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On the eve of Commissioner Roger Goodell’s meeting with former Pats employee Matt Walsh, the league is buzzing about one question.
What will Walsh share with Goodell about the work of Ernie Adams?
Adams is a supposed football genius, who apparently chooses to work behind the scenes because he prefers not to interact excessively with the human beings who breathe life into the X’s and O’s that Adams has spent a lifetime diagramming.
His reclusive nature has prompted many to wonder what his role truly is in the success of the Patriots, and it’s prompting speculation from multiple teams — or, as one source put it, all 31 of them that aren’t the Patriots — as to what Walsh will tell Goodell about Adams’ role.
And even if Walsh’s version of the events isn’t accepted at face value, anything Walsh says about Adams will give Goodell ammunition for framing specific follow-up inquiries to Adams, if Goodell is inclined to continue to pursue the situation.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Doesnt seem like Walsh has told the truth yet. Why listen to him now?
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
The ultimate question will be whether Goodell can trust a guy like Walsh who has been shown to lie about his background and experience as a football scout, and was fired for secretly and illegally taping the conversations of Patriots employees, including the General Manager, to rise above his status as a disgruntled employee and tell the truth.
Aside from all that I guess Walsh will be considered a credible witness by most fans and the media.
So I guess we can file this one in the “So aside from that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” category.
Now that everyone (at least the frequent readers of PFT) finally understand that taping signals is legal under the NFL rules, and that other teams appear to do so routinely, perhaps a smart reporter might inquire not with Walsh but with Goodell why the NFL did not investigate the Dolphins use of “purchased” tapes of the Patriots offensive playcalling in 2006.
Could it be that “purchasing” tapes of stolen signals from a third party is yet another loophole that allows teams to circumvent the NFL rules that dictate from which locations the NFL authorizes offensive and defensive signals to be videotaped?
In the Dolphins case of using taped signals, the NFL gave a yawn and said “That’s football” further illustrating the hypocrisy to look the other way in cases not involving the Patriots - but it incumbent on the NFL, in retrospect, to make clear its ruling when it comes to the tapes that the Dolpins purchased of the Patriots offensive signals in 2006.
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Who the hell is Ernie Adams? Never heard of him
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
What the hell does Bill Walsh have to do with this?
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Walsh was a company dink. What would he know about this supposed “evil genius” as the media is trying to make of Adams? It’s like asking the mail-room guy at Apple about Steve Jobs.
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Wow Florio.
Where are you getting this from? Is this random? Are you just trying to mix it up?
Read “The Education of a Coach” by David Halberstam. That books gives clarity as to how not only Belichick, but his very, very good friend Ernie Adams rose through the NFL separately, starting at Phillips Academy, only to unite with the Giants and go through Cleveland and New England.
It describes Ernie’s personality, and how he was so similar to Belichick. They didn’t want the fame, and they still don’t. They’re doing what they love and they’re doing their job. Adams was never into being a big name, he likes being behind the scenes. It’s sort of like Belichick in his early days with the Giants as the defensive coordinator; he was a genius and it took a few years for people to find out. Adams, on the other hand, hasn’t been notarized for his brilliance with New England, at least not to the extent he deserves.
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Rating: 3.2 / 5 with 11 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Mike, this was a really bizarre post. The Patriots are a football team, not Superman’s Secret Fortress of Solitude. Do you know how many former Patriot coaches, players, and staff now work for other teams? Do you really think a 20 something assistant to the assistant video guy knows things about the Patriots that, for example, Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini don’t?
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Gotta read The Education of a Coach.
Ernie Adams is the man.
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
“…if Goodell is inclined to continue to pursue the situation.”
That about sums up this article. It doesn’t really matter what Matt Walsh has to say, credible or not.
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Players make plays, win games. Some good players actually lose games sometimes. Suits have very little to do with outcomes of players playing games, other than putting them out there to do so. Coaches, to me, are in better position to be a genius than any exec who sits in an office all day does, because they have to directly manage and coordinate multiple personalities and keep these “genius” people happy as well as keep their jobs (and not just be the public scapegoat for when things fail.)
So lets be “real” about it. NFL executives just happen to be “in the right place at the right time” more than any “genius” being involved. If they were truly of genius status they probably wouldn’t be involved with football, eh?
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Goodell will not follow up on ANYTHING. Just deny anything ever happened and it will all go away… that’s why he drug his feet this whole time.
Why would he risk the “integrity” of three superbowls and the support of one of the more powerful owners for some pithy thing called honor?
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Florio turning into ESPN what is it a slow night let this crap end already
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Question is what will Ernie Adams and other people have to say not only about Matt Walsh but about certain “practices” in the NFL carried out by other teams. Will be very interesting to see how the media witches in this witchhunt cover the Patriots when they finally go on the offensive starting tomorrow. They’ve kept quiet for too long in Foxborough and it has hurt them. The Patriots silence will end tomorrow and watch how the mediots will spin like out-of-control tops. Tom Brady will be on the Big Show on WEEI (they stream online if anyone is interested) in Boston tomorrow afternoon with NFL vets Freddy Smerlas and Steve DeOssie. For those of you are unfamiliar Brady is a weekly guest on WEEI’s morning show during the season. The timing of his appearance and the particular show he’ll be on is not a coincidence given the timing of the Walsh/Goodell meeting.
The Patriots silence ends tomorrow. About time!
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May 12th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
It’s pretty obvious how Walsh could drag Adams into this. The Patriots have illegally filmed teams signals since Bellicheck has been a coach there. That is a fact. To make this footage work for them (otherwise they would never do it), they most likely had Ernie Adams decipher it during the games, and him and Bellicheck would make calls during the game based on it. Both smart football minds and they won 3 super bowls doing it until they got caught. You can’t totally blast them for it since they made it work and every team wants an edge. But they did it, and got more sophisticated at it until getting caught. That is why all 31 teams want the mysterious Ernie Adams to get exposed.
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May 12th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
The Patriots will always be mired in this controversy A. because they got caught cheating and B. because Roger Goodell chose to destroy the evidence so that questions will always remain.
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May 12th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Finally Ernie Adams’ name surfaces.
Hey Cheatriots fans, every stinking one of those “rub their nose in it” moments from last season are now coming back at you. Your whole scam is going to be unraveled. Belicheat is no damn genius, as a matter of fact he’s an idiot- he couldn’t even cheat right!
Bend over boys and grab the sink, this one is going to hurt!
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May 12th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
I guess since Walsh didn’t have what the media wanted (Rams walk through tapes) they have now found a new holy grail in Ernie Adams.
Eventually, the people who hate the Patriots will find ammunition, and the people who like them will find nothing. The media will keep fanning the flames regardless, and get commercial revenue, page views, and the other mammon that they have sold their souls to.
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May 12th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Very bizarre post Florio.
Because the other teams find Adams and his role with the Pats organization ‘mysterious’, the commish needs to ask questions about him? Just weird.
Prediction: Walsh will make all kinds of accusations that he can not back up. The commish will ask the Pats about them and get nowhere. Spector will be told the same things by Walsh and Levy and then he (Spector) will immediately make them all public (probably through the NY Times). This will further outrage all the haters and decrease the average hater incubation period from [now] days to to mere hours.
Thats as far as it will go.
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May 12th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Hey DanFouts: Signal stealing is not illegal. Videotaping from the sidelines is illegal. Try to remember that.
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May 12th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
“It’s pretty obvious how Walsh could drag Adams into this. The Patriots have illegally filmed teams signals since Bellicheck has been a coach there. That is a fact. To make this footage work for them (otherwise they would never do it), they most likely had Ernie Adams decipher it during the games, and him and Bellicheck would make calls during the game based on it. Both smart football minds and they won 3 super bowls doing it until they got caught. You can’t totally blast them for it since they made it work and every team wants an edge. But they did it, and got more sophisticated at it until getting caught. That is why all 31 teams want the mysterious Ernie Adams to get exposed.”
Right. And then monkeys fly out of my butt. Do you know how long it takes to break down game film? What you are suggesting is impossible. No offense, but your statement is so far removed from reality you really need to reign it in a little.
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May 12th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
ESPN.com’s “NEInsider:
http://boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb?sport=nfl&id=nwe&tid=2809575&lid=4
We were wrong and made a mistake. We as an organization failed and it will never happen again. Every NFL memo is now processed, analyzed, passed thru legal, and presented to both Bill, Scott., and all the coaches with the potential legal ramifications so EVERYONE knows what not to do.
That said here are the simple facts I know about Spygate and WalkthruGate:
1. We taped defensive signals and offensive formation signals and we still have video of other teams taping us. They are of little value since no team uses the same signals even from game to game, quarter to quarter, and sometimes from series to series. We do it to FORCE the opposition to stay on thier toes and change signals hoping they mix up signals and have a bad play that results in a big play for us. There are no offensive signals only formation signals which are useless and they were taped at the same time as offensive signals and WERE possibly even on the Spygate tape. Any claims are baseless on this.
2. As to those that wanted Bill to talk about it after it happened this is what happened. We were forbidden by the NFL and God, aka Goodell, from speaking about this in public to ANYONE. Bill was told to keep his mouth SHUT and to offer no comment before and AFTER the initial resolution by the NFL. If Bill had commented or held a press conference the fine and penalties would have been increased. This indicated to us we were guilty before any investigation and were the example Goodell wanted to show the NFLPA he wasn’t biased towards players only. Quite pathetic if you ask me but again we were wrong and put ourselves into this position.
3. We did not want the tapes destroyed. We preferred they be released since they basically proved we did nothing since some of the tapes destroyed were processed tapes that prove there was little value to us other than aggravating the other team . Several showed coaches waving to our videographer, several other with obscene gestures, coaches laughing at us, and some hot cheerleader video for the enjoyment of those given the boring job of proecessing video that had zero intrinsic value.
4. Based on player involvement and packages sent onto the field we know instantly what the base defense is before we call the offensive signal. Tom then looks at the manner in which the opponent lines up and 75% of the time knows the exact defense being run and after the snap knows what is happening 99% of the time. If a team throws a new wrinkle it is cataloged and legally photgraphed from the Coaches Box and sent automatically down for analysis. Sometimes, think Giants in SB, it takes time to re-tool the offensive scheme for a great defensive game plan. By the end of the Superbowl we had the Giants defense figured out but in a tribute to the Giants DC that defense was a thing of beauty and the most difficult defense to decipher. It is sort of what we did to Rams in 2001 SB. Eventually they figured it out and thankfully for us in 2001 and unfortunately for us in 2007 SB it was too late. That defense will NEVER work against us again.
5. Goodell has serious issues within the NFL ownership. He has not made friends with his inability to keep his mouth shut before issues are resolved within the framework of the NFL structure. The Niners organization is livid at him for the sanction they received over free agent contact since they never initiated the contact and in this case everyone really does it.
6. The Kraft family was a Goodell supporter and will never openly criticize him but they are livid over the way Spygate was handled and the fact Goodell hung them out as “Cheaters” when he absolutely knew it never helped during a game and then on national TV aknowledged frivilous accusations like phone tampering etc. when he stated more punishment would be added if necessary instead of doing the right thing and stating such claims were baseless without proof since he knew we could never tamper with phones since we never knew what system or what frequency was availbale to us until game time. A little clue on this one. Not having Robert and Jonathon Kraft on your side makes job security an issue since they are the deal makers and the ownership most willing to compromise to help the smaller market teams. In other words they have lots of friends in the NFL ownership circle.
7. I just learned about this fiasco. We knew early on about Mr Walsh. Goodell should have headed this off but for whatever reason did not. Goodell let it come to what it is today since we were forbidden to talk about it again. We were assured by Goodell nothing would come of it since there was nothing he could have that could harm us. From day one Goodell knew there was no available power to video anything during a walkthru and that we had NO batterypacks when there to setup our cameras. The fiasco at the Superbowl is Goodell’s fault and it did not cost us the win. The Giant defense won the game but it certainly made the experience at this Superbowl unpleasant. This was another strike with the kraft family in particular.
8. I now believe John Tomase was set up by either Spector, Comcast, or Walsh’s lawyer or a combination thereof with that story and I actually think they were the source. In retrospect he probably should have known better since his sources had agendas but Tomase was always one of the most pleasant reporters around the team. It is sad but he could lose his position over this because certain unscrupulous politicians, lawyers, and companies had an agenda designed to embarrass the NFL and used him as a dupe. For Tamase’s sake I hope he recorded those conversations and realizes his ultimate responsibility is to release those conversations, if he has them, let the truth come out, and possibly save his butt. At worst he should reveal who they were and let the chips fall where they should.
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May 12th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Florio got this “tidbit” from Monday Morning Quarterback by Peter King on Si.com
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May 12th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
‘is what it is’: I don’t have to try to remember that because that is exactly what I said. The patriots “illegally filmed teams signals.” I could have added “from the sidelines,” but I assumed the entire world knows by now that is where they did it. Sorry you thought I said “illegally stole signals.” You are right I guess. They legally stole signals using footage they got illegally.
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May 12th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Intersting read It talks about Adams a little bit you know in the ESPN way http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=adams
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May 12th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Yep, If the nfl and goodell are serious about making the nfl a fair game and have some rules that stand for something they’ll ask questions to walsh that will dig deeper into the cheating of the pats.
Its just good we clean up the cheating thing up once and for all. So teams just won’t do it. So if the nfl had any good parenting skills they’d lay the law down to the pats now so future cheating will be looked at as not a good idea.
I’m sure theres a happy medium to all this. Hopefully the nfl will find that.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)