You can call some of the things the New England Patriots have done over the years rule-bending, gamesmanship or just plain cheating. But many NFL teams consider it something different — an excuse.
There is no actual evidence that the Patriots cheated during or in the days leading up to any of their Super Bowl victories. Despite that, representatives from all three teams New England defeated before the Spygate scandal erupted have hinted that they feel they were the victims of foul play.
Let’s start with the St. Louis Rams. Former Rams head coach Mike Martz, who also had some interesting comments about the NFL trying to cover up Spygate, told ESPN’s Outside the Lines that he has always been suspicious about the rumors that the Patriots filmed the Rams’ walkthrough before the Super Bowl in 2002, even though no evidence of any tape exists. Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk has said in the past that he feels he was cheated out of a championship, and Kurt Warner has dropped similar hints.
The Carolina Panthers have wondered the same. More from the OTL report:
The Panthers now believe that their practices had been taped by the Patriots before Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. “Our players came in after that first half and said it was like [the Patriots] were in our huddle,” a Panthers source says. During halftime — New England led 14-10 — Carolina’s offensive coordinator, Dan Henning, changed game plans because of worries the Patriots had too close a read on Carolina’s schemes. And, in the second half, the Panthers moved the ball at will before losing 32-29 on a last-second field goal. “Do I have any tape to prove they cheated?” this source says. “No. But I’m convinced they did it.”
A former Panthers GM said earlier this year that New England’s “culture of cheating” has left him wondering if Bill Belichick had someone film Carolina’s walkthrough before the Super Bowl in 2004. And on Tuesday, ex-Panthers linebacker Will Witherspoon echoed those sentiments.
“It does make you wonder,” Witherspoon told WFNZ 610 The Fan, via Pro Football Talk. “We all sat there and said, ‘How do they know what we’re doing? This is ridiculous.’ … It can’t be possible. There’s no way they knew this was coming. But they did.”
Last but not least are the Philadelphia Eagles, who were beaten by the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. Again, from OTL:
“When Spygate broke, some of the Eagles now believed they had an answer for a question that had vexed them since they lost to the Patriots 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX: How did New England seem completely prepared for the rarely used dime defense the Eagles deployed in the second quarter, scoring touchdowns on three of four drives? The Eagles suspected that either practices were filmed or a playbook was stolen. “To this day, some believe that we were robbed by the Patriots not playing by the rules … and knowing our game plan,” a former Eagles football operations staffer says.
If you want to label the Patriots cheaters, that’s your prerogative. But it isn’t exactly a great look when three teams speculate that they were beaten because of rule-breaking, especially when none of them have any concrete evidence. Some of the latest accusations against the Patriots (this one in particular) are very alarming, but none of them prove they cheated in any of their Super Bowls. Using that as an excuse is a convenient way of avoiding accountability for not executing plays or making adjustments.
