i_am_the_swammi Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Where can I order my 2004 Super Bowl Champion banner for my office?? Interesting article: Pats' spy flap has Eagles wondering By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer 2 hours, 26 minutes ago PHILADELPHIA - Sheldon Brown and the Eagles hoped a blitz would rattle Tom Brady. One problem: Every time the Eagles rushed Brady in the Super Bowl, the Patriots nullified the defensive attack with screen passes. Lots of them. On almost every play defensive coordinator Jim Johnson called for a blitz, the Patriots used the short pass to confuse the Eagles. After the Patriots beat the Eagles 24-21 in 2005 to win the Lombardi Trophy, Brown thought the Patriots beat them with nothing but sharp offensive playcalling. Now, he's not so sure. With spying accusations leveled this week against the Patriots, some of the Eagles left from the NFC title team are wondering if New England used bootleg film to their advantage in the Super Bowl. "Do I think about it? Mmm hmmm," said Brown, their starting cornerback. "It's crazy. I just don't know how far back it goes. Something's not right about that." Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins found the accusations troublesome. "Now there's always going to be questions about the situation," Dawkins said Thursday. "Was it great adjustments at halftime or what?" Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward said this week that he suspected the Patriots had some type of inside information on the Steelers before at least one of the teams' two AFC championship game matchups since the 2001 season. While Ward said the Patriots knew a lot of Pittsburgh's calls, none of the Eagles could offer any type of solid proof of any shenanigans. "For me to think back two years ago about something they may or may not have done, it's not worth my time," running back Brian Westbrook said. New England beat the New York Jets in last Sunday's season opener in which an on-field video camera allegedly focusing on Jets coaches was confiscated from a Patriots employee. The league confirmed that it is investigating whether coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots were responsible for taping the Jets' defensive coaches as they signaled to players on the field. "I would like to think it's just one team doing it, but it doesn't shock me that it happened," Dawkins said. Some Eagles said occasional signal-stealing is an accepted part of the game. But they believe what the Patriots are accused of doing crosses the football morality line because it threatens the integrity of the game. "It's different if you're talking about recording it," Dawkins said. "What can you do if you try to signal a play in?" Eagles coach Andy Reid steered away from questions about the alleged cheating other than to say he has no doubts New England's victory was legitimate. "That's something Bill and the Patriots are working through," Reid said. Brown said he noticed a difference in New England's playcalling in the second quarter. After the Patriots gained only 45 yards in the first quarter, they had 286 over the next three. Brady hit running back Corey Dillon and gained 29 total yards on a pair of screens to open New England's first full drive of the second quarter. They didn't score on that drive, but did on four of the next five drives. The Patriots went to the screen pass again on the decisive drive early in the fourth quarter, this time with Brady connecting with Kevin Faulk on two passes for 27 yards. "I was like, 'Man, I never saw that many screens," Brown said. Brown wonders if it was normal playcalling from a team good enough to win three Super Bowls in four seasons, a Patriots team that used a strong scouting report to gain a fair edge, or was somebody picking up the Eagles defensive calls from a sideline camera that deprived them of a fair shot? "I think they should forfeit, man," said punt returner Reno Mahe, smiling. "We won the Super Bowl. I think we should get it. I'm going to go trade my NFC championship ring for a Super Bowl ring." The headline over a picture of Belichick on the back page of Thursday's Philadelphia Daily News might have said it all: "Counterfeit RING: Spy Scandal Helps Explain Birds' Super Bowl Loss." Hey, maybe the illicit tape would show once and for all if Donovan McNabb really did get sick in the huddle late in the game. Remember, that was Philadelphia's first excuse for losing. McNabb — who insisted the Eagles would never stoop to those kind of tactics — was surprised to hear the allegations against the Patriots. But he said the suspicions might be overblown. "One thing people are forgetting is that even if you have the answers to the test, you still have to take the test," he said. "If they have an idea of what's coming, those guys still have to be able to execute the play." That doesn't mean McNabb won't clear some space in his jewelry box. For a city that last saw a pro team win a championship nearly 25 years ago, the Eagles might accept a retroactive one. "Maybe we'll get our ring back," said a chuckling McNabb. "Maybe we'll get the real one." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menudo Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Well, I've always known that the only Lombardi trophies the Eagles would ever win would be "make-believe" ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDFFFreak Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Well, I've always known that the only Lombardi trophies the Eagles would ever win would be "make-believe" ones. (TDFFFreak resists the opportunity to make some remark about the Steelers being given their last championsip against the Seahawks and walks away.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rileyrott Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 (TDFFFreak resists the opportunity to make some remark about the Steelers being given their last championsip against the Seahawks and walks away.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleeping King Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Maybe Belichick will send Reid the sideline tape. That way Reid can watch it in fast forward to figure out how to run a 2 minute offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 In a related story Philly hired this man to spy for them during their glory years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gd74 Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 You should see the McNabb quote......its funny....ridiculous....he says that everyone has annoited Tom Brady as the next Joe Montana but now with this cheating who knows ??? It was something to this effect. I am surprised because normally McNabb takes the high road in things about other players.... he even came to Michael Vicks defense with the whole dog fighting incident. Im starting to think that McNabb is a racist !!!! He even went onto to say maybe we can get our superbowl rings "back" now.... Funny Donovan....I thought you had to actually have to have a superbowl ring in order to get one back !!!!!!! That franchise will never win as long as he is the quarterback and Reid is the head coach !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowboutthemCowboys Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Maybe Belichick will send Reid the sideline tape. That way Reid can watch it in fast forward to figure out how to run a 2 minute offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 You should see the McNabb quote......its funny....ridiculous....he says that everyone has annoited Tom Brady as the next Joe Montana but now with this cheating who knows ??? It was something to this effect. I am surprised because normally McNabb takes the high road in things about other players.... he even came to Michael Vicks defense with the whole dog fighting incident. Im starting to think that McNabb is a racist !!!! He even went onto to say maybe we can get our superbowl rings "back" now.... Funny Donovan....I thought you had to actually have to have a superbowl ring in order to get one back !!!!!!! That franchise will never win as long as he is the quarterback and Reid is the head coach !!!! he didn't say it like that.. he was pointing out how absurd it was that now he's considered a nobody after all that he's done.. regardless the advantage...you still have to go out there and perform... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charty Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Maybe the Pats sideline camera was able to capture some footage of McNabb blowing chunks in the huddle. Break out the film BB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gd74 Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 Maybe the Pats sideline camera was able to capture some footage of McNabb blowing chunks in the huddle. Break out the film BB. Maybe they have it in slow motion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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