Did Belichick address the play in the Super Bowl when the Giants were flagged for having 12 men on the field? I was wondering if he explained how the Pats were able to doctor the video in such a short amount of time to make it look like Chase Blackburn was still on the field.

By the way, they should get the Pats and Rams back on the field to finish Super Bowl XXXIV. There are still :02 seconds left in the game following Vinatieri's FG.

I read the Reiss article and I have to say, it sounds like Walsh is a snoop and a liar. I find it suspicious that Walsh and his lawyer won't reveal the tapes without complete protection from the NFL. I find it suspicious that they claim the Patriots are trying to smear Walsh instead of addressing their behavior, when in fact the Patriots directly addressed what they did and why/how they did it.

Now, I'm no Judge, but it sounds like Walsh has his own agenda (I believe it was Mr. Walsh, with the asterisk, in the video room) and it's the kind of agenda that needs legal protection, not 5th amendment protection.

Steven

Interesting points Steven. Although it seems to me you're giving the Patriots organization a little too much credit. How can you state that "the Patriots directly addressed what they did and why/how they did it"? All we know is that the Patriots got caught breaking the rules, that it wasn't the first time they've been caught and that they've given exactly the sort of excuses you would expect them to give. To me, they're no more believable than Roger Clemens.

As far as Matt Walsh goes, he certainly does seem like a sneaky and self-serving person. But there's a reason he was hired and if he did what he said he did, he was just the right person for the job. And it's folly to expect him to not have his own agenda. I think he's absolutely being fair in wanting to have full immunity. He's like a mob snitch. Sometimes you have to make a deal with the little bad guys to catch the big bad guys.

Time will tell if this amounts to anything. I'd guess it will uncover more than Patriot fans would like but not as much as Patriot haters would prefer. The status quo in other words.

Not to belabor the point, as this is someone's else's blog, but...

Belichick addressed how he interpreted the rules and his exploitation of a gray area within them. He also stated that the information gathered was for future games, not current ones. That, to me, is the "how/why."

A quick one for the record: I'm no Patriots fan (sorry Gregg), but I'm no Patriots hater either.

I will say this: I admit my opinion means taking the Patriot's organization at their word and, as convicted cheaters, that word must be taken with a grain of salt. The reason I do take them at their word, in this case, is that they admitted to the wrongdoing (which is different than Clemens). Walsh has done nothing (yet) besides hide behind allegations of supposed video evidence, while the Patriots have admitted to their transgressions. True, they denied some of the allegations within their confession, but they appear to be forthright in their current words and additionally in their original cooperation with Goodell and the NFL in handing over the tapes. It is suspicious the tapes were destroyed, but remember, Goodell destroyed the tapes, not the Patriots.

You're certainly right about one thing Dan, time will tell. We may both be proven wrong, but it'll be interesting to let the saga unfold.

I guess had more to say than I thought; good discussion though.

The only thing for certain is that the Patriots were caught cheating. They were not caught for misinterpreting the rules. They were caught for cheating. Now the only questions left are 1. how deep did it permeat the wins that the NE fans are so proud of? 2. Why did the NFL conspire with the Patriots to try and sweep this under the rug?
Time will tell.

How could Walsh be negotiating a deal with the NFL to turn over tapes if they don't exist?. He may not have the smoking gun per se, but he must have something concrete.

Right now its a lot of he said, he said. We really don't know whats going on exactly. I'm the opposite of a Pats fan and I'm not ready to burn them at the stake. But I also think they need to accept a little more responsibility for the issue. Belichick saying he "misinterpreted the rules" is about as good as a 5 year old not understanding when bedtime is. As head coach of a billion dollar franchise they pay you to know what the rules are and this is an issue that the commish had addressed specifically before spygate happened.

Come on steven, you are as naive as the commish if you think they have admitted what they done. the patriots have only admitted to what they been caught doing. What we know is just the tip of the iceberg. There will definately be more to come.