Starkey's Mailbag: Did the Patriots cheat the Steelers out of Super Bowls?
January 17, 2017 11:07 AM
Thomas Zielke, @ThomasZielke: Do the Steelers also need to game plan for the Patriots’ cheating?
Starkey: They need to game plan for Tom Brady and all his weapons and the league’s No. 1 scoring defense, Mr. Zielke, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to lock the hotel trash bins and bring walkie-talkies to the stadium in case the headsets go out.
Actually, I think the best way to go into New England is to treat it like any other place in the league. I think people see ghosts there because of what may or may not have transpired in the past.
That being said, let us celebrate the fact that Mike Tomlin has never been shy about calling out the Patriots, culminated, of course, by blasting them in what was supposed to be a private locker-room setting the other night (thanks, AB). Using a single word, Tomlin described the Patriots as the rest of the universe sees them, and
our Paul Zeise delivered a wonderful take.
But it’s not like Tomlin has shied away from ripping the Pats in public. Do you remember last year’s season-opener? That was the game in which the Steelers, having had all offseason to prepare for Brady, unveiled their “Invisible Man” defensive package, featuring nobody, nobody at all, covering Rob Gronkowski on multiple plays. It was also the night Tomlin freaked out and all but accused the Patriots of messing with his headset.
It’s never a bad time to recount that postgame media address …
Reporter: “Mike, there was a report that your radio went out?”
Tomlin: “That’s always the case.”
Reporter: “Here?”
Tomlin: “Yes.”
Reporter: “So you’re saying every time you play here you have rad—”
Tomlin: “I said what I said.”
Reporter: “Mike, what exactly happened? You just didn’t have any communication?
Tomlin: “We were listening to the Patriots radio broadcast for the majority of the first half. On our headsets.”
Was he seeing ghosts? Maybe. Maybe not. Again, I believe people get paranoid when they go to Foxborough. I also believe that just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone’s not out to get you.
Back in his first season (2007), right after Spygate broke, Tomlin was asked about previous whispers of New England spying on coaches in order to steal signals. His answer was surprisingly candid.
“You hear rumors of things of that nature,” he said. “It’s nothing new. In terms of confirming it, it’s never been confirmed in any instance to my knowledge. But usually where there is smoke, there’s fire. Those rumors are founded on something. So it’s not totally shocking, no.”
Nothing is shocking when it comes to the Patriots. The key is to not get freaked out.
Joe Starkey, @JoeStarkey1: You never answered your own question, jerk: Did the Patriots cheat the Steelers out of a Super Bowl or two?
Starkey: Hi, Joe. I’m going to say no in 2001, despite Hines Ward’s protestations. I’m a lot more suspicious of 2004, when the Patriots likely stole the Steelers’ defensive hand signals during a regular-season game at Heinz Field and came back here for the AFC championship.
The nagging question about Spygate has always been this: How, precisely, did the Patriots benefit?
Where was the smoking gun?
ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham offered something close to one in a piece published in September of 2015. The key Steelers-related part read like this:
Some of the Steelers’ defensive coaches remain convinced that a deep touchdown pass from Brady to Deion Branch in the January 2005 AFC Championship Game, which was won by the Patriots 41-27, came from stolen signals because Pittsburgh hadn’t changed its signals all year, sources say, and the two teams had played a game in the regular season that (Matt) Walsh told investigators he believes was taped. “They knew the signals, so they knew when it went in what the coverage was and how to attack it,” says a former Steelers coach. “I’ve had a couple of guys on my teams from New England, and they’ve told me those things.
Would that be good enough in a court of law? No. But it’s pretty damning in the court of public opinion, as are the contentions of multiple former Steelers players and coaches. When Spygate broke, I asked then-defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau if stolen signals would have helped the Patriots back in the ’04 title game.
“I don’t see how it could hurt ’em,” he said.
For what’s it worth, multiple ex-Steelers, from Ward to Chris Hoke to James Farrior, have expressed the opinion they felt cheated. After the Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl five years ago, Steelers linebacker James Harrison tweeted, “Told you, cheaters never win!!!!!!!!!.”
Nobody called out the Patriots louder than ex-Steelers linebacker Larry Foote, who told 93.7 The Fan two years ago: “I still feel like in ’04 I should have another Super Bowl ring on my finger. I had a feeling they knew our plays before the ball was snapped.”
Sour grapes? Perhaps. But I always respond with a simple question when somebody pooh-poohs Spygate: If the Patriots weren’t receiving tangible benefits, why do it so long? Why would somebody as smart as Belichick put effort into systematically stealing signals for so many years if it wasn’t helping him in any way whatsoever?