Belichick: "There Was No Deception"

I've been putting all Spygate-related links at the bottom of the daily links dump. Today, however, I'm going to lead with it.

Why?

Because for some inexplicable reason, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick refuses to let a sleeping dog lie.

During an interview with Armen Keteyian of CBS (who are business partners with the Patriots on a theme restaurant, by the way), Belichick had the following to say about Matt Walsh:

"I don't know what his agenda is," he said. "Again, he was fired for poor job performance and for audiotaping his superior [vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli]. There's not a lot of credibility."

Ok, so according to Belichick, who openly violated NFL policy and LIED to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about it, claiming he, a graduate of Wesleyan University and surrounded by some of the smartest minds in the NFL, "misinterpreted" an NFL rule that even an imbecile (or a Trinity grad. Trust me, that would get huge laughs in central Connecticut) would easily comprehend, states that Walsh doesn't have a lot of credibility. ("Hi, Pot? This is the kettle....Um...You're black!")

"For him to talk about game-planning and strategy and play-calling, and how he advised coordinators, it's embarrassing, it's absurd," Belichick told CBS. "He didn't have any knowledge of football. He was our third video assistant."

Ok, so Walsh had no knowledge of football. It's more than interesting to hear Belichick admit that a member of the team's game-day operations staff didn't have any knowledge of football, but that's beside the point. What I'd really like to know is why Belichick would attack the credibility of an individual who didn't tell NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell much more than Goodell already knew about the videotaping procedures of the Patriots, when he easily could have.

To illustrate how overt their practice was, Belichick said to CBS (again, their business partner) that they have videotape of Walsh, on top of Foxboro Stadium, shooting video. It's cleverly Nixonian of them, but it wasn't shown in the segment and I'm not sure how anyone would be swayed to Belichick and the Patriots' side of the fence even if it were.

Each team is allowed to film games from that vantage point for the "All-22" camera view that are openly shared throughout the league. That's nothing new, or improper, but I'd like to hear Belichick explain why the tapes revealed by the NFL on Tuesday showed the camera zooming in on the opponents defensive coaches sending signals into the game.

Through shows like the "NFL Playbook" on the NFL Network, most NFL fans are familiar with the high-quality film of those "All-22" scouting tapes. Most of the tapes revealed by Walsh were grainy videos obviously shot from a hand-held camera.

There was no reason for Belichick to speak to CBS about this issue. The league, and 99.999% of the media which follow it, have all but declared this a dead issue. The only thing Belichick accomplished on Friday was proving Walsh's claim that Belichick is "arrogant" is a fairly accurate one.

Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch still has Spygate questions that he'd like answered.

Non Spygate-related NFL News and Notes

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady gave three of his offensive linemen (Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen and Stephen Neal) an Audi Q7 SUV.

New York Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins could be the key to the Jets season, writes Dave Hutchinson.

Miami Dolphins second year offensive lineman Drew Mormino failed a physical and was released on Friday.

John Harris of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers should keep tackle Marvel Smith, who is entering the final year of his contract.

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis will host the Marvin Lewis Golf Classic this weekend at Shaker Run GC in Lebanon, Ohio. (Memo to Mark Curnutte. It's not "one-time Seahawks receiver Steve Largent", it's HALL OF FAME Seahawks wide receiver Steve Largent. Get it? Got it? Good!)

When a player he admires announces his retirement, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning writes him a letter.

Jacksonville Jaguars back-up offensive lineman Richard Collier agreed to a contract extension on Friday.

Tennessee Titans running back LenDale White will make an appearance in a Snoop Dogg music video. (They still make those?)

After purchasing the Golden Nugget Casino in 2005, Houston Texans minority owner Tilman Fertitta was forced to sell his share of the NFL franchise.

Defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson is a low-risk, high-reward acquisition for the Denver Broncos.

The Kansas City Chiefs will scrimmage against Jared Allen and the Minnesota Vikings on July 31st. Chiefs first-round pick Glenn Dorsey discussed his draft-day experience.

Based on what recent #4 picks in the NFL Draft received in their first contracts, Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden can expect a 6-year deal in the $50 million dollar neighborhood, with $20 million or so in guarantees.

Former Dallas Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston approves of his former team's acquisition of Pacman Jones.

The New York Giants and WNBC-TV agreed on a multi-year contract to broadcast Giants pre-season games.

Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson was in favor of continuing NFL Europe.

Former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Darrion Scott's child abuse trial will begin on July 7th.

The Detroit Free Press wants to ask you a question: Who should announce his resignation first? Detroit Lions president Matt Millen or Mayor/text message aficionado Kwame Kilpatrick. They even have a photo gallery of the Top 10 players Millen has passed on during the drafts in his tenure. (I'll get you started with my personal favorite.)

Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley Field on Friday, and threw his support behind Brian Urlacher, who is attempting to get a new contract out of the Bears.

In an article published tomorrow, the Atlanta Journal Constitution's D. Orlando Ledbetter looks at what the NFC South teams have done to re-tool this off-season.

I'm no expert, but the guy who plead guilty to conspiring to possess and distribute steroids in an investigation that named New Orleans Saints guard Matt Lehr, looks like he distributed all those steroids...into himself.