Growing signs of disapproval
From Green Bay to New Orleans, from Pittsburgh to Jacksonville, players across the NFL yesterday reacted to the league's investigation of the Patriots' videotaping procedures in last Sunday's season opener against the Jets.
The Patriots are alleged to have recorded signals from Jets defensive coaches, which Packers quarterback Brett Favre told Wisconsin reporters is a "serious issue."
"Can it cross the line? I'm sure it can," Favre said. "It can give you a huge advantage."
In Pittsburgh, Steelers receiver Hines Ward reflected on the AFC Championship game from the 2001 season, a 24-17 Patriots victory. Ward said he felt the Patriots had some unusual help in that game.
"Oh, they knew. They were calling our stuff out," he said. "They knew a lot of our calls. You would hope that during their run, when they were winning all their [three] Super Bowls, all that stuff wasn't going on. You look back in the past, and we played them in the championship games, and you kind of wonder. It seemed like they were a step ahead of us at all times, but those games are behind us. There's nothing we can do about it. You just look forward and see what the commissioner will do."
Saints quarterback Drew Brees said it's common for him and other quarterbacks to look across the field and try to crack the code of the opposition's signals but, like Favre, he wondered if a line had been crossed.
"I think that's just part of the game; those guys are giving signals on defense, and when you pick them up, it gives you tidbits of what they're doing. [But] you start taking it to the next level with a camera on their sideline," Brees said.
Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, speaking on a conference call with Wisconsin reporters, had questions regarding the Patriots.
"It just makes you wonder how long they've been doing this and did it really help them win some games," he said. "And if they've been doing it in those games that they've won Super Bowls in or playoff [games]. That team has won some big games."
Jacksonville defensive end Paul Spicer wasn't surprised at the investigation of the Patriots' alleged tactics.
"This ain't news," he said. "I've heard it in the past. They finally got caught. The Patriots got caught. They're busted."
Spicer added that commissioner Roger Goodell has "been hard on players; now let's see how hard he's going to be with a team."
"They're the ones that have to pay the consequences for it," Spicer said. "If that's the way they feel like they have to get the upper hand, then so be it. Everybody's been running around calling them geniuses for years. What are they going to say now?"
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. 