Kentucky Jet Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Jets assistant keeps 'Spygate' alive and kicking Wednesday, May 14, 2008 BY DAVE HUTCHINSON Star-Ledger Staff NEW YORK -- You didn't think Spygate was really over, did you? Hours after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the case was all but closed, that all the information he learned yesterday in a more than a three-hour meeting with former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh confirmed what he already knew -- that the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick would not be penalized further -- the league announced it needed to conduct one more interview. With a coach who works for the Jets. Brian Daboll, an assistant coach with the Patriots from 2000-06 who joined the Jets as their quarterbacks coach at the beginning of last season, confirmed through a Jets statement that he has been asked to meet the commissioner again to discuss the Rams' walk-through before their Super Bowl matchup with the Patriots after the 2002 season. Here's how this unfolded. Spygate erupted during the Patriots' season-opener with the Jets at Giants Stadium last season when Jets employees confiscated evidence that the Patriots were videotaping their signals. Belichick was fined $500,000 and the Pats were docked $250,000 and their first-round pick in last month's draft. The case was considered closed until the Boston Herald reported in February that an unidentified Patriots employee illegally recorded the Rams' walk-through before New England, a two-touchdown underdog, upset St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI. Walsh, the team's video assistant during that season, recently provided the league with eight tapes he had made for the Patriots. But he did not have a tape of the Rams' walk-through and had no knowledge of anybody with the Patriots taping it. Walsh was in the stadium in his Patriots gear setting up equipment during the walk-through, Goodell said. But a new revelation emerged related to that walk-through: Walsh said Daboll grilled him on what he saw that day. Walsh told Goodell that Daboll approached him later, said NFL attorney Gregg Levy, who attended yesterday's meeting. Walsh said he told the coach that running back Marshall Faulk was returning kicks and described the Rams' use of tight ends in their formations. Daboll did not mention the conversation when he was interviewed by NFL officials about the walk-through, Levy said. Goodell made no mention of the incident during his news conference yesterday. In fact, he said: "Having met with Matt Walsh and over 50 other people, I don't know where else I would turn." Apparently it will be to Daboll. When the meeting takes place and what could come of it are unclear. Walsh and his attorney, Michael N. Levy, refused to comment as they exited the meeting with Goodell in Manhattan. The Rams also refused to comment. The Patriots, before the knowledge of the Daboll interview, said they considered the case closed. "We hope that with Matt Walsh's disclosures everyone will finally believe what we have been saying all along and emphatically stated on the day of the initial report: The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams' walk-through on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI is absolutely false," the Patriots said in a statement. The Patriots, in fact, came off well. Goodell said his meeting with Walsh uncovered no other violations of league policy by the Patriots. He said the club didn't bug opponent's locker rooms, there was no manipulation of in-game communications systems, no crowd noise violations and no use of mikes by Patriots players to try to pick up opponents' signals through audibles. The NFL showed the media seven of the eight tapes provided by Walsh, which included three tapes of games against the Dolphins, one that showed the Patriots recording offensive and defensive signals. The other tapes were of games against the Bills, Chargers and Steelers. Each showed coaches signaling, down-and-distance situations and personnel packages. The most scandalous part of the tapes shown before Goodell's news conference had nothing to do with stealing signals; it was several minutes of close-ups of San Diego Chargers cheerleaders. The only new information unveiled, said Goodell, was that Walsh said the Patriots illegally allowed a player on injured reserve to practice during the 2001 season and that Walsh scalped eight to 12 Super Bowl tickets for Patriots players over two seasons. Goodell said his office will investigate both allegations but doesn't expect anything more than minimal fines, if that, in both instances. No new fireworks came from Sen. Arlen Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee who has criticized the league's handling of the case. When his afternoon meeting with Walsh in Washington ran long, Specter postponed his news conference until today. The only other item of note: Walsh said he had no recent contact with Belichick, describing him to Goodell as "the man behind the curtain." One Goodell clearly doesn't believe. "I'm pretty well on the record I didn't accept Belichick's explanation for what happened (then) and I still don't to this day," Goodell said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Jets revisit Shea Jets Night at Shea, which was rained out last month, has been re-scheduled. Here's the press release: The New York Mets and New York Jets today announced the rescheduling of Jets Night at Shea to Tuesday, July 8 before the Mets host the San Francisco Giants. Jets Night at Shea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Secrecy=Wins? The Jets finished their three-day rookie mini-camp Sunday, and I would like very much to give you some observations from the final day. I can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Text size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 ODDS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Among N.F.L. quarterbacks with at least 1,500 pass attempts, no one has ever had a better career completion percentage than Chad Pennington. Let Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124 Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 The completion percentage argument that many Chad lovers bring up is flawed. I'm sorry, but all of those Quarterbacks would have better completion percentages than Pennington if they threw the exact same passes that he does. Hell, I think I could go out there and complete at least 60% of the passes he makes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Go with the over for the Jets- they will win more than 6 games this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Go with the over for the Jets- they will win more than 6 games this year. I agree With the money they spent this off season, they better come up with more then 6 wins. Just have to decide how much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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