Who Was Walsh's QB Contact

Pats videographer Matt Walsh continues to explain that he worked with one of the Patriots' backup quarterbacks in showing the QB the opposing team's defensive signals, who on gameday would relay them to the Charlie Weis, who called a no huddle play for Drew Bledsoe.

But the voluble Walsh refuses to give the name of the backup QB. During the 2000 season, the QBs behind Bledsoe were John Friesz, Michael Bishop, and Tom Brady.)

It seems that such a job would be the perfect task for a rookie backup and not the veteran #2. So it was most likely Brady or Bishop. If it were Bishop, would Walsh have so much reservation about naming him? Especially since Bishop is now out of the league and playing in Canada?

What did Tom Brady know, and when did he know it?

The Patriots kept the circle of people who knew small. The only ones who knew, Walsh said, were Dee and another video department employee, Fernando Neto, Belichick, Adams, the offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and the quarterbacks...

After filming opponents’ signals, Walsh would edit the tape or deliver the original to Adams. Walsh said a quarterback — he declined to say whom — would learn the signals, and the next time the Patriots played that team, the quarterback would relay that information to Weis, who would use the coach-to-quarterback communication system to send the information to the field.

The first time Walsh filmed an opponent’s signals was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2000 preseason — Belichick’s first as the Patriots’ coach...

The Patriots then opened the regular season against the Buccaneers. Walsh said this was the first time he had seen quarterback Drew Bledsoe operate a no-huddle offense when not in a two-minute or hurry-up situation.

In the week after the game, Walsh said he asked a quarterback — again, he declined to name whom — how helpful the signals were. Walsh said the quarterback told him “probably about 75 percent of the time, Tampa Bay ran the defense we thought they were going to run — if not more.”