Asterisks Abound

2007's Spygate has roared back in to the headlines with the revelation that Bill Belichik's disciple Josh McDaniels and the Denver Broncos have been punished for taping an opposing team's practice.

Unlike many New England Patriot diehards I have not buried my head in the sand in order to pretend that Spygate does not matter. I recognize the reality that the rest of the country continues to associate the Patriots with cheating. Those are the facts, and as much as I might like to, I can't shake the disappointment that this incident tarnishes the team's accomplishments over the last decade. This why the loss in Super Bowl 42 and missing out on the undefeated season, post Spygate, is even more difficult to swallow. An undefeated season after the Spygate fiasco would have shut up all of Belichick's detractors who argue he only won because he cheated.

I am particularly annoyed by those who argue the "everyone did it" defense. This argument is used so often in the defense of wrong doing that it didn't seem worth engaging. However I have been convinced that this argument may have some merit while I was arguing these points with another Patriots fan who actually backed up the "everyone does it" argument with facts. Although it does not exonerate the Patriots, it may provide needed context to the severity of the Patriots' crimes.

Jimmy Johnson:

"Oh in a heartbeat, yeah. Yes I did," Johnson said, before confirming it was done via video."Oh yeah, I did it with video and so did a lot of other teams in the league," Johnson continued. "Just to make sure that you could study it and take your time, because you're going to play the other team the second time around. But a lot of coaches did it, this was commonplace."

He then detailed how he learned: "I was saying one of Marty Schottenheimers scouts, Mark Hatley, who has passed away now, Mark told me that's how they did it, and Howard Mudd their offensive line coach with Kansas City, who now coaches for Tony Dungy, he was the best in the entire league at stealing signals."And his methods: "My guy was up with my camera crew in the press box. So you'd just put an extra camera up with your camera crew in the press box who zoomed in on the signal callers. That's the best way to do it, but anyway you can't always do that because the press box camera crew might be on the same side as the opposing team. If they're on the same side as the opposing team that's when you need to do it from the sideline."

Mike Shannahan:

"Our guy keeps a pair of binoculars on their signal-callers every game," says Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. "With any luck, we have their defensive signals figured out by halftime. Sometimes, by the end of the first quarter."

I'll put an asterisk next to the Patriots' Super Bowls as soon as the Denver and Dallas fans agree to do the same.