BOOM! ESPN Outside The Lines on the Pats**

[Ron Burgundy]

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/13533995/split-nfl-new-england-patriots-apart

It's a long read but worth it.
In part:

Interviews by ESPN The Magazine and Outside the Lines with more than 90 league officials, owners, team executives and coaches, current and former Patriots coaches, staffers and players, and reviews of previously undisclosed private notes from key meetings, show that Spygate is the centerpiece of a long, secret history between Goodell's NFL, which declined comment for this story, and Kraft's Patriots. The diametrically opposed way the inquiries were managed by Goodell -- and, more importantly, perceived by his bosses -- reveals much about how and why NFL punishment is often dispensed. The widespread perception that Goodell gave the Patriots a break on Spygate, followed by the NFL's stonewalling of a potential congressional investigation into the matter, shaped owners' expectations of what needed to be done by 345 Park Ave. on Deflategate.

It was, one owner says, time for "a makeup call."

In fact, many former New England coaches and employees insist that the taping of signals wasn't even the most effective cheating method the Patriots deployed in that era. Several of them acknowledge that during pregame warm-ups, a low-level Patriots employee would sneak into the visiting locker room and steal the play sheet, listing the first 20 or so scripted calls for the opposing team's offense. (The practice became so notorious that some coaches put out fake play sheets for the Patriots to swipe.) Numerous former employees say the Patriots would have someone rummage through the visiting team hotel for playbooks or scouting reports. Walsh later told investigators that he was once instructed to remove the labels and erase tapes of a Patriots practice because the team had illegally used a player on injured reserve. At Gillette Stadium, the scrambling and jamming of the opponents' coach-to-quarterback radio line -- "small s---" that many teams do, according to a former Pats assistant coach -- occurred so often that one team asked a league official to sit in the coaches' box during the game and wait for it to happen. Sure enough, on a key third down, the headset went out.

During the first half, Jets security monitored Estrella, who held a camera and wore a polo shirt with a taped-over Patriots logo under a red media vest that said: NFL PHOTOGRAPHER 138. With the backing of Jets owner Woody Johnson and Tannenbaum, Jets security alerted NFL security, a step Mangini acknowledged publicly later that he never wanted. Shortly before halftime, security encircled and then confronted Estrella. He said he was with "Kraft Productions." They took him into a small room off the stadium's tunnel, confiscated his camera and tape, and made him wait. He was sweating. Someone gave Estrella water, and he was shaking so severely that he spilled it. "He was ******** a brick," a source says.

No player was more resolute that Spygate had affected games than Hines Ward, the Steelers' All-Pro wide receiver. Ward told reporters that Patriots inside information about Steelers play calling helped New England upset Pittsburgh 24-17 in the January 2002 AFC Championship Game. "Oh, they knew," Ward, now an NBC analyst who didn't return messages for this story, said after Spygate broke. "They were calling our stuff out. They knew a lot of our calls. There's no question some of their players were calling out some of our stuff."

During the walk-through, the Rams had also practiced some of their newly designed red zone plays. When they ran the same plays late in the Super Bowl's fourth quarter, the Patriots' defense was in position on nearly every down. On one new play, quarterback Kurt Warner rolled to his right and turned to throw to Faulk in the flat, where three Patriots defenders were waiting. On the sideline, Rams coach Mike Martz was stunned. He was famous for his imaginative, unpredictable plays, and now it was as if the Patriots knew what was coming on plays that had never been run before. The Patriots' game plan had called for a defender to hit Faulk on every down, as a means of eliminating him, but one coach who worked with an assistant on that 2001 Patriots team says that the ex-Pats assistant coach once bragged that New England knew exactly what the Rams would call in the red zone. "He'd say, 'A little birdie told us,'" the coach says now.

EVEN THE LANGUAGE of the tip seemed to echo suspicions shaped by the Spygate era. Ryan Grigson, the Colts' general manager, forwarded to the league office an emailed accusation made by Colts equipment manager Sean Sullivan: "It is well known around the league that after the Patriots game balls are checked by the officials and brought out for game usage, the ball boys for the Patriots will let out some air with a ball needle because their quarterback likes a smaller football so he can grip it better."

 

[Superman]

uh uh. never happened.

 

[Mr.Rocco]

Goodell needs to be removed. He can't even suspend a cheater and make it stick. Talk about tarnishing the shield. If he can't do the job, get someone who can.
He has been a joke of a commissioner and has been exposed as an ineffective authority.

 

[Litos]

this is not only goodell's fault, he's obviously an employee for 32 team owners. If these 31 owners let 1 ******* owner stick it up their collective *** is their damn fault for doing nothing to stop it.

I'm pissed, sorry for the cursing. Actually I held a few F words from that rant

 

[Ron Burgundy]

this is not only goodell's fault, he's obviously an employee for 32 team owners. If these 31 owners let 1 ******* owner stick it up their collective *** is their damn fault for doing nothing to stop it.

I'm pissed, sorry for the cursing. Actually I held a few F words from that rant

Well, what's worse is that Belicheat and the Pats** obviously didn't learn from it and kept on cheating. I hope this explodes, Goodell gets fired, Belicheat suspended for life a la Pete Rose, and him and Br*dy never get into the Hall of Fame unless they buy a ticket.

 

[Lloyds legend]

I loathe the cheating *** Pats****.

I'm amazed though at how many people are just willing to overlook the many blatant examples of the organizations attempts to cheat.

 

[Gedi]

Of course the massholes are in denial!

http://www.patriotsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=70211&page=4

"ESPN have basically declared war on the Patriots. It's disgraceful. This OTL "investigation" was stared 4 months ago?? Ridiculous.

Time for the Pats to refuse all cooperation with ESPN this season. Enough is enough."

"This is some of the worst "reporting" I've ever seen (new details on Spygate)"

How is this information new? Many here have been saying what's covered in the article for years.

 

[TDX27]

And, this came from ESPN, who normally slobbers all over Marsha and the Cheatriots. So, you have to give this a ton of merit. I have no doubt they were cheating bad. Let's see how they do with their fumbles, etc. this year and the next few now that the footballs aren't deflated. My guess is the report that I had read previously showing the statistically impossible reduction in the Cheaters fumbles will go back to normal. That is, unless they have another cheating way of holding onto the football.

 

[TDX27]

Of course the massholes are in denial!

http://www.patriotsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=70211&page=4

"ESPN have basically declared war on the Patriots. It's disgraceful. This OTL "investigation" was stared 4 months ago?? Ridiculous.

Time for the Pats to refuse all cooperation with ESPN this season. Enough is enough."

"This is some of the worst "reporting" I've ever seen (new details on Spygate)"

How is this information new? Many here have been saying what's covered in the article for years.

ESPN has been 100% in Marsha and the Cheatriots corner. It is nice to see them now showing proof how bad the Cheaters really are. Not one of their SB's is legit, not one.

 

[steelermania]

The lack of fumbles is to me, by far the biggest advantage from deflategate.

 

[Djfan]

I hope more poo-poo hits more fans than marsha ever dreamed could exist.

The NFL has a huge integrity issue. Here's hoping that they take the high road and strip some trophies, contracts, officers. I doubt it though. All they want to do is go Nixon/Clinton on us and move on.

 

[SteelBuckeye]

I was trying to think of something to say and all I could come up with was:

And this should surprise anyone outside of NE how?

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

I Think Kraft should lose the team and they should be moved to LA

 

[FordFairLane]

The Patriots, Belichick and Tom Brady will end up looking like Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco when it's all said and done. Yeah, they made millions and won titles and hold records but almost no one will actually count any of the records or accolades.

 

[Super Dave]

Why now?

That is what I keep asking myself........IMO....I think the bullshit way the Pats beat the Rats last season and the way Brady taunted it in the press was one straw too many.

If only Seattles OC wasn't a complete embarrassment to tards everywhere......

 

[FordFairLane]

Why now?

That is what I keep asking myself........IMO....I think the bullshit way the Pats beat the Rats last season and the way Brady taunted it in the press was one straw too many.

If only Seattles OC wasn't a complete embarrassment to tards everywhere......

I've heard the Pats stole that play call and that's why the route was jumped. Stupid call but still if you had to cheat to win you must be a Patriot.

 

[Slash#10]

Both ESPN & Sports Illustrated are pathetic to have released these articles! What is there to gain? Let's just play some football man

 

[steelermania]

The Patriots, Belichick and Tom Brady will end up looking like Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco when it's all said and done. Yeah, they made millions and won titles and hold records but almost no one will actually count any of the records or accolades.

I'd never compare Bonds to Canseco. Canseco = Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa. Bonds=Clemens. The first three used drugs to become good players. Bonds, and Clemens were first ballot Hall Of Famers without drugs. They used drugs to extend their careers. While none of them belong in the HOF, Bonds, and Clemens were great players, the other three, not so much.

 

[Lunar]

**** the pats with a fire hydrant. Bunch of lying, cheating ********.

 

[Superman]

I Think Kraft should lose the team and they should be moved to LA

that would be perfect.
LA is glitz and glamour
hocus and pocus
Movie stars and porn talent
Cameras everygoddamnwhere
Patriots would fit right in.

 

[Ironcitysteelers]

We all knew this. Glad it's out. Cheating *****.

 

[SteelerinMD]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-s...r-in-scope-than-first-realized-140513497.html

 

[Steelerfan81]

Reporting that they has hand written notes of the Steelers defensive signals in 2001. They were destroyed by NFL.

 

[nitsuj1225]

Reporting that they has hand written notes of the Steelers defensive signals in 2001. They were destroyed by NFL.

Yet the Pats fanbase honestly believes the league is out to get them which is just absurd based on everything that was swept under the rug. I mean there's a reason this stuff is just being released now and was just dismissed as "rumors" when they were caught.

It's pretty sad when a heated division rival who also happened to have a former player involved in a murder isn't even the team or player you hate the most in the league.

 

[Super Dave]

What is interesting is this nugget from Steeler Depot that I was not aware of

Among the library of scouting material of football
research director Ernie Adams “were handwritten
diagrams of the defensive signals of the Pittsburgh
Steelers, including the notes used in the January 2002
AFC Championship Game won by the Patriots 24-17”.

Yet none of this material exists any longer. In fact,
very few have ever seen any of it, because the league
sought its destruction, and the Patriots maintained
proprietary ownership over some of the material that
was obtained legally, thus forcing the NFL to dispose
of the material in New England’s own headquarters.