Today Roger Goodell met with Matt Walsh to listen to what the former Patriots assistant had to say about Spygate. At the end of the meeting, Goodell said the Patriots wouldn't face any further sanctions because "There was no Rams walkthrough tape."Well, there was no tape, but guess what there was? Walsh admitted that he attended the Rams' final walkthrough and then reported back to Patriots coaches on what he saw. So I guess Goodell didn't exactly lie, he just decided not to give all the necessary information.
According to ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, Walsh told Brian Daboll, a Patriots assistant coach, about the way the Rams planned to align their tight end against the Patriots' defense, and that the Rams lined up in a kick return formation in which Marshall Faulk took the field.
This may sound somewhat stupid, but in a game as close as this one was, pretty much any edge may have made the difference.
Of the course the other thing is that Goodell still has to meet with Sen. Arlen Specter about this whole deal, and this of course gives Specter more fodder.
Even though I realize Spygate is pretty stupid at this point, I still hope Specter sticks it to Goodell. It's obvious Goodell is just trying to minimize the damage to the NFL here. The core fact remains pretty simple here: the Patriots clearly cheated and it might have resulted in a Super Bowl loss for another team. If Goodell isn't man enough to admit that, maybe Specter can force it out him.
[HT: Fanhouse and Boston Globe]
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