Sports Insider by Frank Coppola: Belichick, Patriots should have broken Spygate silence sooner

February 18, 2008

Belichick, Patriots should have broken Spygate silence sooner

In case anybody missed it, Patriots coach Bill Belichick and personnel guru Scott Pioli have finally broken their silence about the infamous Spygate controversy.

Belichick apologized for the season-long scandal and told the Boston Globe that the impact of videotaping another team's defensive signals on the Patriots' game plan was minimal, that it rates as a 1 on a scale of 1 to 100. He also strongly denied allegations of taping the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough practice prior to the 2002 Super Bowl, allegations that caused one former Rams player and three fans to file a huge lawsuit -- albeit a ridiculous one -- against the Patriots over the weekend.

"In my entire coaching career, I've never seen another team's practice film prior to playing that team," Belichick told the Globe. "I have never authorized, or heard of, or even seen in any way, shape, or form any other team's walkthrough. We don't even film our own. We don't even want to see ourselves do anything, that's the pace that it's at. Regardless, I've never been a part of that."

Belichick and Pioli also had some harsh words for former employee Matt Walsh, who helped keep Spygate in the news during Super Bowl week with his comments about having tapes that could get the Patriots in further trouble. Walsh also hinted that he was the one who recorded the Rams' practice on the eve of the Super Bowl.

That's where Belichick and Pioli really took offense, with Pioli revealing the circumstances of Walsh's firing in 2003.

According to the Globe, Pioli said Walsh was "secretly tape-recording conversations between him and me." Pioli then said he knew it was true because "two other employees saw him doing it, and I checked after, and heard it on the tape myself."

Wow. Now that's some real spy stuff. Walsh was apparently let go immediately, which puts his Spygate comments in proper perspective. It seems to me that Walsh got his revenge during Super Bowl week with those comments about the Rams practice. Not to say the Patriots or Belichick were distracted against the Giants -- you can't take anything away from the way New York played -- but it just makes you wonder.

Belichick actually said that he "couldn't pick Matt Walsh out of a lineup" in the Globe story.

Now, I'm not sure if the Patriots are coming clean now just because the season is over or if because they are feeling some pressure from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell given the absolute nonsense of the Arlen Specter hearing last week.

For the record, Belichick said that he didn't want to talk about the Spygate incident during the season because it would have been a distraction and kept the team from focusing on its main objective: winning games. The tactic nearly worked to perfection, as the Patriots were 18-0 before their shocking loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

But given the simplicity of Belichick's remarks and the strong denial he made yesterday, I really wish he had done this months ago. Like, as soon as word of this scandal broke. Belichick and the Patriots have been crushed in the national media because of this story, largely because the coach and the team basically refused to comment on it. I don't think handing out a strong denial would have been a distraction to the team in the least. Not saying anything about it was a bigger distraction and just allowed the story to have legs.

Personally, I have no beef with the way Belichick does business. I think he's right when he says that his No. 1 priority is to win games, but in this case I think he messed up in a big way. He should have given his explanation for the Spygate incident, offered the same genuine apology that he made yesterday, and given some insight as to the minimal effects the taping had on the Patriots' preparation.

Yesterday Belichick echoed the thoughts that many of us have had in the previous months, saying that he didn't understand what the big fuss over Spygate was given that the defensive signals the team taped were in plain view to everyone at the stadium. He again said that he misinterpreted the rule about taping signals, saying that he thought it was OK as long as that information was not used in the current game.

"My interpretation was that you can't utilize anything to assist you during that game," Belichick told the Globe. "What our camera guys do is clearly not allowed to be used during the game and has never been used during that game that it was shot."

If he had just offered that explanation in September, Spygate would have likely died a quick death. Coaches have been doing this kind of taping for years and years. That's why this is so frustrating to Patriots fans. In the end, what they did was not a big deal in the least. Did they break a rule? Yes, a minor one that had a minimal effect on anything.

But look at what the Patriots' silence did.

By saying nothing for so long, Belichick only made people wonder. The media threw him and the team's legacy into the fire, and they haven't really let up since.

That's the real shame of all this: In the minds of some people, the Patriots legacy this decade will forever be tainted because of a minor rule violation. In the end, much of that is Belichick's fault for not speaking up about this earlier and defending himself and the franchise. For all the great things he's done, he did the Patriots a disservice there.

That said, there's nobody else in the world I'd rather have coaching my football team. And if that coach can deliver another Super Bowl championship next season, most of this controversy will finally be forgotten.

Frank Coppola can be reached at fcoppola@seacoastonline.com.

Posted by Frank Coppola at February 18, 2008 02:55 PM

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