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Del Rio implies more wrong-doing by Pats

Hey all --

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio -- who openly said his players should have speared Tom Brady after the Jags' game with New England last season -- was in front of a microphone again today and implied that that Patriots messed with his team's radio system during the 2005 playoffs.

"Our coach-to-quarterback system mysteriously malfunctioned the entire first half," Del Rio said today.

Jacksonville was flagged for two delay-of-game penalties in the first 20 minutes of that game.

Jags defensive end Paul Spicer said yesterday that the Patriots should lose a second- and third-round draft pick, be fined $2 million, and that the NFL should "do like the NCAA and kick them out of the playoffs or something. Put them on probation; they can't go to no playoff games. Roger Goodell has definitely enforced some new rules. He's been hard on players. Now let's see how hard he's going to be with a team."

Spicer acknowledged that players and teams have been trying to gain advantage for years, but that the Pats' alleged videotaping is over the line.

The NFL is reportedly investigating the number of radio frequencies the Patriots were using during Sunday's game with the Jets.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments 5

Chargers injury/participation report

The Chargers' first report of the week:

OUT
WR Eric Parker (toe)

Did Not Participate in Practice
TE Antonio Gates (back)
RB Andrew Pinnock (hamstring)

Limited Participation in Practice
LB Shawne Merriman (Achilles)

Full Participation in Practice
S Clinton Hart (quadricep)
RB Darren Sproles (concussion)

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:18 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Video: Belichick's statements on tape on tape

Coach Bill Belichick's statement to the press today about the video-cheating allegations was brief -- but not so brief that it wasn't captured on video itself.

Take a look at this report on the incident from the Associated Press.

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 6:16 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Hobbs named AFC special teams player of the week

Hey all --

Ellis Hobbs' record-setting 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on Sunday against the Jets earned him AFC special teams player of the week honors. It is Hobbs' first PotW honor.

Randy Moss and his nine-catch, 183 yard performance was nominated for offensive PotW, and Mike Vrabel was nominated for defensive PotW.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

CORRECTION: Wednesday injury report

The Patriots have just released their first injury/participation report of the week.

The following players had limited participation:

QB Tom Brady (right shoulder)
DL Jarvis Green (shoulder)*
TE Dave Thomas (foot)
DL Mike Wright (knee)

* Jarvis Green is an addition to the list; safety Rashad Baker (hand) was removed.

The Chargers have not yet submitted their report.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:37 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

The nation weighs in on the Patriots controversy

Here's a quick sampling of what some commentators from outside the New England area have to say about the Pats controversy:

On Yahoo Sports, Dan Wetzel says that the Patriots' behavior is simply a product of the NFL system, one which has long rewarded questionable and downright despicable behavior for the sake of winning.

ESPN's Matt Mosley uses the uproar to write about the "most famous spy in league history," former Rams and Redskins coach George Allen, who "basically convinced everyone in the league he was spying on them even though no one ever truly nailed him."

Ray Ratto of CBS Sportsline says he is disappointed in the Patriots mainly because videotaping the other team's signs is such "Little League parents stuff."

Writing in the New York Post (which ran the back page headline "Snoop Dog" along with Belichick's picture), Serby today gave the New Yorker's view of what the Patriots' punishment should be, assuming they're found guilty. A couple samples: play Sunday's game over, and change the venue of the second meeting from Foxboro to East Rutherford. That would be fun.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Jim Donaldson: In video-gate, image and deeds both matter

AP photo / Michael Dwyer
Bill Belichick meets the media, reluctantly, today.

FOXBORO, Mass. - It's all in the delivery.

Ron Meyer was a lovable rogue, a gridiron version of Buddy Cianci.

In Meyer's mind, rules were made to be broken. Or at least bent. As he showed at Southern Methodist, which wound up getting the "Death Penalty" from the NCAA for repeated violations, some of which occurred under Meyer's watch, when, with Eric Dickerson and Craig James combining in what was catchingly called the "Pony Express" backfield, the Mustangs became a national power.

So it hardly was a shock when, on a snowy day in mid-December of his first season coaching the Patriots in 1982, Meyer waved a plow on to the field in the fourth quarter of a game against the Dolphins to clear a space for kicker John Smith to boot what proved to be the only points in a 3-0, New England upset.

And then denied any knowledge of doing so.

"I was just waving at the kicker to kick it through," Meyer at first insisted, when asked why he had been running down the sideline, toward the plow driver - Mark Henderson, a convict on work-release from Walpole State Prison - waving frantically.

Finally, though, with the smile of a small boy caught with his had in the cookie jar, Meyer came clean.

"I waved him on," he acknowledged. "I wanted him to brush off the snow."

Miami's legendary coach, Don Shula, wanted to boil Meyer in oil.

"It's hard for me to think," said Shula, hot under the collar, even though he had just come in from the cold, "that anyone would take pride in doing that. I believe there's a rule in the book dealing with unfair acts. The thing that disturbs me most is (Meyer) taking pride in what he did. This is the last thing you'd want to see in pro football. The officials never should have let it happen. The official nearest me said he didn't see the guy come out until it was too late."

The infamous Snow Plow incident, now long a part of Patriots lore, was, if not exactly illegal, certainly unethical.

Meyer, after initially trying for plausible deniability, wound up opting for credibility.
Here was the thing about Meyer, a handsome guy with a gift for gab, who dressed perhaps a bit more flashily than stylishly, and who was probably a better salesman than he was a football coach: He would say things to you that he knew weren't true.

You, the listener, knew he wasn't telling the truth. But Meyer knew that you knew, and you knew that he knew you knew, and so that somehow made it all right.

It became a pleasantly amusing game between coach and media in which many of his statements were made with a figurative wink, a knowing nod, and a charming smile.

Such is not the case with the current Patriots coach, Bill "Stonewall" Belichick.
While Belichick is a brilliant football coach, one of the best in NFL history, he is a public-relations disaster.

He is cold and calculating, which have been among the keys to his considerable success, but not at all warm and fuzzy.

Which means he doesn't handle situations such as the one he faced today very well.

With the controversy of "SpyGate" whirling around him - the Patriots appear to be on the brink of losing a draft choice for illegally videotaping the hand signals of Jets coaches along the sidelines at Sunday's season opener at the Meadowlands - Belichick had to be looking at today's meeting with the media with even more distaste than usual.

The man absolutely abhors "distractions," - especially with a team like the AFC West champion Chargers coming to town this weekend - and this incident has become a distraction with a capital "D."

The team's media relations department did its job today with the efficiency of a Tom Brady, skillfully preparing a statement from Belichick in which the embattled - if not exactly embarrassed - coach apologized "to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players," and then said he would not comment further until after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced what action, if any, would be taken against the Patriots.

That said, Belichick wasn't going to take any questions from an understandably inquisitive media.

Oh, he was asked several times about Sunday's incident, but he kept falling back on his prepared statement, and then kept asking if anyone had any questions about this weekend's game - a reprise of last January's AFC playoff semi-final.

The statement was well-conceived, and exactly what Belichick should have said. From a team standpoint, he should not have said anything else afterwards.

But, throughout his career, his relations with the media have been contentious, rather than congenial. Except on topics he enjoys - football history always is a favorite; and so is football strategy, as long as it has no bearing on the current game - he can be insightful, informative, and even enjoyable to listen to. Most of the time, however, he is boring and, on occasion, boorish.

In what seems an odd contrast, the flashy Meyer actually is quite a humble man, while Belichick, who takes pride in prowling the sidelines on Sundays in somewhat scruffy attire seemingly suited to a Saturday morning game of touch, conveys an air of arrogance.

Belichick knew the rule. He broke it, not innocently or inadvertently, but knowingly and deliberately.

So, while Meyer's antics were amusing, and easy to forgive, the feeling after Belichick left today's gathering was that he and the Patriots deserve whatever punishment is meted out, and shame on them.

It's all in the delivery.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Patriots players speak on videotaping scandal

Several players were asked inside the locker room about their feelings on the Patriots videotaping scandal. Here is what some of them had to say.

“Whose fair share is it to say that it was a disadvantage for the other team or whatever,” Patriots running back Kevin Faulk said. “Who’s to say that nobody else is doing it but at the same time, it’s nothing that we can control.”

"I think everything has been stated pretty much by Bill and the other guys on this team,” Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel said. “I think that if we start focusing on what happened last week, we are going to be in big trouble and we got a big test with LT and the boys coming in. They are as good as advertised.”

“My feelings are still the same, as far as myself and my teammates, we have nothing to do with that,” Patriots defensive back Ellis Hobbs said. “As far as Bill, he’s made his statements and he’s handling it so there you have it.”

Some players were asked if they thought the Patriots image would be a harmed because of the scandal.

“Anything can tarnish it,” Faulk said. “You talking to me right now can tarnish it by writing what you put in the paper but at the same time, that’s not going to tarnish what we do on the football field as a football team.”

“We can’t really control [how] people outside of the organization feel,” Patriots linebacker Larry Izzo said. “To quote the head coach, it is what it is.”

The players said that they aren't embarrassed by the scandal.

“Are we embarrassed? No it didn’t have anything to do with that victory on Sunday so I’m not embarrassed," Hobbs said. "I’m proud of the fact that we are 1-0 and we are moving in to week two."

“I don’t feel embarrassed for anything that we do,” Vrabel said. “I think we go out and try to prepare as players. We work hard and we put a lot into it year around and we try to go out and win the game.”

None of the players said that the scandal is going to be a distraction.

“I just had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some Doritos so I’m not too distracted right now,” Hobbs said. “This is my lunch break. When we go out there and practice, we are not thinking about any of those things. Our main focus is to get out there and to prepare in the best way possible for the San Diego Chargers. That’s all we are worried about. There aren’t any distractions.”

“It’s not a distraction really, we are getting ready for the Chargers,” Izzo said. “We are preparing and I think we got a lot of guys that have the focus that it takes to prepare and that’s what we are going to be doing all week.”

“This no different then any other work week in my mind,” Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light said. “I’m going to do the same things I’ve done my whole career to prepare for this game and be ready to play on Sunday.”

Posted by Rob Lee  at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Perfect attendance

New England has taken the field for its first session in preparation for its game with San Diego on Sunday night, and every player on the active roster is present and accounted for.

Though it has not been officially announced, Chad Brown is back with the team and David Herron, claimed off waivers from Minnesota last week, has been released.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Bill Belichick press conference

Hey all --

The Patriots released the statement from Bill Belichick just before the coach took the podium for his daily press conference, and he didn't add much more to it when he got in front of the microphone.

"First of all, I think everyone has a copy of the statement I made. Really, until there's a ruling from the league, there isn't anything more I have to add to that. So, we're moving on to San Diego...."

The first couple of questions were centered around camera-gate, and Belichick repeated that he had said all he would say about the situation for right now. Asked if he was embarrassed, he replied, "Are there any questions about San Diego?"

After a few moments of silence, a voice came from the back of the room: "How are you going to shut down LT (LaDainian Tomlinson)?"

Belichick actually smiled with the comment, and there was some laughter in the room.

For the next 10 or so minutes, Belichick talked about Tomlinson and the Chargers' running game, Antonio Gates, and whether San Diego looks radically different under new head coach Norv Turner.

Belichick commented that you basically know what you're going to get with a Turner-coached offense, and that overall it's a mixture of ideas from the new coaching staff mixed with ones from Marty Schottenheimer's regime. After all, San Diego was 14-2 last year in the regular season.

In the locker room, most players said they didn't know anything about camera-gate, and that they were simply getting ready to face the Chargers.

The line of the day came from (of course) Ellis Hobbs, when asked if he thought the scandal would be a distraction.

“I just had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some Doritos so I’m not too distracted right now,” Hobbs said. “This is my lunch break. When we go out there and practice, we are not thinking about any of those things. Our main focus is to get out there and to prepare in the best way possible for the San Diego Chargers. That’s all we are worried about. There aren’t any distractions.”

Peanut butter and jelly and Doritos. Yum.

shalise

The media workroom was packed with reporters from every local media outlet, ESPN, USA Today, NBC Sports and others.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick apologizes over video controversy

Bill Belichick has released a statement through the Patriots' media relations department:

"Earlier this week, I spoke with Commissioner Goodell about a videotaping procedure during last Sunday's game and my interpretation of the rules. At this point, we have not been notified of the league's ruling. Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players. Following the league’s decision, I will have further comment.”

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments 1