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Giants shock almost perfect Pats
January 4, 2008 - 09:40 AM --
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- There was a palpable expectation of history here on a chilly night in the Arizona desert. Super Bowl XLII delivered on that score, but history of a different sort than predicted was made Sunday.
The Giants, 12-point underdogs, ruined the New England Patriots' quest for a perfect season. New York, which lost six of 16 games in the regular season, prevailed 17-14 at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Quarterback Eli Manning, the game's MVP, lofted a regal, floating 13-yard pass to Plaxico Burress -- over Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs --- to put the Giants over the top with 35 seconds left.
"The guys on this team and the run we've made, it's hard to believe -- it really is," Manning said. "The drive at the end, there were so many clutch plays by so many guys. It is an unbelievable game and an unbelievable feeling."
Said Burress: "This is the greatest feeling in professional sports. For us to come out and win a world championship tonight -- nobody gave us a shot."
Somewhere, the 1972 Miami Dolphins (17-0) are popping their long-awaited champagne.
The Giants are nothing if not resilient. Because they were technically the visiting team, they won their 11th consecutive road game, including all four playoff wins.
It was the second straight Super Bowl victory for a son of Archie and Olivia Manning, a tribute to good genes and diligent film study. The Colts' Peyton Manning won his first Super Bowl last season at the age of 30. Eli, who was also a No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, is three years younger.
Manning completed 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
The win was especially sweet for defensive end Michael Strahan and wide receiver Amani Toomer, the only holdovers from the 34-7 strafing by the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. In addition, it was the third Super Bowl victory for one of the league's most venerable franchises, to go with the Vince Lombardi Trophies won at the end of the 1986 and 1990 seasons.
"We shocked the world but not ourselves," Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said.
New England beat New York 38-35 in the final regular-season game five weeks ago, but the Giants gained a great deal of confidence in the process. On Sunday, they proved the close competition in that first meeting was no fluke.
If the Giants had a dream scenario for the opening drive, their first possession -- which consumed nine minutes and 59 seconds and required 16 plays -- was it. Manning converted his first three third downs (a first-drive record for Super Bowls), but couldn't manage a fourth, throwing too far underneath to Steve Smith. Lawrence Tynes, who won the NFC title game with an overtime field goal, hit one from 32 yards out to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.
The Patriots answered with a similarly muscular drive but, in what seemed to be a telling result, came away with more. On third-and-10 at the New York 17-yard line, Pierce, his back to the ball, hit Benjamin Watson as the New England tight end reached for the ball in the end zone. It was called pass interference, and two plays later, Laurence Maroney --- who began things with a 43-yard kickoff return --- finished it with a 1-yard run three seconds into the second quarter.
It marked the fewest possessions ever (two) in a Super Bowl's opening quarter.
The Giants had driven inside the Patriots' 20 when something happened to Manning for the first time in these playoffs --- he was intercepted, albeit through no fault of his own. Smith bobbled a low ball, and it popped up, right into the hands of Hobbs. The Giants' defense held the Patriots, but then the offense nearly turned the ball over a second time before Ahmad Bradshaw recovered his own fumble.
Coming into the game, the key matchup appeared to be the New York pass rush -- which produced a league-high 53 sacks in the regular season -- versus the New England offensive line. In the Dec. 29 meeting between the two teams, Brady was sacked only once, and that was minus two starters.
With all five regular starters in, the Giants sacked Brady on back-to-back plays midway through the second quarter. Kawika Mitchell feigned a drop-back posture and blitzed. He and Strahan both got a piece of Brady for a 6-yard loss. On the next play, defensive end Justin Tuck blew inside left guard Logan Mankins and leveled Brady.
The Giants had a terrific opportunity to make it a one-point game, but a crazy circus play worked against them. Patriots' linebacker Adalius Thomas knocked the ball loose from Manning, and Bradshaw tried to knock the ball out of bounds. It stayed in, and Smith recovered for what would have been a first down. But Bradshaw was flagged for an illegal touch and New York eventually was forced to punt.
New England was driving when Tuck hit Brady again, this time from behind, and knocked the ball loose. The Giants recovered, and a Hail Mary fell incomplete in the the Patriots' end zone to end a curiously quiet first half.
At halftime, the Giants had run 34 plays to 27 by the Patriots and had possessed the ball for 19 minutes and 27 seconds of the first 30 minutes. Yet they trailed, though only by the modest margin of 7-3.
Tuck, who recently signed a contract extension, had six tackles at the half, plus two sacks and a forced fumble. New York defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo created pressure with a variety of looks (one time, he blitzed two defensive backs), almost exclusively up the middle.
As a result, New England had a paltry 81 yards in the first half and the offense looked disjointed and unsettled.
With the "Spygate" scandal and new allegations that the Patriots had videotaped the St. Louis Rams before a Super Bowl, Belichick has been under fire for violating the moral spirit of competition. Just the same, his anal-retentive nature can be a plus. Early in the third quarter, Belichick successfully challenged a non-call, and a review showed that, indeed, linebacker Chase Blackburn was the 12th man on the field for a punt. New England retained possession, but a Strahan sack eventually led Belichick to pass on a 49-yard field goal attempt.
And so, New York continued to hang around.
On first down at the Giants' own 20, Manning flipped a pass to rookie tight end Kevin Boss. Boss caught it at the 39 and, when safety Rodney Harrison missed the tackle, it was good -- very good -- for a 45-yard play. A few plays later, Manning threaded a perfect 5-yard pass through traffic to David Tyree, and the Giants, almost inexplicably, led 10-7 with 11:05 remaining.
It was Tyree's first touchdown of the season.
Naturally, the Patriots came back. Brady moved them down the field, throwing underneath more often than not. Then, on the 12th play of the drive, Brady hit his favorite receiver, Randy Moss. The Giants elected to double Wes Welker inside and left cornerback Corey Webster alone with Moss. When Webster tripped on his backpedal, Moss was wide open for a 7-yard touchdown on third-and-goal.
Manning, however, engineered a terrific drive as time ran down. The signature play: Manning, ducking and spinning, somehow avoided a severe rush, and Tyree managed to reel in a 33-yard catch -- he initially pinned the ball on his helmet with one hand -- giving New York the ball at the New England 24-yard line. With 35 seconds left, Manning hit Burress with a gorgeous 25-yard touchdown pass, and the Pats' perfect season had congealed, horribly, into the twisted wreckage of a shocking loss.
The Patriots started their final drive on their own 26 with 29 seconds left, but Brady had no magic to offer. Two incomplete passes and a sack preceded the final chance, with 10 seconds left. A long, long pass to Moss fell incomplete, and the crowd went absolutely berserk.
For two weeks, the focus was on the Patriots and their date with destiny. Few outside the locker room in East Rutherford, N.J., gave the Giants much of a chance.
So much for perfection. The Giants will take a little something less.
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Belichick leaves the building - One second early!
January 4, 2008 - 09:52 AM --
Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn't stick around long enough to watch the Giants celebrate their 17-14 victory. When Tom Brady's Hail Mary pass to Randy Moss fell incomplete with a second to go, Belichick made a beeline to greet Giants coach Tom Coughlin before proceeding directly to the locker room.
The only problem is that NFL rules require that the entire game be played out. Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady were long gone, but the Patriots defense had to jog back onto the field. After the game, linebacker Junior Seau told me he was almost to the locker room when someone said the game wasn't over. Seau came jogging out of the tunnel for the final play. Belichick cooled his heels in the locker room.
He was asked why he left the field with time left on the clock, but I don't think he understood the question. By my count, Belichick didn't have an answer longer than eight words in his post-game news conference.
In his opening statement, he said: "Congratulations to the Giants. They made some plays there at the end and we didn't. It's disappointing."
He then repeated eight different variations of that statement. The smug look that has helped make him one of the great villains in sports was on display, but his mind wasn't. It was like the questions weren't even registering.
One of the players told me that Belichick couldn't come up with anything to say in the postgame locker room. He basically acknowledged that it was a disappointing loss and headed to the interview podium.
I've never seen a coach arrive for his interview that quickly. The first question asked was about the Boston Herald report Saturday indicating the Patriots filmed a Rams walkthrough before the 2001 Super Bowl. A reporter wanted him to respond to the Rams' comments on the report.
"I haven't heard them," he said.
Belichick was then questioned about his decision to go for it on fourth-and-13 in the third quarter rather than attempt a 49-yard field goal. Tom Brady tried a deep pass to Jabar Gaffney on the play that sailed out of bounds.
"Yeah, but it was a 50-yard field goal," he said before muttering something about field position.
The only risk involved was giving the Giants the ball at the 39-yard line instead of the 31. At that point, the Giants had only managed to put three points on the board. How do you give up a scoring opportunity over eight lousy yards?
Even Belichick's mentor Bill Parcells, who is consumed with field position, wouldn't pass up that opportunity. It was a bone-headed move at a crucial point in the game.
Oh, and here's Belichick's longest response: "I mean look, they played well. They made some plays, we made some plays. In the end, they made a couple more than we did."
The good news is that Belichick got an early jump on the offseason. Back with much, much more in a few moments.
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Giants D Coordinator could land in Washington
February 4, 2008 - 09:54 AM --
WASHINGTON -- The Washington Redskins, entering the final stage of their coaching search, tentatively plan to interview New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Tuesday, a person familiar with the selection process said.
The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Redskins have not publicly released the names of any candidates, also said Sunday that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is no longer in the running for the job.
Owner Dan Snyder told reporters in Arizona over the weekend that he hopes to have a coach in place within a week. Snyder is seeking a replacement for Joe Gibbs, who resigned Jan. 8.
When asked about the candidates, Snyder gave a special mention to Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Ron Meeks, who was a Redskins assistant in 2000. Snyder was responding when asked whether it would be correct to list Meeks, Jim Fassel and Steve Mariucci as the leading contenders.
"You'd be close," Snyder said, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "I'm a big fan of Ron Meeks. He's a heck of a coach."
Former San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions coach Mariucci was interviewed for the first -- and so far only -- time on Wednesday, according to the person familiar with the process. Fassel and Meeks have both had at least three meetings with Snyder.
Spagnuolo, widely praised for putting together the defense that got the Giants to the Super Bowl, would be seeking his first head coaching job. The Redskins had to wait until after Sunday's game to formally seek permission to interview him.
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Chad wants trade from Bengals
February 4, 2008 - 09:56 AM --
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson feels betrayed by head coach Marvin Lewis and is privately threatening to sit out the 2008 season if he isn't traded, according to a source.
Johnson was upset after the coach quit speaking to his receiver early in the season, according to the source.
The Bengals star wideout has been making the rounds with the media at the Super Bowl. When asked on Jim Rome's radio show this week about whether or not he was happy with Bengals, Johnson sounded less than happy.
"I'm not allowed to say. I get the blame; the so-called best player, I'm the problem. Someone in-house is spreading this. Maybe they want me to quiet down [and] stop being me. That is not going to happen. I can't function that way. I tried it. It sucked. There was no excitement."
Lewis has said he won't trade Johnson, who finished with a single-season franchise-record 1,440 receiving yards. Johnson has had six consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards and is under contract with the Bengals through 2011 after signing a $35.5 million extension in April 2006.
"Obviously, there is a lot of frustration with things that happened last year as it pertains to Chad," Johnson's agent, Drew Rosenhaus told The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Rosenhaus tried to explain his client's recent statements to the media.
"What Chad is doing [in the radio interviews] is expressing his emotions and frustration."
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72 Dolphins celebrate after Pats loss
February 4, 2008 - 09:53 AM --
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Darkness covered the desert when Bob Kuechenberg awoke two time zones away Sunday morning. "Kooch" was nervous, amped and hopeful. The former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman was not afraid to say it: He was rooting for the New York Giants almost as hard as he rooted for his own team 35 years ago.
Imperfection is human, he says. Perfection is immortal.
"Hell, yeah, I think the Giants are gonna win," Kuechenberg said as he took off for a Super Bowl party at a friend's house in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"It's terribly important. The same passion that flowed through our bodies 35 years ago is still with us."
When one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history was complete, Giants quarterback Eli Manning raised his arms in the air and clutched the football. That was subdued compared to some of the celebrations going on amongst a bunch of 60-somethings from Florida to Phoenix.
The 1972 Dolphins laughed, cheered and hoisted champagne glasses late Sunday night, still uniquely immortal as the only team in NFL history to finish undefeated. This is how important the perfect-season club is to the Dolphins -- 24 hours earlier, Kuechenberg learned he'd been shut out again for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But he said he'd be OK with that if the Giants could somehow find a way to drop New England from the ranks of the unbeaten.
"It's thrilling for us to still be alone in Perfectville," Kuechenberg said. "The Patriots had a remarkable run, but almost. ... Almost doesn't get it."
It has been a long, strange season for the old Dolphins. Their faces have been plastered in newspapers and on TV screens. Their phones never really stopped ringing after New England squashed everything in its path during the first half of the season.
Some cringed at it, but others would admit they didn't really mind the attention. A handful of them recently did a commercial for Reebok poking fun at their fixation with standing alone. One spot had them near a sign that said, "Perfectville, Population 1." The other, shot in the event of a Patriots victory, showed the Dolphins sending over a pie to their new neighbors.
When Sunday finally came, it all felt weird and almost sad to some of the '72 Dolphins. It was if they were about to lose a part of themselves.
"It has been an interesting year," Hall of Fame center Jim Langer said. "There has been so much attention on it, so many people talking about it. I think it brought back the '72 Dolphins and showed people who probably weren't aware of what happened just how tough it is to [go undefeated]."
Langer, one of the more quiet members of the '72 team, says he probably saw more football in 2007 than he had since his playing days. It was impossible not to watch. Roughly an hour after the game, he had three voicemails from people who said they'd bring champagne to his truck equipment business in Minnesota on Monday. Langer has no idea who the messages were from.
But even the subdued Langer was moderately happy Sunday, letting out an occasional chuckle in between game breakdowns. He watched the Super Bowl at his daughter's house in Wisconsin, a rather restrained party in a house that was looking forward to a Patriots-Packers matchup. Sometime on the ride home, his old buddy Kuechenberg called. It was late, but Langer planned on calling him back, so they could talk about Sunday's surprise.
"I really feel a little bad for the Patriots," Langer said. "Man, that's a hell of a season. To lose it tonight, I kind of feel for them.
"But I know my teammates are celebrating. It's a tough thing to go through what [the Patriots] went through. Anybody who played in the Super Bowl knows it's an empty feeling."
Several Dolphins migrated to Arizona to witness history. Former quarterback Earl Morrall spent much of the day doing speaking engagements in Phoenix, then scurried off to the stadium to take his seat near the 15-yard line. He was nervous in the final minutes, when Tom Brady rallied New England with a touchdown strike to Randy Moss.
At that point, many of the Dolphins were sure the game was over. When Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress connected for a 13-yard touchdown with 35 seconds left, the Dolphins exhaled.
"We're very pleased," Morrall said. "We're alive for another year."
Morrall had a piece of blueberry pie and a glass of champagne. None of them seemed to care about the media jokes, that the grumpy old men could pop their champagne bottles, then rest their creaky bones until another team embarks on a perfect run next season. All of them know this: For one more year, they'll be uniquely special.
"We're proud of it," former running back Jim Kiick said. "Why shouldn't we be? We never were against the New England Patriots. We have our accomplishments. We're not comparing ourselves to anyone else from other generations. We're happy with our own accomplishments. The Patriots are a great football team. Unfortunately, they didn't win this Super Bowl."
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Spygate takes another turn
February 4, 2008 - 09:59 AM --
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., plans to call NFL commissioner Roger Goodell promptly to discuss the Spygate controversy and suggested Sunday that Senate hearings could result from his investigation.
On ESPN's "Outside The Lines", Specter told host Bob Ley that he will call Goodell on Monday morning, just hours after the Patriots and Giants play in Super Bowl XLII.
"It could go to hearings," Specter said. "This is a matter to be considered by the [Senate Judiciary] Committee. I don't want to make any broad assertions or elevate it beyond what I have a factual basis for doing, We're going to follow the facts and if warranted, there could be hearings."
Specter told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that after hearing Goodell's depiction of why evidence provided by the Patriots was destroyed, he wanted more answers.
"The commissioner's explanation as to why he destroyed the tapes does not ring true," Specter said.
Shortly after Specter's comments Sunday morning, Goodell said on ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" that he would be "more than happy to meet with the senator at the earliest possible moment."
Goodell said his plan was to head to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii after the Super Bowl in Arizona, but would adjust his plans if necessary.
Specter wants to know if Goodell spoke to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to determine if Brady benefited from any of the illegally gathered material.
When asked on "OTL" if he would interview any players, Specter said it was possible, but not a certainty.
"I'm going to take it a step at a time," he said. "... I want to see what [Goodell] has to say. But when you have an investigation that hasn't talked to this fella Matt Walsh ... and didn't go back beyond 2006, it's obviously a very incomplete investigation."
Specter said plans to contact former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh to see what he knows about the Patriots allegedly videotaping the St. Louis Rams' Super Bowl XXXVI walk-through in 2002. The Patriots have denied they videotaped the practice.
Goodell, who said he reserved the right to address the investigation again if new information arose, said that if Walsh "has information inconsistent with what we have, we want to talk to him."
The commissioner said it's his responsibility to look into any rumor regarding the investigation and dismissed any talk of a cover up.
"People are implying that this is some type of cover up," Goodell said. "... I think it's exactly the opposite. We were the ones who brought these facts out to light. We were the ones who took the unprecedented discipline to send a very strong message to people [to] don't violate the rules. And I think that's what we want. We want every team playing on a level playing field and I think that's what we have."
After the league investigation into the original Spygate incident after New England's victory over the New York Jets in Week 1, Goodell fined Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000, the maximum amount, and docked the team $250,000 and a first-round draft pick. It was the biggest fine for a coach and the first time in NFL history a first-round draft pick was confiscated as a penalty.
Mike Martz, who was St. Louis' head coach during the Super Bowl game in question, spoke to ESPN.com investigative reporter Mike Fish about the allegations.
"I hope that is not true," Martz said. "I have great respect for Bill Belichick. It's hard to believe that is true. It's a serious allegation and I hope it is not true.
"Obviously if there is enough substance to it the league should look into it.''
Former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, currently with the Arizona Cardinals, told Fish that if the league has heard those claims, he is surprised it has not spoken to Walsh. He said if Walsh or any other source has information, it should be investigated.
Walsh has suggested to ESPN.com that he has information that could have exposed the Patriots prior to the Week 1 incident.
"If I had a reason to want to go public, or tell a story, I could have done it before it even broke," Walsh told ESPN.com. "I could have said everything rather than having [Jets coach Eric] Mangini be the one to bring it out.
"If they're doing a thorough investigation -- they didn't contact me. So draw your own conclusions. Maybe they felt they didn't need to. Maybe the league feels they got satisfactory answers from everything the Patriots sent them."
Told of the newest allegation, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press on Saturday:
"We were aware of the rumor months ago and looked into it. There was no evidence of it on the tapes or in the notes produced by the Patriots, and the Patriots told us it was not true."
Patriots media relations official Stacey James reiterated that sentiment.
"The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams' walk-through on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI is absolutely false," James said. "Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue."
Rams spokesman Rick Smith, reading a statement from team president John Shaw, said, "At this point, we have no comment."
On Friday, Specter said he had written Goodell seeking an explanation as to why evidence in the NFL's investigation of the Patriots videotaping was destroyed.
"I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes," Specter wrote.
Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the matter could put the league's antitrust exemption at risk. In a phone interview with The New York Times, which first reported Specter's interest in the matter, he said the committee at some point will call Goodell to address the antitrust exemption as well as the destruction of the tapes.
Goodell, in his previously scheduled news conference Friday from Phoenix, said, "There are very good explanations why the tapes were destroyed by our staff -- there was no purpose for them."
There were six tapes, according to Goodell -- some from the 2007 preseason and the rest from 2006. He said he had them destroyed because he was confident the Patriots had turned over all of the tapes and notes the NFL had requested in its investigation. He also said they were destroyed in order to prevent leaks to the media -- as some footage from one of the tapes was leaked shortly after the story broke.
"We wanted to take and destroy that information," Goodell said. "They may have collected it within the rules, but we couldn't determine that. So we felt that it should be destroyed."
Belichick had little to add on the subject.
"It's a league matter," he said Friday during his news conference. "I don't know anything about it."
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Did Pats tape Superbowl Rams - Warner wants to know!
February 4, 2008 - 09:45 AM --
Looking back, quarterback Kurt Warner says Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans is a blur. The underdog New England Patriots simply outschemed Warner's St. Louis Rams, parading out six and at times seven defensive backs and roughing up the Rams' sleek receivers to slow down an offense then dubbed "The Greatest Show on Turf." St. Louis, Warner says, just got beat. The final score read 20-17. That result can't be changed.
But for peace of mind, the two-time MVP wants the league to investigate reports that the Patriots might have benefited from a videotape of the Rams' final practice before that Super Bowl six years ago.
In the latest flurry of news surrounding the Patriots' videotaping activities, a report in Saturday's Boston Herald indicated that a member of the Patriots' video staff might have filmed the Rams' final walk-through in the Superdome the day before the game. The story cited a lone source, described as someone close to the New England team that season.
Rumors of the Super Bowl videotaping incident first circulated shortly after the "Spygate" affair this past September, in which a Patriots employee was caught taping the New York Jets' signals from the sideline, although ESPN.com has been unable to confirm the rumors. Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant who has suggested he has information potentially embarrassing to the team and the league, has refused comment on whether he played a part in the alleged Super Bowl taping in February 2002.
"Really, it is nothing that I care to go on the record about or talk about," Walsh recently told ESPN.com.
Warner, who since has moved on to the Arizona Cardinals, was surprised to learn the league didn't speak to Walsh during its investigation of Spygate.
Kurt Warner's career hasn't been the same since he walked off the field as the losing quarterback in Super Bowl XXXVI.
"It is obvious that it wasn't as thorough as it could have been," Warner says of the league's probe. "I don't have any information on why they didn't talk to him or how far back they went, but just knowing that there was somebody that was involved in that [video department], and he wasn't talked to or they didn't go back that far -- I guess it is disappointing. You would think that if they do an investigation for the integrity of the game, that they would try to do everything possible. And maybe they did, and they just missed it. But as a purist and someone who wants to see the integrity of the game stay where it is, it is a little disappointing that they didn't [look] under every rock to figure this out and to do something to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Warner spoke to ESPN.com about the rumors of Super Bowl spying before the Herald's story appeared. He did not return calls Saturday.
Reached late Saturday afternoon, Mike Martz, now the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers but the head coach for the Rams in that Super Bowl, told ESPN.com: "I hope that is not true. I have great respect for Bill Belichick. It's hard to believe that is true. It's a serious allegation and I hope it is not true.
"Obviously, if there is enough substance to it, the league should look into it.''
According to the Rams' itinerary from Super Bowl XXXVI, the team took the Superdome turf at 12:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002, for its final practice, which came after the Patriots had completed their walk-through. The Rams were scheduled to take a team picture at 1:30, eat a box lunch at the stadium at 2 and catch buses back to the team hotel at 2:15.
Warner says he remembers little from the walk-through, other than that the offense ran some of its red zone plays.
Even if that practice had been taped and was available to the Patriots, the advantage might not have been significant, as the Rams weren't in position to use their red zone offense until the fourth quarter.
St. Louis had seven plays inside the Patriots' 30-yard line in the final quarter. At one point, New England stopped the Rams on four successive plays inside the 3-yard line. A holding penalty gave the Rams another play, and, after a timeout, they scored on a quarterback sneak by Warner -- a play that had not been part of Saturday's walk-through but was called by Martz on the sideline.
"It was really just us having some troubles putting the ball in the end zone," Warner says. "We stuck this play in because we had success with it before."
Warner says his suspicions about the Patriots surfaced only after they were busted for cheating this past September.
"Again, they had a great game plan," Warner says of the Patriots' performance in Super Bowl XXXVI. "Coach [Bill] Belichick has been known for that. They executed it very well. And I think you look back from our side and say, 'Well, we had played them once [that] year. They had a good feel for what we were doing and how to stop us. I go back and look at that game and say, 'The approach they took with us is that we're going to beat them up and beat them up and beat them up until the officials make a call.' And I think they went in with a premise that in a Super Bowl, the officials don't want to dictate the course of action. So they're going to be slow to throw flags, especially a bunch of flags.
Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh has refused to address the question of his possible role in alleged surreptitious taping.
"At the same time, I think everybody wonders to what extent did they [illegally tape opponents]? Was this something that was just done on game day, or was it something they did throughout the week? [Did] they go to practice facilities? And I think that is the question. And I think that is the unfortunate question, because New England has done a tremendous job. They have been very good for a long time.
"But anytime you have something like this go on, and you get caught doing that, it raises questions. And I think rightfully so. I mean, to what degree did this go on? To what degree did this help them? For how long did it help them? Those are natural questions that you ask when somebody gets caught doing something like this. It does go through your mind. And then, at the same time, as a player, you say, 'OK, even if they had our signals, how much would it help?'"
Warner suggests New England would tape opponents' defensive signals from the sidelines, as it was caught doing against the Jets this season, to decode the communications and file them away for a future game against the same team. If the coaches know the defensive signals, he says, they can filter information to the quarterback through the headset in his helmet, which shuts off with 15 seconds left on the play clock.
"If teams kept their signals the same, then you could get a bead on them and be able to have that information," Warner says. "It would be a distinct advantage."
Drew Bledsoe, the backup to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in that Super Bowl, told ESPN.com he does not know if the Patriots stole signals or taped the walk-through for that title game.
"No, I don't recall anything that would be suspicious for that game," Bledsoe says. "If that happened during that game, I didn't know about it."
Bledsoe also says a coach -- typically the offensive coordinator -- communicating with the quarterback doesn't have time to offer much more than the play call.
"If there is something that they saw that they can give me, give the quarterback, in two words, they'll do it," Bledsoe says.
As for the possibility of determining in advance the defense the quarterback is about to see at the line of scrimmage, Bledsoe says, "Generally, no. Now, if that is what the Patriots were able to accomplish, if they were able to tell Tom what defense is coming, obviously that would be a huge advantage. But whether they were able to do that, I don't know."
Bledsoe suggests that the scandal has been overplayed and that stealing signals always will be part of the game. As a freshman at Washington State, he received an award from his coaches after he stole offensive calls from the sideline in a win over California; he had been able to figure out when Cal was going to run, pass or screen pass.
"Listen, that kind of stuff has been going on for as long as there have been video cameras," Bledsoe says of the accusations against the Patriots. "I know people are trying to make this out like this is some huge scandal, but it is at every level. You talk about college, you talk about high school -- people are taping stuff, and that is what they do. And they try and gain an advantage that way. And that is what the Patriots were doing."
Drew Bledsoe, Tom Brady's backup in Super Bowl XXXVI, says he isn't aware of any foul play.
As for where teams cross the line of fair play, he says, "It is a pretty fuzzy line. Like in other realms in the world, in the business world, when you get into a highly competitive environment, people are going to try and do what they can get away with. That is not unique to football."
Another former Patriots quarterback, who spoke to ESPN.com on condition of anonymity, says that New England pushes the envelope further than most teams and that the Patriots were doing so long before they were caught in September.
Warner says he has no insight into the Patriots' methods, although he has heard from quarterbacks who gained an advantage because their teams stole signals.
"I've actually talked to people this year that said they played on teams that had the other team's signals," Warner says. "So as the quarterback, you go up to the line of scrimmage, and they're telling you in your helmet what coverage you are going to see, what play to check to. And those are obviously distinct advantages -- when you know what a team is going to do before you run a play and you have an idea as the quarterback where they are going to go, where you should go with the football. Now, bottom line: You still have to execute. You still have to react. You still have to block, throw and catch it. But it is a huge advantage."
The question is, did the Patriots enjoy that kind of advantage in Super Bowl XXXVI? Did they pick things up during the Rams' walk-through, during the practices in New Orleans leading up to the game or in a game St. Louis played in Foxborough earlier in the 2001 season?
As Warner paints the picture, that Super Bowl wasn't like any other loss. It derailed a franchise and damaged careers and reputations.
"Let's just say, for instance, that what they did had an effect on the second Super Bowl that I played in," Warner says. "And then to see the course of my career from that point forward -- there was some dramatic changes. Had I won two Super Bowls, some of the things may not have happened through the course of my career. Now, obviously, I put my faith and trust in a much higher source than any cheating that is going on, and believe that God has a distinct purpose in what goes on. But I'm just one example of how our situation in St. Louis deteriorated after the loss of that Super Bowl.
"After we lost the Super Bowl, the organization went into a little bit of a downward spiral, as you see with a lot of teams that lose the Super Bowl. You see how career situations were altered after losing that game. You look at Mike Martz. If he is a Super Bowl winner, that is a whole different thing. Or just maybe guys, that was their only chance to be in a Super Bowl. And to go away losing it instead of winning it, that is a huge deal.
"So if [the Patriots] did something that affected that game, I would hope that all the parties involved would do everything they could to make sure that it doesn't happen again. And to make sure that something that somebody earned wasn't taken away from them in any way, shape or form by somebody not doing or abiding by the league rules."
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Saints Grant stabbed in Nightclub
February 4, 2008 - 09:48 AM --
BLAKELY, Ga. -- New Orleans defensive end Charles Grant was stabbed in the neck, and a pregnant woman was shot and killed early Sunday in an altercation at a nightclub in southwest Georgia.
Grant was assaulted and had an injury to his neck, according to a statement released by Capt. Will Caudill of the Early County Sheriff's Office. Grant was transported to Early Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and later released.
Early County Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of a fight around 1 a.m. Sunday at a nightclub in Blakely, which is about 190 miles southwest of Atlanta.
"We're aware of the situation and are gathering information," New Orleans Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said. "Until we complete the process, we will have no further comment."
In the incident, 23-year-old Korynda Reed of Blakely was shot, police said. She was transported to Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, Ala., where she died. Early County Sheriff Jimmie R. Murkerson said Reed was pregnant.
Caudill said there was no known connection between Grant and Reed.
"We believe the altercation began inside one of the nightclubs; it was taken outside. It kind of continued down the street," Caudill said. "It appears Mr. Grant was assaulted, and shortly after several gunshots were fired."
No arrests have been made, and the case remains under investigation.
"Charles is continuing to assist police in recounting the events that transpired in and outside of the nightclub as needed," Grant's attorneys said in a statement. "Most importantly, our hearts and prayers go out to the young woman's family who is forced to endure the pain of this loss."
A star at the University of Georgia, Grant was drafted by the Saints in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft.
Grant, a native of Colquitt, Ga., who now lives in Kenner, La., had 2½ sacks in 2007 while starting 14 games for the Saints. During his six-year career, Grant has 38½ sacks.
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