By Bernie Miklasz
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Feb. 25 2008
Despite the NFL establishment's attempt to play it down and make it go away,
the New England Patriots' Spygate scandal is still creating buzz.
When the story broke on Super Bowl weekend, alleging that the Patriots had
taped the Rams' final practice before Super Bowl XXXVI, the league began a
whisper campaign in an attempt to discredit former Patriots video assistant
Matt Walsh.
It's been widely speculated that Walsh was responsible for taping the Rams'
walk-through. Walsh has indicated that he'll reveal what he knows as long as he
receives full indemnity from the NFL.
Even if Walsh gets protection and dishes all of the dirt on New England coach
Bill Belichick, I expect that the NFL will try to portray Walsh as a troubled
and untrustworthy individual, seeking revenge to settle an old grudge.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell won't dig too hard. He doesn't want to discover
unpleasant truths about the league's competitive integrity.
Moreover, New England's Robert Kraft is one of the NFL's preferred owners, and
that counts for something in the arena of league politics. Goodell has already
fined the Patriots for their espionage against the NY Jets.
To his horror, Goodell may have to launch a legitimate investigation. He's
being dogged by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania who
won't let up.
And the $100 million lawsuit filed by former Rams player Willie Gary against
Belichick, Kraft and the Patriots may be nothing more than a nuisance, but if
the legal action makes it far enough to force key figures to testify under
oath, we're in for some fun.
Were the Rams cheated out of a victory in Super Bowl XXXVI? Sorry, Rams fans,
but that's a stretch.
If you buy that one, then we should have filed all kinds of lawsuits in the
wake of the Rams' 20-17 loss:
— Let's sue former Rams coach Mike Martz for giving Marshall Faulk only 17
rushing attempts, even though the Patriots used five or more defensive backs
for 54 of the Rams' 69 plays.
"With all those little secondary guys out there, the Rams could have run the
ball, but they didn't," NFL analyst Ron Jaworski said a few days after the
game. "Faulk only ran the ball six times in their first 24 plays. In recent
games, he was getting the ball 46 percent of the time. When the Patriots went
with all those DBs, they should've tried to overpower them."
— Let's sue former Rams right offensive tackle Rod Jones for missing the block
on Mike Vrabel, who rocked Rams QB Kurt Warner on a blitz. The whiff resulted
in a bad throw and a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ty Law for
a 7-0 Patriots lead. Then again, let's sue Martz for starting Jones in place of
Ryan Tucker.
— Let's sue former Rams wideout Ricky Proehl for fumbling with less than two
minutes left in the first half; the costly and overlooked turnover set up New
England's second TD and a 14-3 lead.
— Let's sue former NFL referee Bernie Kukar and his crew for allowing the
Patriots to illegally grab and bang Rams receivers down the field. The Patriots
smartly anticipated that Kukar and the boys would be reluctant to scatter
penalty flags and diminish the entertainment value of Super Sunday. That was
worse than any secret videotaping.
— Let's sue Rams wideout
Torry Holt for slipping on a route, leading to an
interception by Otis Smith and a subsequent field goal for a 17-3 New England
advantage.
— Let's sue former Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith for having his
defense sit back and play soft in the final 90 seconds, allowing Patriots QB
Tom Brady to complete five of seven passes to set up the winning field goal.
The Rams outgained the Patriots 427 yards to 267. But they turned the ball over
three times, and the Patriots had no turnovers.
The Rams didn't lose Super Bowl XXXVI because someone shot video of their
walk-through. They lost because they walked through the game with poor strategy
and execution. They repeatedly shot themselves.
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