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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 9:21 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 to clean the cheating thing up once and for all. So teams just won’t do it. 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: 2.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Well I am sure all teams do it.
But if NE did it and did a lot of it… they won 3 super bowls by 3 points a pop. Not as impressive as it otherwise could have been.
And that D wont work again? It worked for some teams (not just the pats!) vs. the rams. And it can again.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Hey Cowboy (Florio):
I don’t know if you realize it but you have enough material on this on this subject for a movie script…fiction of course.
It might even rival “The Maltese Falcon” and “The Treasure
of the Sierra Madre”. The only thing missing is…..
Humphrey Bogart (Belichick does a good impersonation)!
Chief
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Walsh doesn’t know Ernie Adams from Sam Adams. Actually, he’s probably quite familiar with Sam Adams.
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Rating: 3.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I’m not sure who wrote it, but the best comment submitted on this thread was the one asking why Walsh is the guy that can expose the Pats best. Why him? Why not talk to the new Falcons GM? Why not talk to Mangini? How is it that Walsh has better/deeper insight to the inner workings of the organization than former members of the coaching staff and/or front office? How many former Pats employees are there out there that could be interviewed. The muckrakers hanging their hats on Walsh ‘outing’ the Pats come across as very weak.
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Rating: 3.75 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Why would Ernie Adams talked to Matt Walsh about what he does?
Why would the Patriots let Matt Walsh know what Ernie Adams does since he was not high on the totem pole if he even made the pole.
The real question is what does Walsh say about John Tomase. The next big story is the lawsuit the Patriots will file against the Boston Herald and Tomase. Warm up the popcorn machine that one should be much more entertaining than Matt “I know nothing, I see nothing, I think I am more important than I am” Walsh
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Rating: 3.85 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Are Pats fans under the delusion that ESPN is anti-Patriot? That’s freaking hilarious because ESPN has been nothing but a patriot hype machine for years.
ESPN continually downplayed this cheating scandal throughout the season.
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Rating: 2.8 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Pats 1,
Do you really expect anyone to read all that drivel. Also, just how obsessed and upset are you Pat fans still after that shocking defeat at the hands of the G Men? Can you spell, BIGGEST UPSET IN SPORTS HISTORY!
Get over it. Your karma came back from running up all those scores in the 4th quarter. The gods have spoken and your team got exposed as pathological cheaters.
Move on and accept it. Pray the gods of football don’t bring more trouble down on your team.
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
“Can you spell, BIGGEST UPSET IN SPORTS HISTORY!”
You think that was the biggest upset in sports history? Well, I guess when you’re 5 you haven’t really had a change to watch much sports.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
tbtsm15, a Cheerleader, says: “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?”
Where exactly in Mongolia have you been living?
In case you haven’t noticed, Spygate hasn’t exactly been swept under the rug. It’s been an obsession with the league to find a scapegoat in the league to divert attention from the fact that they allow signal stealing and videotaping of signal stealing as well.
If Goodell was REALLY serious about the integrity of the game maybe he’d actually make signal stealing AGAINST the rules, and make videotaping signals against the rules as well.
Ask most fans if either are prohibited and most would probably say that signal stealing is cheating and anyone who steals signals is a cheater. Ask them if videotaping signals for analysis later is even worse most would agree that yes, that’s even worse.
The vast majority still don’t know that all of that is legal in the NFL even today, post-Spygate.
And THAT’S the way Goodell wants to keep it. Have everyone remain ignorant, call the Patriots cheaters, hope everyone forgets about Bronco-Gate when they won two Super Bowls by cheating on the salary cap, and hope everyone finally returns to a blissfully ignorant state of mind.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 12th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Walsh doesn’t have to back up anything he says. His agreement with the NFL is that he will testify to Goodell truthfully the extent of his knowledge of New England’s system of taping opposing teams signals. If his testimony points to Ernie Adams then it will be up to the league, not Matt Walsh, to verify it. Goodell has handled this poorly from the start. The league has the resources to track down and interview anyone employed by the Patriots during Belicheck’s tenure. They should have investigated it more thoroughly and made the findings public. Instead, the rushed everything, destroyed the evidence and slapped the Patriots on the wrist. I can’t believe everyone didn’t buy it. And the Patriots aren’t going to sue anybody. I believe in a libel case they have to prove an intent to injure. Meaning that they have to prove the Herald acted recklessly and maliciously with the intent to damage the Patriots and/or Belicheck. And they have to prove that there was actual damage done. And if they sue Walsh, then Walsh’s lawyers have the right to ask the Patriots and the NFL to hand over any documents pertinent to the case and everything becomes public record. The last thing they want is to string this out and let the media and lawyers start really poking around how they do business. Ask Roger Clemens how his defamation lawsuit is working out.
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May 12th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Best comment so far……..
“Dont Taze Me Bro, a Cheerleader, says:
May 12th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Are Pats fans under the delusion that ESPN is anti-Patriot? That’s freaking hilarious because ESPN has been nothing but a patriot hype machine for years.
ESPN continually downplayed this cheating scandal throughout the season.”
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Rating: 2.15 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 12:40 am
Yes, it’s about time this is brought out into the open.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:03 am
NR4. let’s say for one moment it was karma….how is winning 3 of 4 SB’s getting back at them?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 6:36 am
…OH GOD NO!….I hope Walsh doesn’t reveal Ernie Adams’s “Secret Powers”
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Whoever says that ESPN is not anti-Patriot better take a look at Mike Fish and Gregg Easterbrook.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Pats 1,
Do you really expect anyone to read all that drivel.
…No, I wouldn’t. It’s on too high a reading level for many commenting here (mainly the “OMG!!11111 teh PaTRIOts CheeaaaT!!!!!!!!11111111111111 crowd)
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Here is the interesting part:
Arlen Specter has already scheduled a press conference. Even if nothing new surfaces, Specter will need to fill air time.
This one won’t end any time soon.
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May 13th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Goodell has screwed the pooch on this whole issue. The Tapes never should have been destroyed.
I would like to take this time to thank Jimmy Johnson. Because he has the balls to come out and say that he did the exact same thing. Where are the other 30 teams in the NFL in coming forward on what they have done in the past?
JoeSixPack and others have made the points and no one wants to listen. The only thing the Patriots have done is film the coaches from a bad location. Having tapes and analyzing the tapes is not the issue. By rule, the Patriots can be taping the coaches now, from a pressbox. And still analyzing the tapes the same way they have in the past. And that is legal and not cheating. The Patriots are probably rebuilding their library as we speak. It is LEGAL.
Goodell is going to ruin the sport like Gary Bettman has hockey. NFL is not for goodie two shoes Goodell. Im surprised more posts arent made on how Goodell screwed the SF 49ers. How can the 49ers be fined for tampering (which everyone does). They didnt even get Briggs. yet Miami signs a guy 2 hours after FA opens, and they dont get their phone records looked at?
Goodell is a JOKE. He and Upshaw need to hit the unemployment line.
Dan
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Rating: 4.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 9:11 am
“Dont Taze Me Bro, a Cheerleader, says:
May 12th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Are Pats fans under the delusion that ESPN is anti-Patriot? That’s freaking hilarious because ESPN has been nothing but a patriot hype machine for years.
ESPN continually downplayed this cheating scandal throughout the season. ”
True, ESPN did not setup a truck at Gillette with 24 hour coverage of spygate for the last 9 months. :rolls eyes:
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 9:22 am
I think Pat Fans need to relax. It’s almost over. Goodell wants to bury this thing as much as the Patriots do. I don’t really think that Goodell has any sympathy for the Patriots, but it’s in the best interest of the league to close this thing. It’s an embarasment to the league to have these questions still floating, regardless of what NE did or didn’t do. A lot of Pat Fans believe Goodell is “out to get New England”. I can’t believe that at all. They want to get this over as much as the Pats do. I think the NFL is doing what they believe they need to in order to appear credible, but at this point, a punishment has already been handed out and we all want to get back to playing football.
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May 13th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Thats a boatload of speculation right there. The Patriots, like most NFL teams, probably have a staff nearing in the 1000s. I doubt Matt Walsh even knows who Ernie Adams is, let alone what he does. In fact, that was an on-going joke between the players because most of them had no idea what he does.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 9:52 am
I find this funny. I am a die hard Pats fan. I read any and all headlines that deal with the Pats,on many sites. I have heard/read the name Ernie Adams on occation, but now little about him or his role with the Pats. Now his name comes up and pepole are Ernie Experts. Yes, I’m sure you know all about his folks.
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May 13th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Mike, tt is odd that you discount the advantage of offensive signals in one post, yet continue to harp on the Ernie Adams piece of this. Ernie Adams studies tendencies of other teams and has a photographic memeory. So he can watch and quickly see the personnel being called, based on that knows the tendencies of the other team when using that personnel in that situation and get the information to Bill or the coordinator. Is it a huge advantage? Probably not. If they took the time to tape the signals though, they thought it was enough of an advantage.
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May 13th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I do love how the same people who were saying that the Pats are going to be screwed when Walsh hands over the tape of the Rams walkthrough are now hanging their hat on his stories about Ernie Adams.
For argument sake, say Ernie Adams is the “G Gordon Liddy” of Spygate and has been conducting these underhanded covert operations. Why would he reveal all his secrets to a low level camera guy? If Adams has been doing underhanded stuff since the mid-90s for Belichick as Walsh alluded to, I am sure he has avoided getting caught by not talking about what he did. I am sure it wasn’t because he was bragging about it the entry level staff in the Patriots’ organization.
I fully expect Specter to take these stories by Walsh of Adams and run with it, but Goodell cannot and should not just buy into them because Walsh says Adams told him that he did it.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)