As if the 3-7 record wasn’t embarrassing enough for the Denver Broncos, now we know they lose even when they cheat. Broncos video man Steve Scarnecchia was being investigated for filming a San Francisco 49ers practice the week the teams were in London preparing for their matchup. The Niners won 24-16 despite being recorded by the Broncos. Now we have learned that both the Broncos and coach Josh McDaniels have been fined $50,000 for the incident, and Scarnecchia has been fired.
Denver head coach Josh McDaniels says he did not watch any of the film after Scarnecchia offered to show it to him. Scarnecchia really took all the blame for the incident, saying he filmed San Francisco completely on his own. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is meeting with Scarnecchia about a potential ban from the league as a repeat violator (he was also a member of the Patriots spygate crew).
McDaniels was fined for not immediately reporting the incident to the league. He claims he did not watch the tape but he also didn’t report it immediately. Does that make any sense? I’m guessing this incident had a lot to do with what Chiefs coach Todd Haley said to him after not shaking his hand. “There’s a lot of **** being talked about you” sure makes a lot more sense now. I don’t know how McDaniels can claim innocence in the matter, and I don’t know how they haven’t performed better employing practices like that.
