NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has announced that former Patriots' video employee Matt Walsh has provided him with no new evidence of cheating by the team, beyond the information that already has been known and disclosed regarding the taping of coaching signals, according to ProFootballTalk.com. Goodell said that Walsh states there is no evidence of any videotape of the Rams walk-through prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. Walsh told Goodell that Walsh didnt tape it, that he was not aware of anyone who might have taped it, that he hasnt seen it, and that he knows of no one who taped it. Walsh also said that he was in the Superdome at the time of the walk-through, that he was going about his required busines, and that he was on the sidelines in Patriots gear while the Rams were practicing. Goodell said that Walsh also is aware of no other violations of league rules of policies by New England. Goodell ruled out evidence of bugging of locker rooms, manipulation of communications systems, augmenting of crowd noises, and placing microphones on players to pick up opponents audibles or signals by the Patriots. Walsh supplied only two new pieces of information, that the Pats used a player on injured reserve during a practice in 2001, and that Walsh was involved in the scalping of eight to ten Super Bowl tickets. As to the former, Goodell claimed that the penalty for using a player in practice who is on IR is subject to a fine. But Goodell commented that there will be no additional penalty, given the $750,000 in fines previously imposed on the team.
The Associated Press reports New England Patriots cornerback Willie Andrews entered a plea to a marijuana possession charge, but he will not face any prison time.
From Day 1 of the Spygate saga in September, the controversy over New England's illicit videotaping practices has centered on the Patriots' efforts to steal their opponents' defensive signals. But the tapes delivered via FedEx to NFL headquarters in New York on Thursday morning also include evidence of an effort by New England to steal offensive signals, which would broaden the extent of the team's surveillance operation, according to ESPN. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and staff members began viewing the eight tapes within hours of their long-awaited delivery, in anticipation of next Tuesday's scheduled interview with former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh. "We don't know [about attempts to steal offensive signals] yet because we haven't looked at the tapes," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Thursday before the league had completed its review of the new evidence. "All we have is the list supplied last night [by Walsh's attorney]. One of them is labeled 'OFF signals.' None of the others are listed that way. Let us look at the tapes and we'll have more to say about that.