The New England Patriots aren’t the only team to ever have issues with electronic communications at their stadium, but apparently they are the only team to intentionally sabotage headsets.
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after Thursday night’s game that there always seems to be a problem with headsets at Gillette Stadium. He certainly implied that it was intentional, which makes us wonder what he would say if asked about the New York Jets experiencing communications issues during the AFC Championship Game in 2011.
As Pro Football Talk reminded us, Mark Sanchez’s headset malfunctioned on more than one occasion at Heinz Field on Jan. 23, 2011. When asked if he had experienced similar issues at other stadiums, Sanchez noted that the problem is typically resolved more quickly.
“It never really happened for that long of a time,” he said, according to ESPN.com. “We had to use a walkie-talkie at one point and [offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer] was just yelling calls in at one point. It was just another challenge, and we almost overcame it.”
The primary headset was having problems early in the game, so the Jets swapped it out. Then, in the fourth quarter, the backup headset went out with New York trailing 24-10 and trying to convert on 1st-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Sanchez had to keep running toward the sideline to get play calls.
“The problem was the headset kept going out multiple times during the game, so I had to run over and get a couple calls, piece together some calls on the headset that came in broken up,” he said. “It was one of those things we were fighting through. I was proud of our guys for trying to piece it together.”
The Jets ended up losing 24-19.
Surprisingly, there was no mention of that incident in the article on the Steelers’ website that essentially accused the Patriots of a pretty elaborate cheating scheme.
The Patriots haven’t exactly earned the benefit of the doubt, but it’s interesting that the Steelers had similar issues in the past in a crucial game. And remember that time Tomlin intentionally tripped a player during a kick return? Let’s not throw glass stones just because the timing is right.
