IRVING, Texas — The sequel is never as good as the original.
Will the old movie cliché apply to Spygate 2? Yet to be seen. Get the popcorn ready just in case.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday at the quarterly owners’ meeting that the Patriots’ history of secret video-taping is a factor at play in an ongoing investigation that might not be done by season’s end.
“Of course it’s a factor,” Goodell said. “But I think the key things are the new information that we have. That [old] information we obviously already had. I think the issue is what information do we have from this incident.”
After being caught and questioned by a Bengals staffer, the Patriots admitted via statement a credentialed video team without knowledge of NFL rules “inappropriately filmed the field from the press box” during last week’s Bengals-Browns game. The footage is claimed to be for a team web series profiling advance scouting responsibilities, and its crew “immediately turned over all footage to the league and cooperated fully.”
The key will be what is seen on the tapes. The Patriots face the Bengals this week. NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said he is “still gathering information.”
Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft met privately Tuesday and chatted one-on-one Wednesday.
“It’s under review,” said Goodell, who did not put a timeline on rendering a decision. “We are going to be thorough. We are going to take our time and make sure we look through everything that is pertinent here.”
Goodell fined Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000, fined the Patriots $250,000 and took away the Patriots’ first-round draft pick in 2008 after it was determined they illegally filmed the Jets coaching staff and stole signals in the original Spygate.
Tom Brady was suspended four games and the Patriots lost two draft picks in 2016 for allegations of deflating footballs in a playoff game.
“You don’t draw conclusions until you have all the information,” Goodell said. “We’re not going to draw conclusions along the way.”
The Giants are not going to the playoffs. Again.
But someone from the NFC East — either the Eagles or Cowboys — will host a first-round game against a wild-card team with a much better record, likely the loser of the 49ers-Seahawks battle in the NFC West.
Calls to rethink the NFL playoff format so either the six best teams in each conference are included regardless of division (or at least so the division winners are not guaranteed a top-four seed and home game) are falling on deaf ears.
“This is not the first time this conversation has occurred, or this situation,” Goodell said. “Teams go into the season and their first objective is to win the division. You win the division, you get in the playoffs.
“That [change] is something we’ve considered over the years. I have not heard that this year. I don’t anticipate hearing it again. If it comes up, we’ll certainly have the conversation.”
The NFL’s first-year rule allowing pass interference replay reviews has been criticized because of the number of no-calls warranting a seemingly obvious overturn that have resulted in lost coach’s challenges.
Some coaches have given up challenging the no-calls and Giants co-owner Steve Tisch recently joked the NFL doesn’t know what is and isn’t pass interference anymore. But the worm appears to be turning late in the season, as the beneficiary Jets learned last week.
The effectiveness of the rule will be looked at in the offseason from multiple perspectives.
“I’ve felt the angst in our team,” said Rich McKay, president of the Falcons and chairman of the NFL competition committee. “I’ve felt the angst in others.”
Goodell added, “Consistency is the No. 1 thing we are always trying to achieve. The standard keeps getting higher.”