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.
Comments (2)
Wah? So the whole Rams thing was just some over zeaous reporter making things up? I hope whoever is responsible is already on the unemployment line.
Heck no. Do you think lawsuits are not coming from the Patriots and their fans over this illegal placement of a camera (read the rule, not the memo) that the 4 letter network has used to smear the reputation of a company.
The Patriots organization was in the field too long to not want to go to bat.
Besides, you know how conspiracy theories work. Walsh didn't produce the tape because the grassy knoll gunman threatened him. There is no proof because it was covered up.