The Patriots are embroiled in controversy once again.
The Patriots are once again being accused in a possible cheating scandal, which could not have come at a worse time for Bill Belichick, who just watched his team get outplayed by an AFC playoff contender for the third time in five weeks.
This latest Patriots scandal is awfully similar to the first one. A videographer employed by the team was seen taping the Bengals sideline during their game against the Browns on Sunday. A Cincinnati employee alerted NFL security and the tapes were handed over for review. The league’s investigation of the situation is on-going.
While we wait for the league to sort all of this out, let’s try to answer some questions you may have about the situation. Starting with the most obvious one…
Do the Patriots have an explanation?
Yes, they do and it’s certainly a plausible one. The Patriots released a statement basically saying this was one big mix up. They claim their video crew, which is independent of the football operations side of things, was there to film footage for their in-house series “Do Your Job,” which covers various jobs in the organization. This particular episode would be covering a scout. The camera crew was there to record footage of an advanced scout.
According to the statement, the camera crew was credentialed by the Browns but the operation was not cleared by the Bengals or the NFL. This was “an unintentional oversight,” according to the team.
Should we buy that explanation?
Well, the Pats do produce these “Do Your Job” videos with regularity and establishing an entire series just to record the Bengals’ sidelines is a little much, but…
But?
But this all sounds eerily similar to the tactics the Pats employed during the first Spygate scandal. This is what former video coordinator Matt Walsh told the NFL during that investigation, per ESPN:
“Sources with knowledge of the system say an advance scout would attend the games of upcoming Patriots opponents and assemble a spreadsheet of all the signals and corresponding plays. The scout would give it to Adams, who would spend most of the week in his office with the door closed, matching the notes to the tapes filmed from the sideline. Files were created, organized by opponent and by coach. During games, Walsh later told investigators, the Patriots’ videographers were told to look like media members, to tape over their team logos or turn their sweatshirt inside out, to wear credentials that said Patriots TV or Kraft Productions. The videographers also were provided with excuses for what to tell NFL security if asked what they were doing: Tell them you’re filming the quarterbacks. Or the kickers. Or footage for a team show.”
Would the Patriots really be that dumb and try this again?
That’s a really good question. This is the smartest organization in NFL. And they know they are under intense scrutiny when it comes to bending the rules. Given all that, this sounds especially brazen:
The Patriots say the videographer was a contractor who was not aware of league rules dictating what he could and could not film. That sounds a little too convenient for a team that is known for its attention to detail.
Then again, the production company has nothing to do with the football side of things and that’s where this “intense attention to detail” reputation comes from. For all we know, this crew is the Bengals of NFL video teams.
Still, it all sounds incredibly reckless by the Patriots, who should be especially sensitive when it comes to recording footage in opposing stadiums. After all, here’s what Bill Belichick said about the original Spygate scandal back in 2015:
“It was wrong. We were disciplined for it. That’s it. We never did it again. We’re never going to do it again. And anything else that’s close, we’re not going to do it either.”
Well, this certainly is “close” to the Spygate allegations, Bill.
Well, were they recording similar footage?
This is the key question and one that will be answered when the league announces its findings. But if we’re to believe this report from The Athletic, we don’t have to wait until then:
“According to sources who have viewed the tape, it shows about eight minutes of data focusing on recording the Bengals’ sideline. It’s a direct view of the sideline as players run on and off the field and coaches make signals for plays.
“This isn’t an over-the-shoulder of the advanced scout who is doing his job stuff. This is shooting the sideline. For an extended period of time.”
This wasn’t your standard B-roll. The Pats’ video crew was taping the Bengals sideline. Taping the team they just so happen to be playing next week.
What do the Patriots have to gain?
There’s another good question. This isn’t 2005 when defensive play-calls were still being relayed with signals from the sidelines. Now, we have communication devices for the defense…
The footage may not be as valuable as it was a decade ago but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to gain from recording an opposing team’s sideline in 2019. There are still things being signaled, including no-huddle calls (for both the offense and defense), personnel groupings and other defensive signals, such as defensive fronts and coverage adjustments. There’s enough to be gleaned from the footage to make it useful and give a team the motivation to capture it.
That Zac Tylor is a Sean McVay disciple is important, as well. McVay is known for calling in audibles from the sideline, often in the time after the headset has cutout. It’s possible that Taylor took that strategy along with him to Cincinnati. It’s clear from this video that Belichick had a keen interest in keeping eyes on McVay during their matchup in Super Bowl 53.
If Belichick thought there was something to be gained from keeping his eye on McVay, it’s not crazy to think that he feels the same way about Taylor.
None of this on its own is proof of anything, but when you start stacking all of these coincidences up (and consider the Patriots’ track record) it’s hard to just dismiss this story as some innocent mixup. If this were any other team, that would be far easier to do. Unfortunately, New England lost the benefit of doubt a long time ago.
What happens next?
Well, the NFL appears to want to move quickly.
It should be an interesting week for the NFL’s most impressive dynasty as it deals not only with declining on-field performance but yet another round of questions about its integrity.
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