Matt Walsh Releases Spygate Tapes

[monosylab1k]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8116074?MSNHPHMA

Former employee Walsh sends Spygate tapes to NFL

Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh sent the NFL eight videotapes that show New England violated league rules by recording opposing coaches' playcalling signals.

The tapes include signals by coaches of five opponents in six games from 2000-02, but don't include video from the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before the 2002 Super Bowl.

The NFL said it received a letter from Michael Levy, the lawyer for Walsh, detailing the tapes that were scheduled to arrive Thursday at the league's New York offices.

The tapes sent to the NFL show the Patriots recorded signals in regular-season games against Miami, Buffalo, Cleveland and San Diego, and against Pittsburgh in the 2002 AFC championship game.

"This is consistent with what the Patriots had admitted they had been doing, consistent with what we already knew," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press.

The New York Times first reported the story on its Web site Wednesday night.

Walsh, who worked for New England from 1997 to 2003, agreed to turn over the tapes and other evidence by Thursday. He's scheduled to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell next Tuesday about New England's taping of opposing teams.

"We're not going to comment," said Stacey James, the Patriots' vice president for media relations. He added he expected the team will wait to issue a statement until after Walsh meets with Goodell.

Walsh's name first surfaced just before this year's Super Bowl, nearly five months after the Patriots were sanctioned for illegally taping the New York Jets in the season opener — a $500,000 fine for coach Bill Belichick, a $250,000 fine for the organization, and the loss of a first-round draft pick.

At that time, the Boston Herald also reported an unnamed Patriots employee illegally taped the Rams' final walkthrough before the 2002 title game, when New England, a two-touchdown underdog, upset St. Louis 20-17.

Goodell previously has said he was fully prepared to crack down again on the Patriots if his meeting with Walsh uncovered a tape made of the Rams' walkthrough practice.

"Mr. Walsh has never claimed to have a tape of the walkthrough," Levy told The New York Times. "Mr. Walsh has never been the source of any of the media speculation about such a tape. Mr. Walsh was not the source for the Feb. 2 Boston Herald article."

After more than two months of negotiations, lawyers for the league and Walsh finally reached an agreement on April 23 on terms that will allow him to talk with Goodell. They include an agreement by the Patriots not to sue Walsh and to pay his legal expenses and his airfare to New York from Hawaii, where he is now a golf pro.

[monosylab1k]

I got this from a Pats message board, but from what they said, on ESPN radio this morning Chris Mortensen made the following comments:

- He said Goodell will end Spygate on the 13th. He will meet Matt Walsh in the morning and in the afternoon he will meet the press and show them the videotapes and say the investigation is over.

- He also expects Goodell to publically admonish Walsh for not putting the Rams walkthrough rumors to rest from the beginning. Mort said that Levy should have publically denied that Walsh had the Rams videotape and that Walsh was the source of the Herald piece from the beginning and that they were wrong to let this thing linger.

- He met with Walsh the week of a Pro Bowl, but not in a formal interview and he said that Walsh was very evasive.

- He believes the Herald to publically either retract the Rams walkthrough story or publically stand by their source. Otherwise, there will be a lingering affect on them worse if they issue a retraction. He expects they will stand by their source.

- Said that when Walsh originally spoke to the press, he believes that Walsh did not know that the Patriots admitted to videotaping signals back to 2000.

Surprising from an ESPN employee, and I doubt much of this actually happens, but whatever. Spygate is finally almost over, except for one bitter Senator, who apparently things the best way to serve his country is to investigate football practices that have zero legal ramifications.

[GaryJohnston]

So the Patriots cheated in other games, the NFL knew, and we(the public) are finding that out now.

I wonder how many other tapes of Pats cheating existed that the NFL destroyed to save face from the discrace the Patriots have brought to the league.

[DBryant88]

New England Patriots - Cheat and cant even win thew big one

[TheSanityAnnex]

So they were punished for filming the Jets game, but won't be punished for any of these?

[O-Factor]

Goodell is a pansy. He's looked completely weak in handling the patriots cheating.

[monosylab1k]

So they were punished for filming the Jets game, but won't be punished for any of these?

They were punished for the full extent of their cheating, not just the Jets game. Goodell punished them based on all the information the Patriots gave him about their cheating. According to Aiello, all these "new" tapes fall into the punishment already levied.

Goodell himself said that if anything new surfaced, there would be further punishment, i.e. the fabled Rams walkthru tape. Walsh didn't have that.

[TheSanityAnnex]

You really believe the Patriots gave him "all" of their information on cheating? :lol

I thought it was just for the Jets game. Having said that, Goodell is a coward and the punishment should have been more severe. One draft pick = weak sauce.

[monosylab1k]

You really believe the Patriots gave him "all" of their information on cheating? :lol

I have no idea, just like you have no idea. You can certainly assume with good reason that the Patriots didn't give him all of their intel, just like I can assume with good reason that more teams than just the Patriots tape signals.

All I know is that whatever Walsh has, it's nothing new to Goodell. Therefore, no additional punishment.

EDIT: I may be wrong about the initial punishment, it's been a while.....Goodell may have punished them for just the Jets game, then said something along the lines of "Give me everything else you have right now and I won't punish you further".....either way, whatever Walsh has isn't going to warrant further punishment.

[monosylab1k]

One draft pick = weak sauce.

I won't say it's not a weak punishment, but a first round pick is pretty stiff. I'd rather forfeit a game.

weaker sauce is what Tagliabue did about the Broncos salary cap cheating.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

This is beyond stupid. If the NFL wouldn't have destroyed the initial tapes, this story would have died six months ago.

[TheSanityAnnex]

I won't say it's not a weak punishment, but a first round pick is pretty stiff. I'd rather forfeit a game.

weaker sauce is what Tagliabue did about the Broncos salary cap cheating.

1 pick for years of cheating was not enough.


Agreed on the Broncos.

[FlavoredIcecream]

:lol @ the Patriots
Fucking scumbags

18-1* :lol

[peewee's lovechild]

Walsh's lawyer said that Walsh was not the person involved in the Boston Herald story.

Could there be someone else that has stuff on the Pats?

[monosylab1k]

Walsh's lawyer said that Walsh was not the person involved in the Boston Herald story.

Could there be someone else that has stuff on the Pats?

you wish.

Walsh's lawyer is doing spin control since his client looks like a complete dick now. He's been hinting at having that tape all this time and it turns out that he has nothing.

We'll see how the Boston Herald responds to this, because at the moment they're about to be sued into oblivion by Bob Kraft for libel. If Walsh really did give them that info, they'll obviously insist on standing by their story. If he didn't, they'll just bend over and take it.

[DBryant88]

Walsh's lawyer said that Walsh was not the person involved in the Boston Herald story.

Could there be someone else that has stuff on the Pats?

yeah tom brady is really gay and randy moss is really a alien oh and tedy bruschi died a long time ago thats his clone

[jack sommerset]

Spygate story is finally over. After it is all said and done I still just don't care. Every team steals signs. Thats the truth. I have never heard one coach durning all this said he did not steal signs I heard a few say we did not video tape.

[peewee's lovechild]

We'll see how the Boston Herald responds to this, because at the moment they're about to be sued into oblivion by Bob Kraft for libel. If Walsh really did give them that info, they'll obviously insist on standing by their story. If he didn't, they'll just bend over and take it.

The Herald retracted the story.

They have lost all credibility.

[monosylab1k]

The Herald retracted the story.

They have lost all credibility.

Yeah Bob Kraft is about to put alot of shitty reporters out of a job.

[monosylab1k]

More proof that Specter/Walsh are completely full of shit. This is taken from Specter's Senate Statement -

In response to my questions, Matt Walsh stated he had season tickets in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and saw Steve Scarnecchia, his successor, videotape games during those seasons including:

The Patriots' September 9, 2002 game against the Steelers.
The Patriots' November 16, 2003 game against the Cowboys.
The Patriots' October 31, 2004 game against the Steelers, which the Steelers resoundingly won 34-20. (When the Patriots played the Steelers again that season in the AFC Championship game on January 23, 2005, the Patriots won by a score of 41-27.)

Walsh stated he observed Scarnecchia filming additional Patriots home games, though he could not recall the specific games.
So Walsh had season tickets for the Patriots, and he saw Scarnecchia videotape the Patriots October '04 game against the Steelers.

One problem.

That game was played in Pittsburgh.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=241031023

[TheSanityAnnex]

More proof that Specter/Walsh are completely full of shit.

If Walsh was full of shit, he would not have had any evidence (tapes) to give to Goodell, yet he did.

The only person here full of shit is you. You keep saying that this needs to go away yet continue to keep bringing it up. Just accept the fact that your team has cheated for the last 5 years and get over it, like the rest of us have.

[O-Factor]

^ Agreed. Furthermore, no telling how many other tapes(of cheating) that NE had that Walsh didn't have, that were destroyed by Goodell.

This Pats era will go down as a successful era, but will always linked to cheating and spygate. It is what it is.

[monosylab1k]

If Walsh was full of shit, he would not have had any evidence (tapes) to give to Goodell, yet he did.

The only person here full of shit is you. You keep saying that this needs to go away yet continue to keep bringing it up. Just accept the fact that your team has cheated for the last 5 years and get over it, like the rest of us have.

Walsh had nothing that Goodell didn't already know about. The only reason his name went public is because of his claims of having the walk-thru tape. He convinced the Boston Herald to go with the story, then after realizing he didn't have shit to back it up, immediately started backtracking and looking for legal help to make sure his ass didn't get sued into the ground.

He found a friend in Arlen Specter, who has his own agenda as to why he wants to drag the NFL through this - most notably, the shitloads of money Comcast donates to his campaign fund.

The Patriots cheated for years. They got their penalty and paid the price. End of story there. I'm keeping this alive because of the fact that there is a huge conflict of interest going on with Arlen Specter. He's about to get put thru the ringer over his ties to Comcast and his obvious gross abuse of power in this whole story.

You want to know the real bad guy in this whole saga? It's not an asshole head coach in Foxboro. It's a senile old man in Pennsylvania.

[monoslobsond1ck]

:cry

You want to know the real bad guy in this whole saga? It's not an asshole head coach in Foxboro. It's a senile old man in Pennsylvania.:cry

[TheSanityAnnex]

The Patriots cheated for years. They got their penalty and paid the price. End of story there. I'm keeping this alive because of the fact that there is a huge conflict of interest going on with Arlen Specter. He's about to get put thru the ringer over his ties to Comcast and his obvious gross abuse of power in this whole story.



Sounds like you should post this in the political forum.

[J.T.]

I hate the Pats more than anyone on this board and I couldn't care less about Spygate anymore. Thread over.

[DBryant88]

I hate the Pats more than anyone on this board and I couldn't care less about Spygate anymore. Thread over.

doubt it. i live in N.E. and i am shunned form everywhere becuse i am a cowboys fan i hate the pats with a passion

[LaDainian Tomlinson]

Sounds like you should post this in the political forum.

But what if his knee hurts?

[DBryant88]

the pats should have got a steeper penalty like a salary cap reduction and more draft pick and a supension of bill bellicheck. so what if they didn't cheat in the superbowl vs the rams, the fact is they cheated

[GaryJohnston]

I don't get this spygate is over crap. Its a part of history now, its not going anywhere. People will be talking about it for years to come when mentioning these Patriots.

Sal Palontonio reported that part of the talk between Goodell and Walsh was Wash admitting that he witnessed the Rams walkthrough prior to the Superbowl and passed on information to coaches defenseive and special teams coaches. Something Goodell already knew???? Doubt it.

There is too much evidence against the Pats to convince me, a fan who doesn't hate, nor root for the Pats, that they have cheated and recorded other teams signals FAR, FAR MORE than any other team has.

[monosylab1k]

Sal Palontonio reported that part of the talk between Goodell and Walsh was Wash admitting that he witnessed the Rams walkthrough prior to the Superbowl and passed on information to coaches defenseive and special teams coaches. Something Goodell already knew???? Doubt it.

What's illegal about that? He didn't tape or record anything from that practice. He watched it. Walsh was setting up equipment with his Patriots field pass and wearing clothing that CLEARLY identified him as a member of the Patriots organization. If the Rams were stupid enough to let him stay there and watch, that is not NE's fault.

The Dolphins were able to purchase audio of Brady's offensive audibles from a third party. You're telling me that's legal, but that the Rams knowing & allowing a member of the Patriots staff to be present at one of their practices isn't? That shit is on the Rams for being stupid.

[J.T.]

doubt it. i live in N.E. and i am shunned form everywhere becuse i am a cowboys fan i hate the pats with a passion

Well at least you're not the guy that wore a Cowboys jersey and a Yankees hat to the NFL Draft this year.

[GaryJohnston]

What's illegal about that? He didn't tape or record anything from that practice. He watched it. Walsh was setting up equipment with his Patriots field pass and wearing clothing that CLEARLY identified him as a member of the Patriots organization. If the Rams were stupid enough to let him stay there and watch, that is not NE's fault.

The Dolphins were able to purchase audio of Brady's offensive audibles from a third party. You're telling me that's legal, but that the Rams knowing & allowing a member of the Patriots staff to be present at one of their practices isn't? That shit is on the Rams for being stupid.


Thats a good cover story or excuse right there. Besides, any excuse you'd like to make doesn't take away the fact that the Patriots have cheated for years. They have taken cheating to levels no other NFL team has. Its sad.

[TheSanityAnnex]

They have taken cheating to levels no other NFL team has. Its sad.According to Mono, every team does this regularly, just like the Patriots.
















<<<<<<still waiting for proof

[TheSanityAnnex]

But what if his knee hurts?If the best in the game says its over, its over.


http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?&brand=null&videoId=3397636&n8pe6c=1

[LaDainian Tomlinson]

If the best in the game says its over, its over.


http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?&brand=null&videoId=3397636&n8pe6c=1

I think you posted the wrong video. That was a video of me saying it's over, not Tom Brady. I only said it was over because ESPN told me that if I didn't say it was over, I'd be forced to play in the AFC Championship Game on my bad knee :cry

[TheSanityAnnex]

I think you posted the wrong video. That was a video of me saying it's over, not Tom Brady. I only said it was over because ESPN told me that if I didn't say it was over, I'd be forced to play in the AFC Championship Game on my bad knee :cry

:lol

The Patriots barely beat a Chargers team at half strength, only to lose to the Giants. Your run is over *.

[TheSanityAnnex]

What's illegal about that? He didn't tape or record anything from that practice. He watched it. Walsh was setting up equipment with his Patriots field pass and wearing clothing that CLEARLY identified him as a member of the Patriots organization. If the Rams were stupid enough to let him stay there and watch, that is not NE's fault.



Martz took particular issue with Walsh's claim that he was on the sidelines during the walk-through, dressed in Patriots clothing.


"I was stunned at Matt Walsh’s allegation that he was on the sideline in New England Patriots apparel during our walk-through," said Martz. "I find that insulting, disturbing and a slap in the face to both our team security and NFL security, who both do outstanding jobs. I promise you that if he was on the sideline, he was not in New England Patriots apparel because he would have been identified."



What say you Mono?

[mardigan]

Tucker agrees with Walsh: Patriots practiced with IR players
ESPN.com news services

Updated: May 22, 2008, 8:01 PM ET



Ross Tucker, a former offensive lineman who played for five teams in a seven-year NFL career, reiterated Thursday that he believes that New England used players on the injured reserve list in practices, which violates league rules.

Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh, in a meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week, said that a Patriots player on injured reserve practiced when he wasn't allowed to in 2001. The NFL said it would investigate the claim.

Tucker continued to contend the Patriots used injured players illegally during an interview on ESPN's "NFL Live." He first wrote about it last week on SI.com.

Tucker told "NFL Live" that Patriots coach Bill Belichick will do anything he can "to get an advantage." He also added that using a player on injured reserve in practice was of "minimal" benefit.

Last Friday, in an article published on SI.com, Tucker wrote that: "I had heard the Patriots did this before I signed with them in 2005 and I saw it firsthand during my time there. I asked veteran receiver Troy Brown about it one time and he responded, 'Every team in the league does that.' I quickly let him know none of the three teams I played for previously had done so.

"Basically, the Patriots would put a player on IR, knowing it meant he couldn't play in a game or practice with the team for the remainder of the season. By skirting the rules and practicing him anyway, it allowed them to develop his skills during the year. A side benefit is that they were also able to give some of the older players less repetitions and, therefore, additional rest."

Goodell said the NFL would investigate the IR allegations, The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass., reported.

Tucker played with Washington, Dallas, Buffalo, New England and Cleveland during his career. He currently writes for SI.com and hosts a show on Sirius satellite radio.



http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3408450

[monosylab1k]

What say you Mono?

Do you believe Matt Walsh is a liar or not? Or is he only trustworthy when he's saying things that hurt the Pats? Let's have some consistency.

And he taped nothing. Again, if the Rams are stupid enough to let an unidentified person sit and watch their practice, that's on them.