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And since this occurred four years ago, and since NFL coaches are like gossipy teenagers on MySpace, I can guarantee you almost everyone in football knew what was happening.
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Within six months of it occurring, the Edwards story had probably spread to every NFL team. Coaches were probably laughing about it.
"Can you believe that Belichick?" coaches were probably saying. "What a card that guy is."
There were probably a few more curse words thrown in but you get the point.
The more information that comes out about Spygate, the less I'm convinced any significant benefit was reached, the less I'm convinced Belichick is some grand cheater and the more I believe Belichick's practices were extremely common in football.
This is not about excusing Belichick for breaking the rules. This is about clarifying the record. Every team in football was doing what Belichick did and it was so common that they knew that you knew that they knew. You know?
Belichick's problem is arrogance, not being the devil.
Belichick might have done a great deal of filming. Maybe he filmed a Super Bowl walkthrough. Maybe he's Steven Spielberg and has been filming practices since he was seven years old. I don't know.
What I do know is Spygate is not some requiem for Belichick (it shouldn't be at least) or this grand moment in league history. It's all hat and no cattle.
The crying and whining of people like Mike Martz has been hard to take. Just be quiet. You got beat.
Damn babies.
And the more convinced I am the NFL's current "investigation" of the Patriots is a piece of extremely well-done theater. Broadway would be proud. Give the NFL its Golden Globe, already.
Why did Belichick spy in the first place, you ask, if the benefit was minor? The same reason probably every team in football does it. They're coaches. They're all psychos. They do things that make no sense. They work 20-hour days because the other guy is, not because they need to.
So teams try to steal the other guy's signals hoping to get something but knowing there will likely be little benefit.
Think back to Edwards clowning to Belichick's camera, followed by the lack of complaining to the league. Edwards is a hardcore NFL man and I can tell you he's fearless. Belichick's power and reputation wouldn't scare Edwards. Why didn't he turn Belichick in?
Why?
Sources have reiterated to me -- again -- that at least some of Belichick's videotapes contained similar images of coaches acknowledging the cameras with mocking gestures as well as shots of cheerleaders.
Maybe we should rename Spygate.
Call it Hermgate.
So when you haters and excuse makers want to continue to bash the Patriots and try to take away the significance of their titles, think of Edwards, clowning to the camera and handling the situation like a grown man and smart coach instead of a big fat baby.
