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Though former Pats employee Matt Walsh claims that he didn’t tape the Rams’ walk-through practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI, and that he knows nothing of the existence of such a tape, Sal Paolantonio of ESPN reports that Walsh shared some of the things he saw at the walk-through with former Pats receivers coach Brian Daboll.
Per Paolantonio, Walsh noticed that former Rams running back Marshall Faulk was lined up to return a kickoff. Walsh also noticed that a Rams tight end “rolled a certain way” based on a specific coverage from the Patriots.
The fact that Walsh passed along these nuggets isn’t necessarily evidence that he was doing anything wrong. He and other Pats employees were in the building, setting up their equipment for the game.
The most signficiant aspect of this disclosure is the apparent decision of the Rams to proceed with a walk-through while Patriots employees were present. Unless coach Mike Martz was running dummy plays in the hopes that the Pats employees would pass along misinformation, it was beyond reckless for Martz to not insist on the removal of all enemy eyes and ears from the premises.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Noticing what is happening right in front of your face and talking about it can hardly be against the rules. Is it possible the Herald heard this, went “videographer? saw walkthrough? equals taped walkthrough.”
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May 13th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Well it’s not like Martz is known for having an ego big enough to assume his opponents could know what was coming and still not be able to defend against it. Huge ego, Mike Martz? No way!
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May 13th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
That’s an egregious oversight…Martz should be fired!
(oops, too late)
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May 13th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Hey Matt Walsh: Maybe you’re golf game is better.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Yeah, that’s it Florio it’s allll the Rams fault…
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Rating: 2.4 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I’m past the point of caring. Cheating or not, I’m going to hate the Patriots next year, and cheaters or not, I’ll watch the games and play fantasy football in the fall. I just want to enjoy the football side of football again.
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Rating: 3.6 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Martz is not reckless he is arrogant, so he didn’t care. He figured his offence couldn’t be stopped.
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Rating: 3.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
If the Rams decided to run a walkthrough with a bunch of guys with Patriots gear on working in the stadium, then it is their own fault. Unless there is a rule against looking at the field while you are working this is just a desperate attempt to keep this story alive.
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
has anyone ever clamed for Martz to be a genius?
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Florio is on fire today.
Promise us this is the LAST day you will talk about this though!
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Rating: 2.8 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Indeed, Goodell noted that Walsh - in Patriots clothing, along with others similarly dressed - was on the sidelines at times during the walkthrough. It would be nuts for the team NOT to ask him about it, and equally nuts from Martz to run critical stuff at that time. Then again, what happened to the “There was no walkthrough” claim that was made earlier?
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Rating: 3.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Martz strikes me as arrogant, not so much paranoid. It’s entirely possible he noticed it and didn’t care. So the “reckless” label could very well be accurate. After all, the Rams were supposedly invincible and the Super Bowl was supposed to be a blowout to put Denver-Atlanta to shame.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Sal Paolantonio will report anything he can as long as he gets paid. He knows as well as ANY SENSIBLE PERSON that that information means little to nothing, ESPECIALLY when Matt Walsh informs Goodell and everyone else that he was on the field for the Rams’ walkthrough. In high school, teams warm up on opposite ends of the field. In college and the pros, teams run generic plays when they know they can be spotted. It’ s common sense. It’s what people who don’t follow football, don’t know. And when Paolantonio reports this nonsense, to the average football “fan” (one who knows nothing) it seems like a crime. “Oh my God! Matt Walsh told a Patriots coach that Faulk was lining up as a kick returner?!” Like the Rams would take that chance and hurt Faulk. He only had two kickoff returns in his ENTIRE CAREER. “And you mean to tell me Matt Walsh told Daboll that the Rams’ TE actually rolled a certain way?! My God!” It’s called a God damned Waggle. It’s the most cliche and common TE route in football. For Christ’s sake, how many times do you think someone from X team told the coach of X team that Y team was doing something. This is so childish. Paolantonio is reporting something where nothing is. But you are right Florio; the thing that jumps out is that Walsh was on the field and other Patriots’ employees were in the area. That doesn’t add up. I don’t know how much time was in between the Patriots’ walkthrough and the Rams’ walkthrough; maybe Walsh just saw Faulk talking to Ricky Proehl while he was returning kicks, and he saw Ernie Conwell warming up with some pass patterns. Jesus Christ.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Yeah, I agree with earlier sentiments. I dislike Martz for his handling of the team during his tenure but he is not stupid. Arrogant in the extreme? Yes. But not stupid or reckless. If Martz knew there were Pats employees in the building and ran a practice anyway its because he believed the Pats had nothing on defense or special teams that could stop him. Moron……..
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Since Brian Daboll is on the Jets’ coaching staff now, does that mean the Jets get punished now?
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Rating: 2.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I remember something from when parcells was coaching the Patriots in the Superbowl against the Packers “Tuna” complained to the league about a hilocopter that was hanging around his practice area. Most people said it was paroniod. Remember, BB worked for Parcells and probably learned a lot from him.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Ditto what JayPhilly said:
“I’m past the point of caring. Cheating or not, I’m going to hate the Patriots next year, and cheaters or not, I’ll watch the games and play fantasy football in the fall. I just want to enjoy the football side of football again.”
I just to watch and talk about the game of FOOTBALL!!
Matt Walsh has had his 15 minutes of fame - time to move on!
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
who cares about this? It is a non-issue.
I am amazed about one thing that Goodell said and that is about investigating the case of the IR player that practiced back in 2000 or 2001. Its not a big deal and I’m sure its been done before but it is was 8 years ago. He siad he was going to investigate anything like that when they hear of these things. Well how about the things that Jimmy Johnson admitted to on the air? Other former coaches have also been quoted as saying similar things. So why isn’t the NFL looking into those things? Fair is fair, isn’t it?
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Oh please, what is Walsh going to claim next, that while he was wearing his Patriots gear he lined up in the slot for the Rams during their walkthrough that they didn’t have? This is getting beyond ridiculous.
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Rating: 3.4 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
or how about the fact it was the freaking VIDEO ASSISTANT!! do you think right before the super bowl, bill belichick stopped to take advice from the video assistant about what he saw at a walk through? how much tape of the rams do you think belichick and his coaching staff watched of the rams leading up to the super bowl? do anyone for a second believe that the video assistant picked up on something in the walk through, when the rams knew there were outside people watching, that belichick and his staff didn’t already know about, or cared for a second what the video assistant had to say.
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Rating: 4.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
This is assuming that Martz knew that Pats employees were in the building. Wearing Pats gear does not automatically = “Pats employee”.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Vox Veritas, a Division Champ, says:
“This is assuming that Martz knew that Pats employees were in the building. Wearing Pats gear does not automatically = ‘Pats employee’.”
Yeah, but the video equipment should have been a dead giveaway. Maybe Walsh can get a job taping America’s Next Top Model.
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Rating: 1.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
ESPN reports this information like it’s a fact. Like Matt W tells the truth and would never lie or stretch things a wee bit. Could there be another side to this? Maybe Matt was trying to impress a coach and move up from lowly video assistant to a more important position (if this is true at all)? At the end of the day however Matt basically got a get out of jail free card on this one and he can say anything he wants.
What ESPN fails to provide is the fact that Walsh was allowed for whatever reason to be at the Rams walkthrough in full Patriots colors. He was not hiding, and was in plain sight with plenty of other non-Rams. This “information” that Walsh supposedly collected could have come to the Patriots coaching staff from dozens of other sources, and it’s not like the coaches don’t watch opponents tape or make adjustments during the game.
ESPN can’t let it die, there’s got to be a story somewhere.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Vox Veritas,
Yeah, because the Patriots had their walkthrough immediately before the Rams did and the guys in the Pats gear were working on video equipment. Only a fool or a paranoid person would think it could be lingering Patriots employees tying up loose ends.
Keep grasping for straws because that is all you have left.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
May 13th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Vox Veritas, a Division Champ, says:
May 13th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
This is assuming that Martz knew that Pats employees were in the building. Wearing Pats gear does not automatically = “Pats employee”.
Thats true. This sounds more like a logistical issue for the NFL back then than it does like a Pats issue. How do we know that members of the Rams crews were not there at the Pats walk through? We don’t but it is irrelevant.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)