Sal Pal to the Rescue

Philadelphia’s own Sal Pal is one of the few sports journalists, and the only one at ESPN, willing to write that Spygate may not come to the quick conclusion both the league and most of its source-dependent scribes seem to wish.

With Matt Walsh meeting with NFL Commissioner Inspector Closeau this morning, Sal Pal writes, “

As far as we know, Walsh is the first person currently with no ties to the Patriots organization with direct knowledge of Belichick's videotaping shenanigans who will be answering the commissioner's questions, and Walsh can provide some much-needed context, background and intent.

Intent is critical. Why? Well, when Belichick was first punished by Goodell in September 2007 for illegally taping the defensive signals of the New York Jets at the Meadowlands, the Patriots' head coach said he had no idea he was doing anything illicit.

Will Roger Goodell finally get to the bottom of Spygate? Only if he puts Matt Walsh on the spot. So, Goodell should pursue a very simple line of questioning to test Belichick's original contention that he was ignorant of the league rules: When Walsh was taping the opponents' sidelines, how much was he told to conceal his activities? What measures were taken to conceal his taping? How concerned were his superiors that what Walsh was doing would be uncovered by a member of the opposing team? Was Walsh worried about getting caught? Why?

What kind of instruction did Walsh get in how to tape the opposition's sideline? Who gave Walsh those instructions? Whom did he report to?

What happened to the tapes? Where did they go? Who analyzed the tapes of the defensive signals? Were there written reports based on the tapes? Who wrote those reports? And, more important, who saw the reports or was told what was in them? Did Tom Brady? Or Charlie Weis, when he was offensive coordinator during the Patriots' run of Super Bowl titles?

What was Walsh told about why this widespread practice of taping the opponents' defensive signals was vital to how the Patriots prepared for an opponent?

These will be difficult questions for Goodell to ask. Why? Because the commissioner has already said publicly many times, dating to September, that he believed the Patriots derived "minimal" benefit from their secret, illegal taping system. Questioning Walsh along those lines may reveal information that contradicts Goodell's earlier conclusions.

But Walsh has already provided some valuable context. In September, the Patriots handed over what Goodell described as "six tapes … from the preseason in 2007 and the rest were primarily late in the 2006 season." Goodell said this at the Super Bowl in Arizona, on Feb. 1, 2008, answering a direct question about how far back the illegal taping went.

Now, it's clear from Walsh's tapes that the illegal taping went back to 2000. When Goodell punished Belichick and the Patriots, did he know the illegal taping went back to 2000? If not, would the punishment have been more severe?

The league clearly wants Walsh's appearance on Tuesday to end the Spygate nightmare. The Patriots certainly do.