Patriots Cheating Tree.....

[JonEJet]

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_16720519

NFL investigating possible Broncos filming violation

By Jeff Legwold and Dave Krieger

The Denver Post

Posted: 11/27/2010 01:00:00 AM MST

Joe Ellis, left, chief operating officer of the Broncos, confirmed the director of video operations is on a "personal leave of absence."

In an echo of the New England Patriots' "Spygate" scandal, the NFL is investigating whether a Broncos employee videotaped a San Francisco 49ers walk-through at London's Wembley Stadium four weeks ago.

Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis confirmed Friday that Steve Scarnecchia, the team's director of video operations, is on a "personal leave of absence" while team and league officials investigate the matter, but he declined to comment further. Scarnecchia did not travel with the team to San Diego last weekend and has not been at the team's Dove Valley complex this week.

The Broncos are actively working with the NFL on the investigation, according to team sources. Reached at his home Friday, Scarnecchia declined to comment. League spokesman Greg Aiello also declined to comment. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels could not reached for comment Friday afternoon.

McDaniels and Scarnecchia both previously worked for the Patriots, Scarnecchia between 2001 and 2005 and McDaniels between 2001 and 2009 before being hired by the Broncos. In 2007, the Patriots were found to have videotaped New York Jets coaches sending in signals during a game between the two teams, which is against league rules.

Following a league investigation, commissioner Roger Goodell stripped the Patriots of their first-round pick in the 2008 draft. He also fined the Patriots $250,000 and fined Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000.

McDaniels hired Scarnecchia to run the Broncos' video operations shortly after he accepted the job in January 2009.

Upon his formal introduction as the team's 12th head coach, McDaniels was asked about the effect of "Spygate" on his candidacy for the job, as well as whether either Broncos owner Pat Bowlen or Ellis asked him about Spygate during either of his two interviews with team officials.

At that time McDaniels said: "That situation was something that happened. I was not aware of that. I wasn't aware of it and all the things that did happen in terms of that whole scenario. It really didn't affect us, to tell you the truth. It was all about preparation and trying to do whatever we felt was best that week. It really didn't have anything to do with that.

"I don't think it is good. To have that kind of attention was a distraction, and I think that is how we all treated it. We tried to do the best we could to limit those distractions every week, and it will be no different here. Certainly we are never looking to do anything that is not within the rules established by the National Football League. They determined the punishment on that, and it was what it was and we moved on."

The NFL's current investigation revolves around practices held by the Broncos and the 49ers on Saturday, Oct. 30, in Wembley Stadium. Both teams were allotted time to hold walk-through practices at the stadium that day. It was the only time while the two teams were in England that they would have used the same facility to practice on the same day. Teams normally bar anyone not associated with the team from watching practice. Taping another team's practice could result in a severe penalty from the NFL.

The next day the 49ers defeated the Broncos, 24-16. Denver enters Sunday's game against St. Louis at 3-7.

Scarnecchia continued to perform his usual day-to-day duties after the team's return from London but was not on the team's chartered flight to San Diego last Sunday and has not been seen on the practice field this week.

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, in a statement on the Senate floor dated May 14, 2008, made specific references to Scarnecchia regarding what he termed "extensive videotaping of opponents' offensive and defensive signals" by the Patriots between 2000 and 2007. Specter was relating interviews he had with a former Patriots employee, Matt Walsh.

The NFL punished the Patriots only for the specific videos made against the Jets.

When will it end?

[Larz]

everyone does it, what's the big deal

[visajets]

Tar and feather them all. But Roger will do nothing. He only penalizes the guys playing the game.

[slats]

Awesome.

[Child please]

I'm sure belicheat has stopped his operation too.

[madmikeisback]

This is his fallback when his team sucks. Right back to what he did in new england where they are clearly still doing it. (Thats the only explanation for their 9-2 record with that joke of a roster) It's amazing how these scum who make a mockery of the game are allowed to steal wins season after season with the NFL doing nothing to stop it and level the playing field.

[SenorGato]

Jets team name should be the Angels.

[Jared]

Scarnecchia between 2001 and 2005

McDaniels hired Scarnecchia to run the Broncos' video operations shortly after he accepted the job in January 2009.

Now tell me what team Scarnecchia worked for between 2005 and 2009.

[slats]

Now tell me what team Scarnecchia worked for between 2005 and 2009.

Haha!

Looks like the Jets chose not to utilize him in the same fashion, or he was just better at it with the Jets.

[T0mShane]

Like every dude has a secret drawer of porn, every NFL organization has a drawer full of other teams' practice film. It's only a problem when Lil' Timmy finds it and starts asking questions. The trick is to make sure you never leave the porn drawer unlocked.

[Garb]

Like every dude has a secret drawer of porn, every NFL organization has a drawer full of other teams' practice film. It's only a problem when Lil' Timmy finds it and starts asking questions. The trick is to make sure you never leave the porn drawer unlocked.

Word.

Not for nothing, but if these videos are so useful and give you the winning edge, shouldn't a team be....uh....winning?

[madmikeisback]

Word.

Not for nothing, but if these videos are so useful and give you the winning edge, shouldn't a team be....uh....winning?

Someone doesn't understand logic.

[Garb]

Someone doesn't understand logic.

You do know that Lil Scar worked for Mangini in NY for a few years, right? You weren't winning either. LOL!

[madmikeisback]

You do know that Lil Scar worked for Mangini in NY for a few years, right? You weren't winning either. LOL!

It serves the Jets right if they are linked to this. They hired people off the tainted cheating coaching tree.

[madmikeisback]

This also shows that the Broncos at least are trying, for optics sake to look like they are not endorsing this kind of cheating. NE fired no one when they were caught. They still flaunt their cheating.

[RutgersJetFan]

Something tells me this isn't the first time he's illegally filmed dudes.

[Vudu]

So thyey videotaped the walk through and still lost? Josh McDaniels is no Belicheck, he sucks.

Edit:

NFL fines Broncos, McDaniels $50,000 each for videotaping infraction

Posted by Mike Florio on November 27, 2010, 1:16 PM EST

The NFL has concluded that former Broncos director of video operations Steve Scarnecchia indeed recorded a portion of the 49ers’ walk-through practice conducted at Wembley Stadium in London. But the league also has concluded that coach Josh McDaniels refused to watch the tape.

The end result? Scarnecchia has been fired with cause, the Broncos have been fined $50,000 because they are responsible for the conduct of their employees, and McDaniels has been fined $50,000 for not immediately reporting the infraction.

Because the league has determined that Scarnecchia is a repeat offender of the policy in question (the specific nature of the prior violation is not yet clear, given that he left the Patriots after the 2004 season), the league will conduct a hearing aimed at determining whether he should be barred from further employment with the league or any of its teams.

“The investigation disclosed that on October 30, the day before the Broncos played the 49ers in London, Steve Scarnecchia, Denver’s video director, was present in Wembley Stadium,” Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to Broncos owner Pat Bowlen. “He was properly at the stadium, along with players, coaches and other club staff, to prepare for the October 31 game. During this time, the Broncos conducted their final walk-thru. After the Denver players and most of the other team staff left Wembley, Mr. Scarnecchia remained behind to continue setting up his equipment for the next day. At one point he noticed that the 49ers were conducting their walk-thru practice, and he surreptitiously recorded a portion (approximately six minutes in length) of that practice.”

Goodell’s letter carefully points out that the investigation revealed no active culpability on McDaniels’ part. “Our investigators immediately and independently interviewed Coach McDaniels and did so under circumstances that would have made it impossible for him to have spoken to Mr. Scarnecchia in advance. (It is also significant that your staff had not previously discussed the matter with Coach McDaniels; thus, his meeting with NFL Security was the first time that he had been questioned on the matter.) Coach McDaniels recounted essentially the same sequence of events as Mr. Scarnnechia had previously disclosed — namely, that Mr. Scarnecchia had come to him and advised that he had recorded the walk-thru, and that Coach McDaniels told Mr. Scarnecchia that he was not interested in watching the tape and did not do so,” Goodell wrote.

“Based on our investigation, we have found no evidence to suggest that Coach McDaniels or any other member of the coaching staff watched the tape. Nor have we identified any evidence to suggest that any member of the coaching staff or club management directed Mr. Scarnecchia to record the practice. We are aware of no evidence that would indicate the recording of any other opposing team practices or walk-thrus, or the like. And there is no reason to believe that the improper videotaping in London had any competitive effect on the October 31 game between the Broncos and 49ers.”

That last point goes without saying, given that the Broncos lost the game.

Still, we’re somewhat troubled by the reduced consequence. The Broncos and McDaniels knew or should have known they were hiring a guy who had previously cheated, based on the league’s conclusion that Scarnecchia is a multiple offender. Moreover, McDaniels arguably has gotten a pass for failing to immediately alert the team and the league to a case of cheating far worse, in our view, that the videotaping of in-game coaching signals.

“The coach’s failure to do so is inconsistent with the Policy on Integrity of the Game, which imposes an obligation on executives, head coaches and others with knowledge of violations to report them promptly,” Goodell wrote. “Because Coach McDaniels failed to do so, I have decided to impose a fine on him of $50,000. I have also, as you know, personally discussed this matter with Coach McDaniels, and have emphasized his critical role in fostering and maintaining a culture of integrity within the football organization. I believe that he now understands his responsibilities in this respect, and am hopeful that he will live up to those responsibilities in the future.”

We’re not sure that the Costanza-style “was that wrong?” approach should apply here. McDaniels was employed by the Patriots when Spygate occurred. He also was working for the Patriots when allegations of a videotaped walk-through practice hit the fan only days before Super Bowl XLII. McDaniels knows the sensitivity of these matters, and even though he’s only 34 he should have been expected to sound the alarm. Failure to say anything to anyone could be — and arguably should be — proof enough to presume that he wanted to cover it all up.

Of course, the team isn’t bound by the league’s decision. Indeed, with McDaniels presumed to be safe due to the fact that former coach Mike Shanahan is still receiving a buyout, the team could hold McDaniels to a higher standard, and the Broncos possibly could fire him for cause, cutting off any future payments.

[Greenranger]

and he was caught doing this, in New England, in 2004. But its not like they did anything important that year.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/11/27/steve-scarnecchias-first-offense-was-involvement-with-patriots/

[CoachTsurfing]

The NFL is becoming a joke. Other then Jet games I haven't really been watching much pro football. Pro sports in general is leaving a bad taste.

[Child please]

There were also allegations by former Patriots staffer Matt Walsh that he was told by the Patriots to tape the Rams’ walk-thru prior to New England’s Super Bowl XXXVI win in Feb. 2002. The Patriots were not penalized for those charges.

What makes this all the more surreal and coincidental, Steve Scarnecchia succeeded Walsh with the Patriots. According to the New York Times, Walsh told Senator Arlen Specter that he witnessed Scarnecchia illegally tape the Steelers in 2002 and the Steelers and Cowboys during their second Super Bowl championship season in 2004.

You can bet your a$$ paranoid Belicheat and the patsies are still cheating to this day.

[Jared]

There were also allegations by former Patriots staffer Matt Walsh that he was told by the Patriots to tape the Rams’ walk-thru prior to New England’s Super Bowl XXXVI win in Feb. 2002.

You mean the story run in the Boston Herald that NO OTHER MEDIA ORGANIZATION ANYWHERE could corroborate in any way, which the Boston Herald printed a front page retraction for?

[Pyper]

Now tell me what team Scarnecchia worked for between 2005 and 2009.

That was an interesting omission. I'm also reminded of a photo many websites and newspapers ran following spygate. They had a picture of a guy wearing a white shirt standing on the sidelines filming the game or perhaps the other sideline. What was strange and never mentioned was the fact that the dude was standing on the Jets sideline and the Patriots defense was on the field. The Patriots may have been the ones who got caught with the tape but the Jets were doing the exact same thing. One of the under reported details of the NFL's investigation was the large file of evidence Belichick gave to the NFL that consisted of other teams "cheating". In other words, not only did the Patriots video crew video tape opposing defensive signals, they also videotaped other teams doing the same thing, including the Jets in 2006.

The Patriots got a raw deal here. If fans had any idea how common this practice was pre-2007, they'd realize how misguided their interpretations of what happened and how the footage was actually used really is. Oh well, hopefully this will make Belichick stick around long enough to duplicate his success. Win three more Super Bowls and the question marks all disappear.

[Pyper]

There were also allegations by former Patriots staffer Matt Walsh that he was told by the Patriots to tape the Rams’ walk-thru prior to New England’s Super Bowl XXXVI win in Feb. 2002. The Patriots were not penalized for those charges.

They weren't penalized b/c those charges were proven false. The Herald retracted the story with an apology on their front page.

[Child please]

They weren't penalized b/c those charges were proven false. The Herald retracted the story with an apology on their front page.

Goodell cover-up, just as he had a large bonfire with the decade of cheating tapes, why exactly did he do that if there was nothing to see on those tapes? If they didn't help at all as you naive sad sack fans try to convince yourselves of?

And they were penalized for a decade of cheating, let's just brush that to the side though. LOL

Long live the stain of New England. Poor things.

[SoFlaJets]

The NFL is becoming a joke. Other then Jet games I haven't really been watching much pro football. Pro sports in general is leaving a bad taste.

Just watching that game Thursday night makes you really start to wonder if the refs were told to keep it close and not let there be a blowout in Prime Time-when one team gets like 5X more flags called than the other...

[Pyper]

Goodell cover-up, just as he had a large bonfire with the decade of cheating tapes, why exactly did he do that if there was nothing to see on those tapes? If they didn't help at all as you naive sad sack fans try to convince yourselves of?

And they were penalized for a decade of cheating, let's just brush that to the side though. LOL

Long live the stain of New England. Poor things.

I love the hysteria. Rival fans everywhere with their panties in a bunch over an issue where they really have no clue how the tapes were used. Instead they speculate (with the help of the media) that the tapes were utilized in the most negative way possible despite the fact that using the footage in that way was logistically impossible. The bottom line is that this whole controversy has less to do with video tapes and EVERYTHING to do with envy and jealousy. This issue reveals what a bunch of whiny, misinformed crybabies some people really are and that is actually really FUNNY!!!

AAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Hopefully a few more "tainted" Super Bowls will finally make you schmucks give up watching football altogether. Good riddance already.

Make them cry Belichick, make them cry.

[Pyper]

Just watching that game Thursday night makes you really start to wonder if the refs were told to keep it close and not let there be a blowout in Prime Time-when one team gets like 5X more flags called than the other...

Yes, the whole league is one giant conspiracy. It's more fixed than the WWE. You should stop watching football completely. The league will never allow the Jets to win. Just stop watching and get rid of all that ugly Jets memorabilia you own. Perhaps you can take up synchronized swimming on Sunday's instead.

[Child please]

I love the hysteria. Rival fans everywhere with their panties in a bunch over an issue where they really have no clue how the tapes were used. Instead they speculate (with the help of the media) that the tapes were utilized in the most negative way possible despite the fact that using the footage in that way was logistically impossible. The bottom line is that this whole controversy has less to do with video tapes and EVERYTHING to do with envy and jealousy. This issue reveals what a bunch of whiny, misinformed crybabies some people really are and that is actually really FUNNY!!!

AAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Hopefully a few more "tainted" Super Bowls will finally make you schmucks give up watching football altogether. Good riddance already.

Make them cry Belichick, make them cry.

And i love the sad attempts of patriot fans to defend a decade of cheating.

Sucks to be the Barry Bonds of the NFL.

[SoFlaJets]

Yes, the whole league is one giant conspiracy. It's more fixed than the WWE. You should stop watching football completely. The league will never allow the Jets to win. Just stop watching and get rid of all that ugly Jets memorabilia you own. Perhaps you can take up synchronized swimming on Sunday's instead.

or maybe my wish will come true and you'll get banned like MACPAC

[SoFlaJets]

And i love the sad attempts of patriot fans to defend a decade of cheating.

Sucks to be the Barry Bonds of the NFL.

yea and it's not like it's only Jets fans who call them out on it-it's players all across the league-nobody likes the Patriots and everyone suspects them of being cheaters who won BY cheating

[Child please]

yea and it's not like it's only Jets fans who call them out on it-it's players all across the league-nobody likes the Patriots and everyone suspects them of being cheaters who won BY cheating

They cheated other players, coaches and the entire NFL for a decade. Fans like CryPyper just want to whine about the Jets because they're the one who exposed their cheating ways and put them on the defensive for the rest of their sad pathetic lives.

[Larz]

I'll say this

the jets better not waive anyone this week, I 100% guarantee the end of on the pats* roster

[Sharrow]

At least the trolls here are sticking to the "it was ok" justification, some other Pats fans are switching it up and trying to use this to take the blame of their cheating off of Belicheat, saying it was all McDaniels fault in NE too.

[GimmeShelter]

From SI article:

McDaniels also likely didn't endear himself to his former boss, New England head coach Bill Belichick. According to FOX, when McDaniels met with his coaching staff on Friday to explain the video-taping incident that had landed his team in trouble, he portrayed it as nothing like the practices that were discovered in New England in 2007.

"That was practiced, that was coached, that was worked on (in New England),'' said McDaniels, according to FOX.

Ouch. That one might leave a mark on the Belichick-McDaniels relationship.

And lastly, let's not forget that McDaniels and his Broncos lost the game against San Francisco in London last month, so there wasn't any advantage gained on any possible front.

[Klecko73isGod]

That was an interesting omission. I'm also reminded of a photo many websites and newspapers ran following spygate. They had a picture of a guy wearing a white shirt standing on the sidelines filming the game or perhaps the other sideline. What was strange and never mentioned was the fact that the dude was standing on the Jets sideline and the Patriots defense was on the field. The Patriots may have been the ones who got caught with the tape but the Jets were doing the exact same thing. One of the under reported details of the NFL's investigation was the large file of evidence Belichick gave to the NFL that consisted of other teams "cheating". In other words, not only did the Patriots video crew video tape opposing defensive signals, they also videotaped other teams doing the same thing, including the Jets in 2006.

The Patriots got a raw deal here. If fans had any idea how common this practice was pre-2007, they'd realize how misguided their interpretations of what happened and how the footage was actually used really is. Oh well, hopefully this will make Belichick stick around long enough to duplicate his success. Win three more Super Bowls and the question marks all disappear.

Oh please. Now you're simply making sh*t up in your head to justify rooting for a bunch of cheating scumbags.