Charlie Weis, you've been thrown under the bus
Not that anyone should be wanting to beat this "Spygate" story with any more exposure, but HBO has added an interview that Andrea Kremer did with New England Patriots videoguy Matt Walsh for its' "Real Sports" show that will air Friday (8 to 9 p.m.).
HBO sent out what appears to be a complete transcript, and includes this information that doesn't look so good for a certain Notre Dame head football coach, and may make college football fans wonder how the Irish have turned do pitiful in recent years:
Walsh says that knowledge of and participation in the video spying/signal stealing operation began at the top levels of the coaching staff -- and extended to the team itself. He recalls a conversation he had with a Patriots player after the first game of the 2000 regular season. At the time, Patriots were not an elite team and Tampa Bay was on its way to the playoffs.
WALSH: "I had spoken with one of our quarterbacks, uh, that said, he was called into Coach Belichick's office shortly before the Tampa Bay game. In the office was Ernie Adams, Charlie Weis and Coach Belichick. They closed the door, Charlie said to him, "You know, we've got tape of the Buccaneer's coaches defensive signals. What we're going to do is have you learn this, then we're going to have you next to Charlie on the sideline, when he's calling in the play to Drew (Bledsoe, the starting quarterback), over the coach to quarterback communication system. Drew's got the, the earpiece in the helmet, and you're going to tell Charlie the defense that's being called, and we're going to relay the information, or use that in calling the play into Drew." Um, the quarterback, you know, later told me that within two to three seconds of when (Tampa Bay defensive coordinator) Monte Kiffin sent a play call into [Tampa Bay safety] John Lynch, Drew Bledsoe had it in his helmet."
"After the first game when we played the Buccaneers in the first season, after the tapes would have already been utilized, and I went up to one of our quarterbacks, because, you know, running the offense, I figured the quarterback might know something about this. I said, you know, was this, was the footage that I shot of the opposing coaches' signals, you know, any use for you guys? Did it help at all? And one of the quarterbacks told me, he said, probably about seventy-five percent of the time Tampa Bay ran the defense that we thought they were going to run."
HBO would prefer that not all the transcript be released, so we'll go with one or two more quotes:
Walsh recalls ways in which the Patriots began to change their offensive strategies to exploit the advantage gained by having videotaped their opponents' defensive signals - in particular, through the use of a no-huddle offense in non-traditional situations.
WALSH: "We started using Drew Bledsoe and no huddle situations in the middle of the game, situations that weren't necessarily hurry up or a two minute offense. Um, the idea, you know, was presented to me that the benefit to that, you know the other teams signals, you got all your players on your field, the defense is on the field, they really can't change personnel if, you know, the ball can be hiked at any time. Um, it forces the defensive coach to send in the signals early on, when you still have quite a bit of time left on the play clock. It then gives the offense, again, because coach to quarterback communication system isn't shut off until about fifteen seconds, more time to decide what play to call that fits best against that defense, and then still to be able to radio that in to our quarterback on the field, and then have him, you know, transmit that to our offensive players."
KREMER: "How did you come up with that?"
WALSH: "Well, one of the other quarterbacks told me about that."
Walsh says that the spying effort provided the Patriots with a significant competitive advantage.
WALSH: "You know, it's important information. And if you know what defense a particular team's gonna run, if you're essentially in their huddle, you know, that's quite an advantage to have on offense."
Comments
Hey Tom, I don't think what you're reporting is physically possible. I'm 99.999% certain Charlie Weis would not FIT under a bus. Please check your facts for us and set the record straight. I'm sure that if somebody actually tried to throw the Notre Dame coach under a bus, the bus would have careened off a highway somewhere, injuring several passengers onboard and many unsuspecting other folks along the highway in South Bend, and I don't remember seeing that reported on the Notre Dame Broadcasting (NBC) network yet.
Posted by: I'm Not Kidding | May 15, 2008 11:49 AM
It can be done.
http://www.autosbikes.com/2006/11/monster-4wd-super-bus/
Posted by: Paget | May 16, 2008 9:27 AM
Charlie Weis is a big hit in South Bend. The fans just love him. Here, in this photo, he is swarmed under by the 2008 Notre Dame cheerleading squad. Take a look.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Laurenisme/fatties.jpg
Posted by: Rory Markus Marching Band & Chowder Society | May 17, 2008 9:05 AM