Hollis Thomas On Super Bowl XXXIX: 'I Knew They Were Cheating'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Apparently, the New England Patriots are bigger cheaters than we realized.
An ESPN Outside the Lines report dropped like a bomb on Tuesday morning. The report indicated that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell covered up Spy Gate and some owners see Deflate gate as a "make up call" for Spy gate.
The report found that Patriots cheating went on from 2000, Bill Belichick's first season as head coach---to 2007, the year they were caught. The Pats reportedly videotaped the signals of opposing coaches in 40 games.
On February 6, 2005 the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX 24-21.
Eagles defensive tackle, now radio host on SportsRadio 94WIP's Josh Innes Show (M-F, 2-6pm) told CBSPhilly.com, "I knew they were cheating."
"It seemed like they had our playbook and they knew exactly what plays we ran," Thomas said. "Funny thing is, not only were they taping our signals, they had notes about each signal and they had picture of notes."
According to the ESPN OTL report, several former Patriot employees acknowledged that a low-level Patriots employee would going into the visiting team's locker room and steal their play sheet, which often contained the opposing team's first 20 plays.
Thomas says this was evident as soon as Super Bowl XXXIX began.
"Remember this too, they tried to tape your walk-through, which all has the first 15-20 plays of the game," Thomas told CBSPhilly.com. "How of all the sudden, after not running a 4-3 defense all season long, they switched to 4-3 in the Super Bowl? First play of the game. You could tell something was up."
Rule changes that have occurred over the pas 15 years, Thomas says, indicates the effects of 'Spy Gate' and how seriously it was portrayed around the league.
"A lot of the owners were pissed too," Thomas told CBSPhilly.com. "When you look at all the stuff, why is there microphone in two defenders helmets now?"
