The New England Patriots' victorious past is causing issues both domestically and abroad.
Bill Belichick recently recalled how his second championship group was his first "truly great" team, which drew the ire of former defender Ted Johnson. Former NFL offensive lineman Barrett Brooks is now thrusting the Patriots' third championship into the spotlight, re-opening the case that New England had literal help from above en route to a Vince Lombardi Trophy hoist.
Brooks, now in broadcasting with NBC Sports Philadelphia, brought back memories of "Spygate" back to the surface in an appearance on the "Legal Hands to the Face" podcast. The 12-year NFL veteran was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers team that faced New England in the AFC title game en route to Super Bowl XXXIX.
Pittsburgh, which entered the game 16-1, had gotten the better of the Patriots in the regular season but dropped a 41-27 decision at Heinz Field in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. Brooks minced no words about New England's defensive success in the game.
“I can remember going into the game, and they knew the plays before we did,” Brooks told host Bill Colarulo. “I can hear all of those guys, Rodney Harrison say, ‘Draw, draw, draw, draw, draw.’ Then Ben (Roethlisberger) comes in, he calls a draw play and I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ Tedy Bruschi knowing the play, ‘Hey, hey, hey—they’re going to sprint to the right, sprint to the right.’"
Three years after the game, an NFL investigation into the Patriots' alleged recording of opponents' practices and coaching signals charged them a first-round pick and a combined $750,000 in fines against both Belichick and the team. A deeper look at the game, however, perhaps hints that the Steelers had their own problems to deal with.
On paper, the Steelers kept up with the Patriots, outgaining them 388-322 and holding the ball for 31:31. Turnovers proved to be their downfall: Roethlisberger threw three interceptions while Jerome Bettis lost a fumble, and those four giveaways yielded 24 Patriots points, including an 87-yard pick-six for Harrison.
That's not enough to convince Brooks that New England meddling denied the football world a clash of Pennsylvania-based titans in the 39th Super Bowl: after disposing of the top-seeded Steelers, the Patriots took down the NFC's No. 1, the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21.
Brooks didn't have to wait long for a Lombardi Trophy of his own: he and the Steelers topped Seattle in Super Bowl XL the year after.
But he claims he should have two rings.
"(They moved) an entire defense over because they knew our plays before it happened. So yeah, they cheated me," he declared. "I should have two Super Bowls now. We were supposed to be in that Super Bowl against the Eagles. This was all Pennsylvania Super Bowl.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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