Just when Spygate was starting to settle down the rumor of the Patriots possibly cheating by recording the St. Louis Rams’ final walk-through in the Superdome before Super Bowl XXXVI. This is starting to become a bad time for the NFL as the report was printed before the Super Bowl and the Patriots have set several records, have an undefeated season, and are noted as one of the best football teams ever. This can all be tarnished if the team is proven to have cheated in a Super Bowl.
There have been many articles released about possible suspicions, play calling in that Super Bowl, and other related topics but there are two that really caught my eye. First was an ESPN article about Matt Walsh who was a video assistant during that time. According to ESPN, Walsh could “expose where and how they gained advantages and, perhaps even, turn over video proof.” This is another great statement “Walsh said he is fearful of possible legal action against him by either the league or Patriots if he details what he knows. He refused to provide evidence of potential wrongdoing unless ESPN agreed to pay his legal fees related to his involvement in the story, as well as an indemnification agreement that would cover any damages found against him in court.”
This definitely shows that Walsh knows something and with Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania wanting to dig into the issue some more, this could be bad news for the NFL and the Patriots even if they win this year’s Super Bowl. This means that their dynasty is fake even with all those good players and the NFL has set a bad example to kids that cheating can win you so many Super Bowls, which might be one of the reasons the league would rather not have such negative info be leaked. It is going to be hard to prove the team actually cheated without a handful of people coming out or some video evidence, that Walsh might have, but a Congressional hearing might allow the truth to come out.
Well I guess we have to wait for all of this but the other thing that gets me is Kurt Warner who just sounds like a sour loser in life. I know it sucks to lose to cheaters but that game was closely fought and came down to a field goal. There are many aspects of a game that he can control and the Rams could have easily won that game. This quote from Warner really tweaks me “Had I won two Super Bowls, some of the things may not have happened through the course of my career.” If he is blaming his drop as a quarterback on that then he is insane.The guy has a problem with fumbling and was not the greatest of quarterbacks. He had a great system that fit him well and lots of talent around him. To blame your career drop on that game is ridiculous Kurt so just retire already if your going to be like that. This is the NFL, this is a game, and in all games people try to get whatever advantage they can and that is expected. The best quote is from Bill Parcells, ” Any coach who doesn’t think his signals are being stolen is stupid.”
While we all wait to see how this ends up, you can’t take away anything from the Patriots this year as they would have dominated the lowly Jets anyways in that first game and they beat every team the whole season including tough games against the Colts and Ravens. I personally don’t think this years team should be punished or tarnished in any way. They played some great games, went undefeated, and set some records. Some people might want to place asterisk or tarnish the team but I say NO to that.