of Michigan and Quagmire, one of the stars of "Family Guy."

The Dolphins' defensive end (we think) of Dancing With The Stars fame and the Giants' rookie linebacker.

Good work from TRock.

The veteran receiver joined the Falcons last year in hopes of helping his buddy Michael Vick win a Super Bowl.

Um ... things ... um ... didn't quite turn out that way.

Now Horn will be looking to skip town in a trade.

Sorry, that snarky comment in the headline about Cowboys safety Roy Williams not being able to cover was all mine.

Fact is, he can't play in space, which is why he has become maybe the most one-dimensional player in the game. Great hitter, can't cover. Not a good combination for a safety, especially one consistently voted to the Pro Bowl. Throw in the fact that he was once suspended for yet another illegal horse collar tackle, and ... you get the picture.

In any event, he met with his coaches after reports surfaced that he was uncomfortable with his role on the defense. He feels better about things.

Not necessarily.

The Bengals brought Alexander in for a visit several days ago, and the Saints kicked the tires, too.

But no deal with either team.

There has been plenty of speculation that Alexander is ticketed to go to the Bengals, but so far, the team has not made a serious attempt to sign him.

We're told by a league source familiar with the Bengals situation that they brought Alexander in partly as a look-see for the running back position, but also as a courtesy because he grew up in nearby Florence, Ky.

"From what I gather, they've got no intention of signing him at this point," the source said. "Obviously, that could change, but this might be Shaun trying to drum up a market for himself."

That would be Mr. Terrell Owens and Mr. Flavor Flav, who will appear in Mr. Flav's MyNetworkTV show "Under One Roof" on Wednesday.

I'm sure Mr. Best will have some more information on this, but I wanted to just whet your appetites for whatever he writes about Mr. Owens' venture into the television business.

Will T.O. go into acting after his playing days are over?

"If I'm going to really consider doing acting after football, this a great start to let me get my feet wet," Owens said. "For an actor trying to become an A-lister, I think I'm on the bottom of the pile. I'm a D-lister."

We offered long-time blog reader and commenter "Big Ben is Back!", whom we now refer to simply as "BBiB!" a chance to guest blog as a reward for his brilliant work in keeping score on our various contests.

And here we go with his rant on all that's wrong with youth sports in this country.

(It's a very interesting read, and please feel free to comment - both for and against - to let BBiB! get a taste of what life's like in the blogosphere.)

The Problem with Youth Sports Today

This post is brought to you today by BBiB! as I cash in my ‘thanks for tracking the NFL Draft and NFL Playoffs for me’ reward from BG.

By no means can the idea I espouse below be considered original, but it is meant to stir up ‘conversation’ amongst the parents out there whose youth are participating in sports. If I’m ever granted a second guest posting, I’ll try to drum up interest in some guilty pleasure banter. I’ve learned some very useful information about our resident NFL Guru, BG, that you should all get a kick out of.

Ok, so, it’s the first day of 9-10 year old Little League and yours truly, BBiB!, is managing a team of spirited boys. I figure by this age, the boys will be ready to compete and be excited about winning and playing in the playoffs and for a championship. I introduce myself and meet the players before asking if there are any questions before beginning our first practice. The one and only question I received summed up the problem with American youth sports perfectly, “Hey Coach, when do we get our trophies?” If I could have, I would have slapped that entitled boy silly. Instead I cringed and looked forward to another of season of “nice try”s and “atta boy”s for every little accomplishment.

Continue reading "BBiB! speaks! Here's what's wrong with youth sports" »

It's not unusual to see football players fight in training camp. Or even mini-camp.

But to have nearly all 85 players on your team involved in fisticuffs during a practice in early May?

Whoa.

Welcome to the NFL, coach Harbaugh.

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo has heard the outcry over Cedric Benson's arrest on May 3 on charges of boating while intoxicated. And Angelo has heard all the calls for him to simply release Benson, who has been a bust on the field and hasn't done himself any favors off the field with this latest incident.

But Angelo says he's not cutting Benson, and that he'll simply wait for the legal system to play out.

Smart call.

The Bears have invested far too much in Benson to simply release him over this incident (reminder: the charges were misdemeanors and will almost certainly not result in jail time). Besides, there are enough questions about this case expressed by people who were with Benson at the time that at least make it conceivable Benson ought to get the benefit of the doubt.

Benson will never win a popularity contest in the Bears' locker room, where teammates have questioned his leadership. But last week's won't determine whether he stays or goes. That will be up to his performance.

If the past three years are any indication, things don't look too bright for the former Texas star. But you still don't just toss the guy on the street. Especially not if you're the general manager who staked his reputation on the guy in the first place.

You let things play out on and off the field, and then see where you stand.

For those of you with a morbid fascination for things like this, here's a video of Cedric Benson being booked last weekend on charges of boating while intoxicated.

That's what teammate Greg Ellis says about the Cowboys' veteran strong safety.

Ellis says that's why Williams seems to be distancing himself from some teammates in recent weeks.

Um, Greg, there's a good reason Williams isn't comfortable with head coach Wade Phillips' system. It's because Williams has been a liability in pass coverage throughout his NFL career. So, for all the hard hits and the horse-collar tackles, the bottom line is that Williams' ability as a defensive back leave plenty to be desired.

In fact, he is still questioning the NFL over its handling of Spygate.

And by the time he speaks personally to former Patriots video employee Matt Walsh on Tuesday, we suspect he'll have a lot more to say.

Rock has erupted with a flurry of blog posts today from Giants rookie camp, a Best-like performance that deserves a shoutout.

Can only imagine what it'll be like when the season starts.

Not sure what to expect from this year's rookie class for Big Blue, although I suspect it won't have quite the same impact as last year's dazzling class. Jerry Reese hit it big last year with contributions galore from first-rounder Aaron Ross to seventh-rounder Ahmad Bradshaw.

With a Super Bowl roster stacked with talent, it will be that much tougher for this year's rookie class to make inroad. But if even just five players make contributions, the Giants will be ahead of the game.

Kenny Phillips seems about as can't-miss as you can get, and he should fit right in now that Gibril Wilson is gone. The real test of the draft might come with third-round receiver Mario Manningham, whose past problems can be erased with quality play on the field and responsible behavior off it.

Matt Walsh will talk with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, and is expected to address the media afterward.

If you knew what Walsh knew, what would you say?

(P.S. Yes, we have blantantly ripped off Stapler's "Q of the D" headline. We rather like it and plan to use it plenty. As far as we know, Staple neglected to get a copyright on the phrasing.)

The former Patriots' video employee is scheduled to speak on Tuesday with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and the league has confirmed that Walsh has been invited to and is expected to address the media at a press conference.

We'll be there on Tuesday at the Intercontinental Hotel for a press conference that will start anywhere from 10 a.m.-noon. It all depends how long Goodell and Walsh, as well as Walsh attorney Michel Levy, meet. They're set to convene at 7:30 a.m.

In light of the fact that Matt Walsh has supplied the NFL additional tapes of the Patriots illegally videotaping opposing teams' offensive and/or defensive signals, do you believe commissioner Roger Goodell should slap additional sanctions on Belichick and/or the Patriots?

Personally, I think it should end here. Now that we know Walsh doesn't have a tape of the Rams' walk-through practice the day before the Patriots' first Super Bowl win after the 2002 season, my feeling is that the issue is now over.

Yes, Walsh has additional examples of Belichick cheating. But the NFL's penalties against Belichick and the team were for all previous illegal videotaping activity, which Belichick acknowledged during the league's investigation.

Curious to see what you think.

Sure seems that way.

Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh has turned over eight tapes to the NFL, all of which showed the videotaping of opposing teams' offensive and/or defensive signals.

The key here is that Walsh did not turn over - nor does he have in his possession - a tape of the Rams' walkthrough session the day before the Patriots-Rams Super Bowl after the 2001 regular season. The Boston Herald reported the day before the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl last February that such a tape existed; had that been the case, Pats coach Bill Belichick likely would have received further sanctions and possibly been fired or forced to resign.

But Belichick and the Patriots continually denied the existence of such a tape, and Belichick said at the NFL owners meetings last month that he has never taped an opponents' practice in 34 years of coaching.

The fact that Walsh had additional tapes of what the Patriots already admitted they were doing - and were already sanctioned for - means that the league is not expected to take further action.

"This is consistent with what the Patriots had admitted they had been doing, consistent with what we already knew," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press last night.

The league has said the fines ($500,000 for Belichick and $250,000 for the team) and the removal of a 2008 first-round draft pick were penalties for taping procedures that went back to the 2000, the year Belichick became the team's head coach.

Walsh will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell next Tuesday. Goodell said he will hold a news conference shortly after the meeting.

The Spygate saga started, of course, when the Patriots were caught illegally taping the Jets' defensive signals on the sidelines in a Week 1 game last season at Giants Stadium.